A mandi, mashkhanna ( ), or beth manda (''beit manda'', , 'house of knowledge'; also ''bimanda''), is a Mandaean building that serves as a

community center A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

and

place of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is s ...

. A mandi is traditionally built on the banks of a yardna, or flowing river. Although mandis are traditionally "cult-huts" made of straw, bamboo, and mud that are built by the river,Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. nowadays mandis can also be modern buildings that serve as community houses and local

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

s. A mandi typically holds weekly worship services, weddings, and many other important events and rituals.

In Iraq

A contemporary-style mandi is located in

Nasiriyah Nasiriyah ( , ; , BGN: , ), also spelled Nassiriya or Nasiriya, is a city in Iraq, the capital of the Dhi Qar Governorate. It lies on the lower Euphrates, about south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. Its po ...

, Iraq. The town of Liṭlaṭa in Qal'at Saleh District, southern Iraq was also the site of a Mandaean mandi that the British scholar E. S. Drower often visited. In Baghdad, the main mandi is called the Sabian Mandi of Baghdad. It is located on the western banks of the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

River in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Al-Qadisiyah. In addition to Baghdad and Nasiriyah, mandis can also be found in

Amarah Amarah (), also spelled Amara, is a city in south-eastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km (31 mi) from the border with Iran. It lies at the northern tip of the marshlands between ...

Kirkuk Kirkuk (; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Cit ...

Erbil Erbil (, ; , ), also called Hawler (, ), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is the capital of the Erbil Governorate. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. At the h ...

, and Diwaniyah.

In Iran

The main mandi of the Mandaean community in Iran is located in Ahvaz. It is administered and maintained by the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz.

Outside Iraq and Iran

On 15 September 2018, Beth Manda Yardna was consecrated in Dalby,

Skåne County Skåne County ( ), sometimes referred to as Scania County or just Scania in English, is the southernmost Counties of Sweden, county, or , of Sweden, mostly corresponding to the traditional Provinces of Sweden, province of Scania. It borders th ...

, Sweden. In Australia, the Sabian Mandaean Association in Australia purchased land by the banks of the Nepean River at

Wallacia, New South Wales Wallacia is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Formerly a rural village it is west of the Sydney GPO (General Post Office), in the local government areas of the City of Penrith, City of Liverpool and Wollondilly S ...

in order to build a mandi called Mandi Wallacia. The current mandi in Liverpool, Sydney is

Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi (officially registered as Mandi Genzvra Dakhil) is a Mandaean temple ( mandi) in downtown Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. It is named after Rishama Dakhil Aidan, who was the head priest of the Mandaean community i ...

, named after Ganzibra Dakhil Edan. Another mandi exists in Prestons, New South Wales, named Mandi Yehya Youhanna. There is a mandi in Warren, Michigan, USA that is run by the local Mandaean community. In the United States, there are also mandis in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

, and

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. In Nieuwegein,

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, there is a mandi called ''Vereniging Mandi van de Mandeeërs Gemeenschap in Nederland'' (Mandi Association of the Mandaean Community in the Netherlands).

Notable mandis

*Iraq **

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

( Sabian–Mandaean Mandi of Baghdad) **

(Sabian–Mandaean Mandi of Nasiriyah) **

(Sabian–Mandaean Mandi of Amarah) *Iran ** Ahvaz ( Mandaean Council of Ahvaz) *

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

(three mandis:

Yahya Yuhana Mandi Yahya Yuhana Mandi (officially registered as Mandi Yehya Youhanna) is a Mandaean temple ( mandi) in Prestons, New South Wales, Australia. It is named after John the Baptist, who is known as ''Yahya Yuhana'' in Mandaic. Unlike Ganzibra Dakhil ...

Wallacia Mandi Wallacia Mandi (also known as Mandi Wallacia or Mendi Wallacia; ) is a Mandaean temple ( mandi) under construction in Wallacia, New South Wales, Australia. The mandi is located on the west bank of the Nepean River. It is the only mandi in Aust ...

) *

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(Mandaean Cultural Center of San Antonio) **

(Amarillo Mandaean Association) ** Warren, Michigan (Mandaean Association of Michigan) ** Leicester, Massachusetts (Mandaean Community of Massachusetts) *

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

** Dalby (Mandeiska Beth-Manda Yardna) **

Södertälje Södertälje ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. It is also a part of Stockholm urban area, Greater Stockholm Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, it has 73,872 inhabitants. Södert� ...

** Sandviken (Mandeiska kyrkan i Sandviken) *Netherlands ** Nieuwegein (Vereniging Mandi van de Mandeeërs Gemeenschap in Nederland)

Essene parallels

The ''bit manda'' is described as ''biniana rab ḏ-srara'' ("the Great building of Truth") and ''bit tušlima'' ("house of Perfection") in

Mandaean texts This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaeism, Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic language, Mandaic. Well-known Mandaean texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra ...

such as the ''

Qulasta The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (; ), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection". The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms ('' maṣbuta'') and other sa ...

'', ''

Ginza Rabba The Ginza Rabba (), Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba (), and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The Ginza Rabba is composed of two parts: the Right Ginza (GR) and the Left Ginza (GL). T ...

'', and the ''

Mandaean Book of John In Mandaeism, the Book of John () is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which Mandaeans attribute to their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations w ...

''. The only known literary parallels are in Essene texts from

Qumran Qumran (; ; ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjac ...

such as the '' Community Rule'', which has similar phrases such as the "house of Perfection and Truth in Israel" (''Community Rule'' 1QS VIII 9) and "house of Truth in Israel."

References

External links

Album: The Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi, Liverpool, SydneyAlbum: The Yahya Yuhana Mandi, SydneyPerforming masbuta inside a mandi in Ahvaz, Iran
(video)
Interior of a mandi in Ahvaz, Iran
(video) {{Mandaeism footer Mandaean buildings Mandaic words and phrases Religious buildings and structures Building types