English: Mr Salem Choheili is Shkanda (deacon) and highly respected for his learning and teaching. Here he reads from Ginza Rba - Smala (The Mandaean Holy Book – left side), explaining its meaning during a Mandaean women’s class in Ahvaz. As one of the few who still speak the Mandaic language, his greatest aim is to help the Mandaeans learn their own language to ensure its survival. He says his biggest concern is that the Mandaeans are not acknowledged in the Iranian Constitution as ‘Ahl Al Kitab (People of the Book), which has consequences for their existence in Iran.

Notes from Yuhana Nashmi's fieldwork, including the Parwanaya (Panja) festival and travels in Khuzestan, March 2015.

Yuhana Nashmi, “Slideshow: The Iranian Mandaeans at Parwanaya (Panja) time, 2015,” The Worlds of Mandaean Priests, accessed February 23, 2022, https://mandaeanpriests.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/123

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