Mandaeans

One of the most interesting groups to encounter were the Mandaeans, a small sect of followers of John the Baptist who spread out into the world after the Romans quashed the peoples of Israel in AD 70, and then the Muslims later on. There are allegedly 6000 Mandaeans in Australia, a priest claimed, meaning there might be fewer. They must be near water, as their lives depend on repeated baptisms, which one of the priests described in detail, along with a woman writing her PhD thesis on the Mandaeans who accompanied him. It was a privilege to hear this man speak so passionately and sincerely about their practices, and how important water is to them, as this is their route to the divine. A baptism takes about six hours, and each one goes through the ceremony once to four times a year.