The Mandeans trace themselves back to the original followers of John the Baptist, who, according to tradition, fled the land Holy Land in the first century, preserving traditions independent of the emerging Christian Church in the subsequent centuries. In June 1999, I was privileged to be a part of a unique conference at Harvard University, sponsored by ARAM, at which, a group of these ancient Mandean priests and laypersons demonstrated their practice of “baptism” (Masbuta) in the Charles River in Boston. This was the first time in the United States that a full Mandean baptism, outdoors with two officiating Mandean priests was performed. It marked a truly historic event.
This exclusive footage, created by Jesse Buckley, son of noted Mandean scholar, Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Emeritus Professor at Bowdoin College, is used with permission of the Buckleys. Most important, I am publishing here below a full commentary on the video as a guide to understanding the complexities of these…
