Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s Mandaean community is celebrating the festival of Deg il Fil (The Palm Tree) on Tuesday, a creation-era event symbolizing the archangel Gabriel’s descent to Earth before the creation of Adam and Eve.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Sheikh Sattar Jabar al-Hilu, the worldwide spiritual leader of the Mandaean faith, said the ritual represents “the angel Gabriel’s descent into the world of darkness (Earth), where dates and sesame symbolized his sustenance and purity during the mission to restrain evil.”

Al-Hilu explained that sesame is believed to ward off evil spirits, while the palm tree holds sacred status as a blessed symbol in the faith. One of the central rituals of the occasion is masbuta—baptism in river water—performed under the supervision of a priest known as a tarmida.

The Mandaeans are among the world’s oldest monotheistic religions, venerating John the Baptist (Yahya ibn Zakariya) as their prophet. Their holy book, the Ginza Rba, contains the writings of Adam and details of creation, the eternal struggle between light and darkness, and the soul’s journey after death toward the world of light.

The Mandaean population in Iraq is now estimated to be significantly smaller than its pre-2003 figure of up to 70,000, with current estimates often ranging from 3,000 to 15,000 people, and they are primarily located in southern Iraq (especially in Basra, Dhi Qar, and Maysan), as well as in smaller numbers in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region.

Following migration waves that began in the late 1990s, Mandaean communities have spread to countries such as Sweden, Germany, Australia, and the United States, where they have established mandis (temples) and received official recognition to freely practice their religious rites and traditions.