{"id":160123,"date":"2025-11-11T00:52:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T21:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=160123"},"modified":"2025-11-11T00:52:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T21:22:50","slug":"mandaeans-celebrate-dehwa-hanina-along-the-karun-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=160123","title":{"rendered":"Mandaeans Celebrate Dehwa Hanina Along the Karun River"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 9 Aban 1404 (October 30, 2025), the Mandaeans observed Dehwa Hanina, their minor festival. According to Mandaean belief, this day marks the moment when the waters of life flowed, plants grew, animals, birds, and fish were created, and the conditions for human life were established, while angels rejoiced in celebration.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mandaeans regard this day as the Earth\u2019s moment of creation (Takw\u012bn), and they commemorate it annually. In the Mandaic language, the festival is called \u201cDehwa\u201d, while \u201cHanina\u201d means \u201cminor.\u201d Celebrations begin at sunrise and continue until the following day\u2019s sunrise. In all Mandaean spiritual festivals, a Drafsha is raised alongside ritual baptisms in flowing water.<\/p>\n

The Drafsha is a sacred Mandaean symbol believed to have been placed on Earth by angels after creation. It is made from pure silk, reeds, and jasmine plants, arranged with the reed planted in the ground, silk draped over it, and fragrant jasmine placed atop.<\/p>\n

Mandaeans are monotheists and people of the book, with beliefs in a single God, divine prophets, the afterlife, resurrection, and a promised savior called \u201cMalka an Ush Uthra\u201d, who will bring an end to evil.<\/p>\n

Most Mandaeans live discreetly in Khuzestan, where their rituals, especially baptism in flowing water, continue to be central to their faith. Historically, after persecution in the Jordan region, many Mandaeans migrated to Iran during the Parthian era seeking religious freedom. Because their ceremonies require flowing water, they settled in river-rich areas, making Khuzestan\u2014with its Karun, Karkheh, and Dez rivers\u2014the primary region of Mandaean residence in Iran.<\/p>\n

Mandaeans, Known Locally as Sabi, Predominantly Reside in Ahvaz<\/p>\n

In the local dialect, Mandaeans are called Sabi. Due to the central role of baptism in flowing water in their religious practices, they traditionally settled near rivers in Khuzestan, especially in Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, Abadan, Dezful, and Shushtar. Today, many continue their religious activities in Ahvaz, while a significant number work in goldsmithing and jewelry-making.<\/p>\n

Mandaeans are followers of Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist), and their faith originates from the teachings of Prophet Adam (peace be upon him), continuing through successive prophets up to Prophet Yahya.<\/p>\n

The Mandaean religion is one of the oldest divine faiths, with ritual baptism (Ghusl) serving as its cornerstone. Their main historical settlements in Khuzestan have been Ahvaz, Susangerd, Shushtar, and Mahshahr. Significantly, the city of Ahvaz is officially registered as \u201cthe city of Sabi enamel\u201d, highlighting its cultural and religious heritage.<\/p>\n

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On 9 Aban 1404 (October 30, 2025), the Mandaeans observed Dehwa Hanina, their minor festival. According to Mandaean belief, this day marks the moment when the waters of life flowed, plants grew, animals, birds, and fish were created, and the conditions for human life were established, while angels rejoiced in celebration. Mandaeans regard this day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":160132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1319,1320,1321],"class_list":["post-160123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zoroastrians","tag-dehwa-hanina","tag-karun-river","tag-mandaeans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=160123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/160132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=160123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=160123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=160123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}