Mandaean religious rites threatened by Tigris water pollution

Every Sunday in Iraq, along a strip of embankment on the Tigris River reserved for followers of the obscure and ancient Mandaean faith, worshippers bathe themselves in the waters to purify their souls. But unlike in ancient times, the storied river that runs through Baghdad is fouled by untreated sewage and dead carp. By Philip Issa

The women, shrouded in white and their hair tucked under headdresses, enter the river first, receiving their blessings in a Mandaean dialect of Jesus's native tongue, Aramaic
A child is baptised into the Mandaean faith in a section of the Tigris River reserved for the ancient faith, in Baghdad. Iraq’s soaring water pollution is threatening the religious rites of its tight-knit Mandaean community, already devastated by 15 years of war that has also affected the country’s other minority Abrahamic sects
The faith holds that only flowing water can baptise the faithful and that it should be clear, pure and fit for human consumption
Mandaeans throw parsley from an embankment on the Tigris River as part of their traditional rituals
A follower of the Mandaean faith bathes in the Tigris
Mandaeism follows the teachings of John the Baptist, a saint in both the Christian and Islamic traditions and its rites revolve around water
A dead carp floats near the Mandaean Temple. "It's very saddening. Our religious books warn us not to defile the water. There are angels watching over it," said Sheikh Satar Jabar, head of Iraq's Mandaean community
"When a Mandaean believer commits a sin or wants to ease the worries of life, he comes to the cleric to practice his religious rituals, where he must immerse himself three times in running water," says Jabar
Mandaeans wash food in the polluted waters of the Tigris