Yezidis Who are the Yezidis? Currently under persecution and the - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Yezidis

Who are the Yezidis?

• Currently under persecution and the threat of

genocide by ISIS/L (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria / the Levant) in the northwestern, traditionally Kurdish-controlled territory situated around the cities of Mosul and Sinjar.

• Isolated pockets of Yazidi exist in Canada.

Individuals and groups have fled persecution in the past.* The pressing concern, which will ultimately determine the context of any future dialogue with the surviving Yazidi refugees, is the present violent threat to their existence.

Lalish

Social Concern For the Yezidi

• In August, 2014 ISIS forces

drove some 400,000 Yezidis (the majority of the entire people group) from their homes in Kurdish Iraq to the Sinjar Mountains.

• The United Nations reports

that 5,000 men were executed and 7,000 sold into sex slavery (Daily Mail, 14

October 2014)

• Many are still in need of

aid.

• ISIS dogma does not

recognize Yezidis as a ‘people of the book;’ furthermore, the Yezidi emphasis on Tawusi Melek (Azazael/Shaytan) that has often led to the charge of devil-worship has thrown fuel on ISIS’s fire.

• ISIS has used the sale of

Yezidi women as sex slaves as a means of raising both membership and funds (J.K. Melchoir, 21).

Context for Engagement

• Our context for engagement with the

Yezidi people corresponds with the predominant feature of the Yezidi religion and society: it involves a practical response to persecution.

Characteristics of the Yezidis

• Religion is rooted in

social organization and community life – emphasis on practice.

• Doctrine and

mythology is not systematic; a certain amount of secrecy abounds.

• People will be judged

for their actions, not their beliefs.

• The community is
• rganized based on

strict, functional castes and the interdependence of members for a series

• f rituals that

emphasize rites of passage and relationships.

Toward Ecclesiology

• Yezidi by Birth; excommunication the

result of inter-religious marriage.

• Born into and marriage among Castes

(endogamy)

Yezidi Casts

Murid

Pir

Sheikh

Sheikh Caste

• Sheikhs are paid religious and moral

teachers in charge of organizing and

• verseeing ceremonies and festivals.

Sheikh Families/Roles Qatanis Shamsanis Adanis

Sheikh Caste

• Qatanis – represented by a Mir

(Prince): these are secular leaders and ‘defenders of the faith.’ A patriarchal lineage that continues the original delegation by Sheikh ‘Adi and the Peacock Angel (Tawusi Melek).

Sheikh Caste

• Shamsanis – represented by Baba Sheikh:

the religious head of the community. Is present and oversees all the ceremonies and rituals at the Sanctuary of Sheikh ‘Adi (in Lalish). works alongside the…

• Adanis – represented by the Pesh Imam

who was traditionally the only literate

• Yezidi. He is an expert in ceremony and

represents the semi-Islamic sector of the community.

Pir Caste

• Each Yezidi must have a Pir in addition to

a Sheikh as a religious guide.

• Pir’s are of Kurdish origin and function like

Sheikhs but are not as prestigious.

• They tend to be more withdrawn/ascetic

in their practice. Feqrayas: virginal women in service to the sanctuary of Sheikh ‘Adi. They maintain the Shrine’s operations and prepare meals for notables during the feasts.

Community Rituals and Ceremonies

• (First) Haircut (biska

pora): a boy’s forelock is cut by his ‘brother of the hearafter’who is a sheikh or pir. Symbolic of becoming a Yezidi.

• Baptism (mor kirin):

performed at the baptistery of Kaniya Spi at Lalish. A private ceremony where one is declared a lamb and Servant of Ezi.

Community Rituals and Ceremonies

• (Male) Circumcision: 20

days after baptism. A Godfather (kerif) is chosen in order to create a bond between families that would not otherwise have close. Intended to strengthen relations with Kurdish Muslim families in this way.

• Prayer: un-regulated for

the most part; 3 times daily if practiced and

• ne opens one’s hands

to the sun while standing.

• Brothers and/or Sisters of

the Hereafter: Each Yezidi has one Sheikh and one Pir to assist in the rites and rituals throughout life. Men-men; women-men/ women.

• Bride Price: arranged by

fathers of (15 yr. old)

• coupes. Adanis Sheikhs

administrate and celebrate.

Community Rituals and Ceremonies

• Death: Brother/Sister of

the Hereafter prepares body for internment by washing and clothing the deceased in a white shroud and placing him/her in a sarcophagus; a silent procession ends in a burial with head facing east.

• Reincarnation: Soon

after funeral a Kochek is consulted at the family house. In a trance state, this functionary determines if the soul has been judged sinful and ended up in an animal and should be redeemed by purchase by the family or has passed into a Yezidi for goodness.

Characteristics of the Yezidis

• Religion is rooted in

social organization and community life – emphasis on practice.

• Doctrine and

mythology is not systematic; a certain amount of secrecy abounds.

• A great variety is

evident in the religious texts of the Yezidi.

• Is it hidden,

forgotten, or unimportant?

Towards a Doctrine of God

• God (Khode/Xwede) is the one Creator.
• He is known among the Yezidi by three

manifestations:

– The Peacock Angel (Tawusi Melek/Azazael) – A Young Man: Sultan Ezi (an admired member of the late seventh-century Uhayyad Caliphate) – The Old Man: Sultan ‘Adi (The Sufi Preacher who settled near Lalish in the early twelfth century and developed the Yezidi people from his

• riginal group of disciples, men to whom he

taught his particular amalgam of Assyrian, Zoroastrian, and Islamic way of living).

Towards a Doctrine of God

Yezidi Symbol of Faith (Sehada Dini) The testimony of my faith is One God, Sultan Sheikh ‘Adi is my King, Sultan Ezi (Yezid) is my king, Tawusi Melek is (the object) of my declaration and my faith. God willing, we are Yezidis, followers of the name Sultan Ezi. God be praised, we are content with our religion and our community.

Towards Creation and Providence

• God has created all things and is

providentially aware of all occurrences.

• He is chiefly concerned with heavenly

matters.

• He created an angel (khas/heft sir) for each
• f the first seven days in order to tend to

earthly matters. The Peacock Angel is the most prominent among them (TM).

• These angels determine the destiny of the

year to come during the Festival of Assembly; they bring new holy texts and rules to the Yezidi people every 1000 years.

Tawusi Melek

• Associated with the Judeo-Christian

and Islamic concept of Satan: the fallen angel who brought corruption to the Garden/Paradise.

• The figure whose relationship with the

Yezidi can be said to most directly define their unique identity. The Yezidi are the ones who were kind to TM when he was cast down to earth.

Towards Anthropology and the Doctrine of Sin and Evil

• Though the mythology varies in some

confusing ways, the essential thrust of the Yezidi is that TM (Azazael/Satan) convinced Adam to eat wheat against God’s instruction.

• Tawusi Melek was cast into hell as a

consequence of his misguided action but he repented by crying for 7,000 years and extinguishing the fire of hell with his tears.

Towards Anthropology and the Doctrine of Sin and Evil

• Evil and good are

not, therefore, competing forces in God’s economy.

• Tawusi Melek

demonstrates that

• ne cannot stand
• utside of God’s will

in a realm of evil and render God powerless.

• Thus, Yezidi do not

consider themselves worshippers of

• Satan. They

consider him to be beautiful and have ascribed the attributes of the Peacock (Angel) to him.

Towards Sin and Salvation

• Yezidis balance a

concept of personal, moral sin with the ultimate non-existence

• f a triumph of evil/hell.
• Hell and paradise are

recognized in ceremony but do not follow from mythology.

• Noting the tremendous

emphasis on Yezidi community together with the belief in positive reincarnation as coming back as ‘one of our people’ it seems reasonable to conclude that salvation is being Yezidi.

• Is there an end or does

time have a cyclical pattern?

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• Canada. House of Commons. Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development: Evidence, 38.

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