mandi

A mandi, mashkhanna, or beth manda (beit manda, , 'house of knowledge'; also bimanda) is a Mandaean building that serves as a community center and place of worship. A mandi is traditionally built on the banks of a yardna, or flowing river. Although mandis are traditionally "cult-huts" made of straw, bamboo, and mud that are built by the river, nowadays mandis can also be modern buildings that serve as community houses and local administrative centers. A mandi typically holds weekly worship services, weddings, and many other important events and rituals. In Iraq A contemporary-style mandi is located in Nasiriyah, Iraq. The town of Liṭlaṭa in Qal'at Saleh District, southern Iraq was also the site of a Mandaean mandi that the British scholar E. S. Drower often visited.