Wikisource has original text related to this article. The yazidis have never been regarded as ahlu lkitab, people of the book, and they have suffered much hardship from their muslim. Yazidi sex slaves raped by dozens of isis fighters reveal. Hugging a column, walking in circles and kissing a black. Preeminent among these angels is tawuse melek who is the leader of the angels and who has authority over the world. Sufi influence and imagery can be seen in the religious vocabulary, especially in the terminology of the yazidis esoteric literature, but much of the theology is nonislamic. Feb 08, 2016 although some yazidi religious practices found in the black book are similar to islam, the book also describes a detailed caste system and includes doctrines like reincarnation. Religious texts, also known as scripture, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition.
Yazidi accounts of creation differ from those of judaism, christianity and islam, and are closer to those of zoroastrianism. Yezidi religious beliefs upon closer examination appear to be a mixture of gnostic cosmology with muslim, christian and other influences. A kurdish tribal group of nomadic clans numbering 60,000 to 70,000 persons indigenous to the area of northern iraq and eastern turkey diyarbekir, they practice a heterodox religion incorporating islamic, christian, jewish, and pagan elements. Next comes a statement of food taboos of the yazidis, prohibitions connected with. Pismennye pamiatniki i problemy istorii kultury narodov vostoka. Since then it has garnered much critical attention by ethnologists and theologians, receiving condemnation in some quarters as a fake, and in others a nod of approval as being possibly the only legitimate text along with the book of the revelation that gives some insight into these remarkable people and their beliefs. It is now widely suspected that both volumes were compiled by nonyazidis in the 19th century and then were passed off as ancient manuscripts but that their contents do in fact reflect authentic yazidi. It is now generally accepted that the manuscripts of the yazidi sacred books, the mas. Yazidi, iraqs persecuted minority, religious beliefs. The book of revelation and black book remain, however, the most prominent texts associated with the socalled devil worshipers of mesopotamia.
A religious community found among the kurds of iraq, turkey, syria, germany, armenia, and georgia. Yazidism or sharfadin is a monotheistic ethnic religion followed by the mostly kurmanjispeaking yazidis and based on belief in one god who created the world and entrusted it into the care of seven holy beings, known as angels. The black book list, the list of people to be arrested by the gestapo following a planned nazi invasion of britain in the second world war the black book morrison book, a 1974 book by toni morrison. The yazidis perceptions of reconciliation and conflict yazidis are one of the oldest ethnic and religious communities indigenous to the middle east. A good image for satanism the ona described laveyan satanism as weak. Yazidis do not believe in heaven or hell, but in reincarnation, which they call the soul changing its clothes.
The yezidi faith emerged for the first time in the twelfth century in the kurdish mountains of northern iraq. The black book, the holy script of the yazidis claims that it was a giant snake that saved the arche noah from shipwrecking. Ona the black books of satan i iii 2004 1 ebook pdf. He told me their main religious text, meshaf i resh or the black book, doesnt allow them to eat lettuce or butter beans, wear dark blue, wash alone in the bath or urinate standing up this. The rise of pentacostals and evangelicals are a major threat. But yezid associated himself with the people of the book who. The majority of the brazilian population considers this devil worship. The yazidi holy books were said to be the kiteba cilwe book of revelation and the mishefa res black book.
The actual core texts of yazidi religion are hymns known as qawls. But there is little suggesting that the yazidis worship malak taus as if he were equal to the korans or the bibles devil. Who are the yazidis, the ancient, persecuted religious minority. Scholars generally agree that the manuscripts of both books published in 1911 and 19 were forgeries written by nonyazidis in response to western travellers and scholars interest in the yazidi religion. Yazidi, member of a kurdish religious minority found primarily in northern iraq. Jan 29, 2016 finally, the yazidi religion also includes various practices of jewish or islamic origin, such as holy ablutions, the prohibition of certain foods, circumcision widespread but not compulsory, fasting and the interpretation of dreams. The meshafa rash or yazidi black book is one of two books written in the style of a holy book. Jan 01, 2010 i started this book thinking that it would fill some of the holes in my understanding of the yezidi religion and culture. At the main entrance of the shrine there is a black snake out of stone, which faithful yazidis are kissing before entering. Why followers of sanatan dharma must help the yazidis. Even though they are ethnically kurdish, yazidis are a. The majority of yazidis live in the northwest of iraq, in areas surrounding shingal7 mountain and shekhan district.
Their cultural practices are observed in kurdish, which is also the language of almost all the orally transmitted religious traditions of the yazidis. Yazidi religion book the yazidis are called satanists by certain muslims and. Their cosmogonies apparently have many points in common with those of ancient. The religion, which has become notorious for its associations with devil worship, is in fact an intricate syncretic system of belief, incorporating elements from protoindoeuropean religions, early iranian faiths like zoroastrianism and manichaeism, sufism and. The yazidi holy books are claimed to be the kiteba cilwe book of revelation and the mishefa res black book. Thus, the yazidi religion is considered a mixture of islamic and preislamic beliefs. The secular leader is a hereditary emir or prince, whereas a chief sheikh heads the religious. The current religious leader of the yazidis, the baba sheikh, is khurto hajji ismail. Kurmanji is the language of almost all the orally transmitted religious traditions of the yazidis. The image of the peacock can be associated with the middle east. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition.
Two short books, kitab aljilwah book of revelation and maafrash black book, form the sacred scriptures of the yazidis. The basis of the yazidis holy scriptures are two books the book of revelation not to be confused by the christian text with the same name and the black book. Their cultural practices are observed in kurmanji, which is also used by almost all the orally transmitted religious traditions of the yazidis. Who are the yazidis and what do they believe about god, satan. The black book of the yezidis was first published in english over 120 years ago. The black book of polish jewry, a 1943 statement of the association of jewish refugees and immigrants from poland on the holocaust of polish jews. God puts the pearl on the bird and god himself broods the pearl for 40,000 years. However, the yezidis only accepted part of the sufi muslim teachings and kept their own religious practices. Researchers believe that the yazidi creed has elements from zoroastrianism, manicheism, judaism, christianity, and islam. The earliest accounts of the yazidis beliefs, ceremonies and customs was. The two alleged yazidi holy books translated below are in fact forgeries, produced at an uncertain date by outsiders, incorporating genuine yazidi material but mixed in with outside elements. Of satan black mass, the messe noire, in his 1972 book the satanic rituals. The image of the peacock can be associated with the middle eastern deity. Religion with near 800,000 members world wide other estimates set this as low as 100,000, but the higher figures are more likely.
They have many unique beliefs, such as that the first yezidi were created by they believe that there was a flood before the flood of noah. Yazidi book of revelation kiteba cilwe yazidi black book mishefa res. The reason for the yazidis reputation of being devil worshipers is connected to the other name of malak taus, shaytan, the same name as the korans for satan. Book of revelation, the black book, and an appendix. The yezidi yazidi cosmology and religion is nondual. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts are divinely or supernaturally inspired. Jul 28, 2017 the yazidi religion is a mystical, oral tradition consisting of hymns qawls, that are sung by qawwals. The yazidis syncretic religion has a rich oral tradition mixing islamic mysticism with the dualism of. The sacred books and traditions of the yezidiz, by isya joseph 1919 mehrdad izadi wikipedia yazidi encyclopedia britannica yazidi religious tolerance yazidi wikipedia yazidi joshua project yazidi videos many topics, including the legend of the peacock angel. It is now widely suspected that both volumes were compiled by nonyazidis in the 19th century and then were passed off as ancient manuscripts but that their contents do in fact reflect authentic yazidi oral tradition. Parts of the tradition have now been transcribed as two holy books called the kitab aljilwa book of revelation and the mishefa res black book. Yazidis claim to have originated in india, and the veneration of the. In fact, their belief system incorporates visible elements from the three religions of the book judaism, christianity, and islam and traces of lesserknown religions, upon a substratum that may derive from iranian religions zoroastrianism or similar.
Considered heretical devil worshippers by many muslimsincluding the. Sep 11, 2016 one variety known as quimbanda or black magic is now considered a separate religion. The yazidis have never been regarded as ahlu lkitab, people of the book, and they have suffered much hardship from their muslim neighbours. Yezidism is a fascinating part of the rich cultural mosaic of the middle east. Some say he was of the people of tlarran, and related to marwan. The cosmogonic myth is described in the mishefa resh, the black book, which contains the laws and religious precepts of the yazidis and is one of their holy books ac. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification. Scholars generally agree that the manuscripts of both books published in 1911 and 19 were forgeries written by nonyazidis in response to western travellers and scholars. When isis rounded up yazidi women and girls in iraq to use as slaves, the captives drew on their collective memory of past oppressions and a powerful will to survive. Yazeed is a direct quranic name that means he makes progress, he increases in power and wealth, he becomes happier, he increases in.
Sacred books and traditions of the yezidiz, by isya. Yezidism is passed on in an oral tradition by men of religion or. They thus acknowledge an inactive, static and transcendental god who created, or became, seven great angels, the leader of which was tawsi melek, the peacock king or peacock angel. Mashaf res the black book internet sacred text archive. The secular leader is a hereditary emir or prince, whereas a chief sheikh heads the religious hierarchy. There are 400,000 estimated followers of umbanda, most of whom practice in secret to avoid threats and vandalism. The yazidi book of revelation is one of two books on the yazidi religion written in the style of a holy book in the kurmanji dialect of kurdish, the other being the yazidi black book.
Kurdish languages wikipedia in addition, the estimate claims that other minorities form 5% of the countrys population, including the turkmenturcoman, chaldeans, yezidis, shabak, kakai, bedouin s, roma, assyrians, circassians, sabaean. The yazidis syncretic religion has a rich oral tradition mixing islamic mysticism with the dualism of zoroastrianism, the ancient persian religion, elements of early, preislamic religions. On death mountain, the yazidis faced a desperate struggle. The religion, which has become notorious for its associations with devil worship, is in fact an intricate syncretic system of belief, incorporating elements from protoindoeuropean religions. Non yazidis have associated melek taus with shaitan islamicarab name or satan, but yazidis find that offensive and do not actually mention that name. The largest group of yazidis live in iraq, near mosul, but there are small communities in syria, turkey, georgia, and armenia. Nonetheless they do reflect authentic yazidi traditions. Yazidis project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. Aug 15, 2014 theres also the fact that malek taus other name shaytan means devil in arabic, leading to additional assumptions that yazidis worship satan, according to time. Sep 02, 2019 the yazidi religion is a mystical, oral tradition consisting of hymns qawls, that are sung by qawwals. According to the content of the book, which is believed to have been written by sheikh adi, creation occurred when god creates a white pearl from his breast and a bird named anfar. Zeedees are an ethnically kurdish religious community or an ethno religious group indigenous to northern mesopotamia. Yazidi black book, one of the two holy books of the yazidi religion kurdish language black book of clanranald, on clan history, literature and poems.
Yazidism is an ancient religion that is strictly endogamous. Ob alfavite ezidskikh religioznykh knig report on the alphabet of the yezidi religious books. But yezid associated himself with the people of the. For their beliefs, they have been the target of hatred for centuries. Mashaf res the black book mashaf res the black book appendix to part i the poem in praise of sei. Kitba cilwe book of revelation and the mishefa res black book. Although they speak mostly kurdish, their exact origin. Wikisource has original text related to this articl. Who are the yazidis and what do they believe about god. Its nucleus was a muslim sufi brotherhood founded in iraq by the arab sheikh adi b. Yazidis on the mountain of sinjar, iraqisyrian border, 1920s. The snake is a holy creature in the yazidi religion. Aaron paul leads an allstar cast in the black book audio drama. Yazidis are monotheists, believing in one god, who created the world and entrusted it into the care of a heptad of seven holy beings, often known asangels or heft sirr the seven mysteries.
These include baptism, dualism, the prohibition of certain foods, circumcision, fasting, pilgrimage. Black book of carmarthen, one of the earliest surviving manuscripts written entirely in welsh. The yazidi religious centre and object of the annual pilgrimage is the tomb of sheikh. Among the earliest kurdish religious texts is the yazidi black book, the sacred book of yazidi faith. Yazidis are kurdish ethno religious community predominantly living in northern iraq with large communities in sinjar and shekhan, where a number of their holy sites are located, turkey, iran and some of them are scattered in the european w.
They differ from literary texts by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual practices, commandments or laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and for creating or fostering a religious community. The original god of the yazidis is considered to be remote and inactive in relation to his creation, except to contain and bind it together within his. Also called yezidi, daasin, or ezidi, the yazidi are a kurdishspeaking ethnoreligious community based in northern iraq who practice a syncretic religion influenced by preislamic assyrian traditions, sufi and shiite islam, nestorian christianity, and zoroastrianism. The religion of the yazidis, yazidism, is a kind of yazdanism and has many influences. Yazidism is not linked to zoroastrianism but rather to ancient mesopotamian religions. The meshafa rash or yazidi black book is one of two books written in the style of a holy book of the yazidis in their native kurmanji tongue, the other being the yazidi book of revelation. One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh temple hymn of ancient sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 bce. Who are the yazidi people, and what are their beliefs. The epic of gilgamesh from sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 bce, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures and themes. The yazidis cultural practices are observably kurdish, and almost all speak kurmanji northern kurdish, with the exception of the villages of baiqa and bahazane in northern iraq, where arabic is spoken. Next comes a statement of food taboos of the yazidis, prohibitions co. The yazidi holy books are claimed to be the kiteba cilwe book of revelation and the mishefa res.
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