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Yazidism

Yazidism,[a] also known as Sharfadin,[b] is a monotheistic ethnic religion[c] that originated in Kurdistan[11] and has roots in a western Iranic pre-Zoroastrian religion directly derived from the Indo-Iranian tradition.[d] It is followed by the Kurdish-speaking Yazidis, and is based on belief in one God who created the world and entrusted it into the care of seven Holy Beings, known as Angels.[7][12][13] Preeminent among these Angels is Tawûsî Melek (lit. 'Peacock Angel', also spelled as Melek Taûs), who is the leader of the Angels and who has authority over the world.[7][13][14]

This article is about the religion. For the people, see Yazidis.

Yazidism
  • Êzdiyatî
  • ئێزدیتی

Ethnic religion

Iranian religions[1][2]

Yazidi Book of Revelation, Yazidi Black Book

Monotheistic

Hazim Tahsin or Naif Dawud[3]

Sheikh Ali Ilyas[4]

Kurdish (Kurmanji)

Lalish, Iraq

12th century
Kurdistan

c. 1,000,000–1,500,000 (Yazidis)[5][6]

Sharfadin

An esoteric time sphere (Kurdish: enzel), This term denotes a state of being before the creation of the world. According to Yazidi cosmogony, there is God and a pearl in this stage.

Bedîl or dewr (a cyclic course of time): it means literally 'change, changing' or 'turning, revolution' and in the Yazidi context denotes a new period of time in the history of the world. Therefore, it may also mean 'renewing' or 'renewed' and designates the start of a renewed period of time.

A linear course, which runs from the start of the creation by God to the collective end point.

eschatological

Three tofan ('storm, flood') i.e. . It is believed that there are three big events during history named tofan that play a purificatory role, changing the quality of life in a positive manner. Each catastrophe, which ultimately brings renewal to the world, takes place through a basic element: the first through water (tofanê avê), the second through fire (tofanê agirî) and the last is connected with wind (air) (tofanê ba). It is believed that the first tofan has already occurred in the past and that the next tofan will occur through fire. According to this perception, the three sacred elements, namely water, fire and air, purify the fourth one, the earth. These events however are not be considered as eschatological events. They occur during the life of people. Although the purificatory events cause many deaths, ultimately life continues.[41]

catastrophes

Religious practices

Prayers

Prayers occupy a special status in Yazidi literature. They contain important symbols and religious knowledge connected with the Holy Men, God, and daily situations. The prayers are mostly private and as a rule they are not performed in public. Yazidis pray towards the sun,[65] usually privately, or the prayers are recited by one person during a gathering. The prayers are classified according to their own content. There are:

List of Yazidi holy places

List of Yazidi saints

List of Yazidi settlements

Persecution of Yazidis by Muslims

Allison, Christine (2001). The Yezidi oral tradition in Iraqi Kurdistan. Richmond, Surrey England: Curzon.  0-7007-1397-2. OCLC 45337769.

ISBN

; Arakelova, Victoria (2014). "Part I: The One God - Malak-Tāwūs: The Leader of the Triad". The Religion of the Peacock Angel: The Yezidis and Their Spirit World. Gnostica. Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Routledge. pp. 1–28. doi:10.4324/9781315728896. ISBN 978-1-84465-761-2. OCLC 931029996.

Asatrian, Garnik S.

; Arakelova, Victoria (January 2003). Asatrian, Garnik S. (ed.). "Malak-Tāwūs: The Peacock Angel of the Yezidis". Iran and the Caucasus. 7 (1–2). Leiden: Brill Publishers in collaboration with the Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies (Yerevan): 1–36. doi:10.1163/157338403X00015. eISSN 1573-384X. ISSN 1609-8498. JSTOR 4030968. LCCN 2001227055. OCLC 233145721.

Asatrian, Garnik S.

Guest, John (1987). The Yezidis: a study in survival. London New York New York, NY, USA: KPI Distributed by Methuen Inc., Routledge & Kegan Paul.  0-7103-0115-4. OCLC 470948318.

ISBN

(2005). God and Sheikh Adi are perfect: sacred poems and religious narratives from the Yezidi tradition. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-05300-6. OCLC 63127403.

Kreyenbroek, Philip

(1995). Yezidism: its background, observances, and textual tradition. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 0-7734-9004-3. OCLC 31377794.

Kreyenbroek, Philip

(2017). The Yezidi religious textual tradition, from oral to written: categories, transmission, scripturalisation, and canonisation of the Yezidi oral religious texts. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-10856-0. OCLC 994778968.

Omarkhali, Khanna

Rodziewicz, Artur (December 2016). (ed.). "And the Pearl Became an Egg: The Yezidi Red Wednesday and Its Cosmogonic Background". Iran and the Caucasus. 20 (3–4). Leiden: Brill Publishers in collaboration with the Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies (Yerevan): 347–367. doi:10.1163/1573384X-20160306. eISSN 1573-384X. ISSN 1609-8498. JSTOR 44631092. LCCN 2001227055. OCLC 233145721.

Asatrian, Garnik S.

Rodziewicz Artur (2022). Hosseini S. Behnaz (ed.) "The Mystery of Essence and the Essence of Mystery: Yezidi and Yaresan Cosmogonies in the Light of the Kitab al-Tawasin", Yari Religion in Iran: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6444-1_6

Sfameni Gasparro, Giulia (April 1975). Feldt, Laura; Valk, Ülo (eds.). "I Miti Cosmogonici degli Yezidi". (in Italian). 22 (1). Leiden: Brill Publishers: 24–41. doi:10.1163/156852775X00112. eISSN 1568-5276. ISSN 0029-5973. JSTOR 3269532. LCCN 58046229. OCLC 50557232.

Numen

Sfameni Gasparro, Giulia (December 1974). Feldt, Laura; Valk, Ülo (eds.). . Numen (in Italian). 21 (3). Leiden: Brill Publishers: 197–227. doi:10.1163/156852774X00113. eISSN 1568-5276. ISSN 0029-5973. JSTOR 3269773. LCCN 58046229. OCLC 50557232.

"I Miti Cosmogonici degli Yezidi"

Spät, Eszter (2009). Late Antique Motifs in Yezidi Oral Tradition (Doctor of Philosophy). Budapest: Central European University, Department of Medieval Studies.

at Curlie

Yazidism