Abstract
In my text I analyse transformations of Mandaean ritual practice using the concept of ritual transfer, an analytical tool developed to understand the processes involved in transferring rituals to other contexts. I critically refine the concept of ritual transfer and present some methodological problems associated with it.
In describing and analysing the transfer of Mandaean rituals, I focus primarily on Iraqi Mandaeans. Against the background of Iraq's changes in the 20th century, I focus on negotiating rituals in the community in the 1970s and 1990s.
In the next step, I compare Lady Drower's descriptions of Mandaean ritual practice in the 1930s - before the changes that the community later went through - with the situation in the 1970s and 1990s and with ritual practice of the diaspora community. According to my research, the following can be said about the transfer of Mandaean rituals: 1) In the context of urbanisation and modernisation of Iraq in the second half of the 20th century, the Mandaean community has changed in such a fundamental way, that the changes in ritual practice in Iraq are more radical than the changes that have occurred in moving to the diaspora. 2) The changes to the Mandaean rituals are 'bottom-up' changes.
They are the result of active laity initiatives supported by reform-oriented priests. Therefore, it is not surprising that changes could be found in the context of rituals attended by lay people (maṣbuta, wedding rituals and death rituals), while rituals, which take place without laymen, remained unchanged.
At the same time, the performance of the ritual feasts (masiqta) held to support the soul of the deceased is rare because of their complexity and high costs. 3) The ritual change processes are not one-way processes. While in the 1970s there was a tendency to shorten and simplify rituals in Iraq, in the 1990s it was possible to record efforts to retain (sometimes restore) the original form of rituals.
The parallel existence of both tendencies is still a source of tension within communities today.