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| Mandaean Bibliography Books ---Articles ---Papers ---- Lectures --- Media |
| Das Abstract zum Referat von Mehrdad Arabestani innerhalb der Einzelreferate Forums Ethnologie (Dienstag 15.45 - 17.45 Uhr, Raum Mel XVII). The Mandaean are an ethno- religious minority who are living in south-western part of Iran and also in Iraq. Mandaism is a Gnostic tradition with a totally ritualistic character. Mandaic ritual behaviors can be put in four categories, comprising purification rites, life crisis - or passage – rites, calendrical rites, and ritualistic bodily appearances rules. The most significant Mandaen rite is baptism which is performed in river sides in a natural environment. Ritual things, tools, and constructions are made by minimum technical elaborations. Almost all ritual wares consisting incense containers, and dishes, are made of unbaked clay. Ritual constructions are also temporary and impermanent ones which made by cane and clay. Considering body, perfection of it and its intact is a ritual value, whereas any deficiency in body considered as a ritual failure. Considering a binary opposition between nature/ culture, Mandaic rituals show a tendency to nature, that is , tendency to unadornment, intactness, non artificial, and no( or minimum) technological elaboration. Symbolically, this simplicity in rituals represents simplicity, restriction, and undeveloped formation of total mandaic religion; which in turn is in accordance with mandaean people’s status through history. |
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| Nature in Mandaic rituals: an anthropological view http://www.dot2004.de/programm.php?abstract=513 |