Yazidi, member of a kurdish religious minority found primarily in northern iraq. This book will dig into the collective memory of minorities and explain their demands and strategies. According to written history, there has been 74 genocides due to intolerance and different political agendas. Christmas message from yezidi girl enslaved by isis. 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. They have two holy books, but they believe the only copy of one of them, the black book, was stolen years ago and taken to britain, where, they say, it is kept in a museum. It is one of three yazdani religions, alevism and ahle haqq being the others. But many scholars now believe the manuscripts published a century ago were. Their religion blends monotheism with zoroastrianism and the religions of ancient mesopotamia they mostly live in the nineveh province of northern iraq. The commission is mandated to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since march 2011 in syria as well as, where possible, identify those responsible with a view to ensuring that perpetrators are held. Executive summary this report focuses on the yazidi community, one of the largest minority groups in iraq, and their perceptions on conflicts and future reconciliation following the islamic states is invasion in 2014.
Researchers believe that the yazidi creed has elements from zoroastrianism, manicheism, judaism, christianity, and islam. Although yazidi theology is based on oral tradition, passed on through hymns, they do have two holy books. Then they murdered 312 men in one hour, according to a u. For him, all of mythology can be reduced to genesis 6. Surrounded by people of the book, yazidis have felt the pressure in the past to have a written scripture, and rumors have abounded for centuries of a yazidi holy text, referred to as cilwe, revelation, or mes. Meefa res is one of two book s written in the style of a holy boo k of the yazidi s in northern kurdish, the other being the yazidi book of revelatio n kiteba jilwe. As a result of the pressure of being forced to convert to islam, the eretreated to the hills and had only limited contact to the other groups. Yezidis people armenia travel, history, archeology.
Oct 25, 20 kiteba cilwe book of revelation mishefa res black book other. Life after isis slavery for yazidi women and children. It is now widely suspected that both volumes were compiled by nonyazidis. The book of revelation and black book remain, however, the most prominent texts associated with the socalled devil worshipers of mesopotamia.
The mashaf res, or black book, one of yazidis two main holy books, teaches that the most important of the holy angels, malak taus, refused to bow down to adam making him an infidel in the. Shah claimed that tawuse melek could be understood, from the sufi viewpoint, as an allegory of the higher powers in. The yazidi pray to the peacock angel several times a day, facing east. Yazidi carry over a persian reverence for the sun and fire, considered by zoroastrians the avatar of the supreme god ahura mazda. It is claimed that the original text of the book of revelation is kept in the yazidi village of baidn and. Rosicrucian texts one of the first secret societies, revived. Mesopotamian news mardukite babylon a brave new world. They undergo great discrimination and persecution, to the point of death, in northern iraq currently. Who are the yazidi, and why is isis targeting them. A very brief history of the yazidi and what theyre up against in iraq theres a long history behind the yazidi community, and there are more. More people are in transcaucasia, armenia, turkey, and syria.
Pdf isis genocide against the yazidis and mass violence in the. The question of whether to collect the sacred texts in a new holy book is now being discussed, philip kreyenbroek, a scholar of yezidism, told me in an email. Hunted by militants from the islamic state, thousands of people from the yazidi community have fled to the slopes of iraqs mount sinjar, where they are caught between the prospect of death by dehydration and murder at the hands of the group formerly called isis. Emad tammo had spent the past three years as a slave for. It is now widely suspected that both volumes were compiled by.
The yazidi also yezidi are a ethnoreligious group with indoiranian roots. Mashaf res the black book mashaf res the black book appendix to part i the poem in praise of sei. The assyrian origin of the izedis or yezidisthe socalled. He lifted up his voice and the sea became solid and became the earth.
Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in. I will write this up in a bit with cites in the article itself. They are a separate branch of the abrahamic religion tree. The latter forbids eating of lettuce or butter beans and wearing of dark blue. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for. 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. A decent and somewhat researched book but still has its flaws. For centuries, yezidi believers, have followed the simple command of the kitab aljilwa, also known as the book of revelation, to honor my symbol and my image. Amongst their closest neighbors, yezidis are sometimes known as devil. As far back as 1922, the university of londons bulletin of the school of oriental studies, noted the zoroastrian cues but saw the religion as a theological mashup that contaminated the doctrines which they.
Yezidis believe the black book originated when the lord descended black mountain. Download a pdf version here susan shands book is a moving account of the islamic states isis genocide against the yazidi community in the sinjar region of northern iraq in august 2014, which claimed the lives of over 2,000 yazidis, saw over 10,000 more abducted and tensofthousands more displaced arguably constituting isiss single most heinous crime against humanity. Then he brought man up from the pearl accompanied by angels. Dec 20, 2015 the fighters separated the men from the women, and put nadia and some other women on the second floor of the building. The yazidis perceptions of reconciliation and conflict 1. Richard burton made the first english translation in a book of her husbands. Apr 02, 2009 the aljilwah for satanists the aljilwah is a book of mystery and enlightenment, belonging to the kurdish tribe of people known as the yezidi.
The power of choice is a central feature in yazidism. The yezidis have two sacred books, the kitab aljilwa, the book of revelation, written by sheikh adi, and the mishefa res, the black book, which is said by scholars to have been written in the 11th12th centuries but, claim the yezidis, has existed since tawsi melek, the peacock angel, first set foot upon earth. 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. The last girl is also a primer on the ancient yazidi faith that sustains murad throughout her ordeal. Yezidis known as talkers can recite the entire lost book from memory. This july, iraqi forces found a thirteenyearold yazidi boy in the rubble of mosuls old city while the battle for the city was ongoing. The book covers the history, beliefs, practices, and material culture of the yezidis. The return to the scene of absent minorities bahais. They have kept their religion alive through oral tradition.
The yazidi book of revelation kiteba cilwe in kurdish. Yezidis yazidis history yezidis yezidis international. History, facts and traditions of iraqs persecuted minority by yasmine hafiz hunted by militants from the islamic state, thousands of people from the yazidi community have fled to the slopes of iraqs mount sinjar, where they are caught between the prospect of death by dehydration and murder at the hands of the group. Who are the yazidis and what do they believe about god. This book is for all satanists who want to learn about the. Yazidi simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. There are very little resource devoted to the kurdish yezidi peoples much less their sacred.
Book of revelation, the black book, and an appendix. In the months since its rise, the sunniidentified islamic state has gone after many religious and ethnic minorities in iraq and. He gave a great shout before the pearl, after which it split into four pieces. Who exactly are these people and what is the image that they honor. I believe that the accounts of creation differ somewhat between the black book and the book of illumination. The progressive a devastating yet ultimately inspiring memoir that doubles as an urgent call to action. However, the presence of a textual black book and book of revelation alone may be enough to alter the yazidi religion to become more consistent and coherent across. Jewish journal a harrowing and brave book, a testament to human resilience.
Rather than believing in a source of good god and one of evil satan, yazidis believe peoples choices, through the heart, spirit and mind, determine where good and evil exists on earth. The yazidis open research exeter university of exeter. With the arrival of a larger number of european and american travelers in the region in the. Who are the yazidi people, and what are their beliefs. As much as it is an account of the yazidi genocide, the book is also a loving ode to a way of life that has now been all but obliterated. Explore the latest discoveries in history and archaeology from the ancient world to the modern era.
Seeing the barrenness of the ether, he created the form of the seven heavens, the earth, sun and moon. I have had some contact with other yazidis but not on an ongoing basis. According to some estimates, 70,000 people, or about 15% of the yazidi population in iraq. Aug 11, 2014 yezidi yazidi, an unbroken unique gene of middle eastern people extending directly back to ancient presemitic sumerian mardukites, practicing a tradition of modern zoroastrian yazdanism derived from the monoltry monotheism to marduk of babylon observed as melek taus or shaitan shaytan, have been threatened with genocide in iraq by the islamic state isisis. My translation follows the scanned portuguese original made available by the brazilian national library. Adi the principal prayer of the yezidis seven classes of yezidis articles of faith notes on part i part ii. During their pilgrimage to the valley shrine at lalish, 55 km east of duhok in northern iraq, they will kiss the sacred stone black snake and enter the temple. It is now generally accepted that the manuscripts of the yazidi sacred book s. History of the yezidi the ultimate history project. In the book, the yazidis are portrayed as ancient guardians of the megalithic site, gobekli tepe, in kurdish turkey. He created mankind, animals, birds and beasts in the pockets of his cloak. The book of oahspe oahspe is a channelled 19th century book. The black books story of creation is similar in that it involves the first male and first female, named adam and eve in.
Christianity, integral philosophy, and politics yazidis and the original religion of the near east the horrific bombing in the kurdish regions around kirkuk death toll estimates currently at 400 targeted the yazidis, a smallish kurdish but nonmuslim sect. Idries shah, writing under the penname arkon daraul, in the 1961 book secret societies yesterday and today, describes discovering a yazidiinfluenced secret society in the london suburbs called the order of the peacock angel. Aug 11, 2014 the rise of islamic fundamentalism more broadly has pushed thousands of yazidis to seek asylum in europe. Other content include illustrations, photos, maps, notes, a glossary, a bibliography and appendices filled with invaluable information like yezidi saints and genealogies of influential families. This book is for all satanists who want to learn about the origin of the aljilwah, and why it is so popular in satanism. The yazidi holy books are claimed to be the kiteba cilwe book of revelation and the mishefa res. Mossul since then mosul, in arabic was one of the most important yazidi cities, set on the tigris river and at the feet of the kurdistan mountains, a compulsory passage way for caravans. Adi himself, and would accordingly date from the twelfth century a. If the book is in tigris, it is unknown if the original black book is simply a kurdish translation of the english and arabic black books, or if it is a different text entirely.
The two religious books of the yazidis have arabic text. It is claimed that the original text of the book of revelation is kept in the yazidi village of baidn and the the yazidi book of revelation kit ba cilwe in kurdish. In the 1940s harold wilkins made the second english translation of manuscript 512, though he thought it the first. Yazidis are kurdish ethnoreligious 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. It is claimed that the original text of the book of revelation is kept in the yazidi village of baidn and the original text of the yazidi. The piri reis map the best known evidence for a global ice age civilization. The sacred books comprise kitab aljilwah book of revelation, and maaf res black book so named because in it mention made of the descent of p. The yazidi book of revelation kit ba cilwe in kurdish. The origin of the yezidi sect has been the subject of much discussion, but no. The yazidi religious centre and object of the annual pilgrimage is the tomb of sheikh. Their religion was passed on orally by the priests.
A brief history of the yazidis of iraq jstor daily. 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. I have contact with one yazidi leader in ontario who is an advocate for the yazidi communities. Yazidis on the mountain of regions with significant populations iraq 650,000, germany armenia 35,272, georgia denmark 500, yazidi book of revelation yazidi black book the yazidis also yazidi, ezidi, yazdani community whose syncretic but ancient religion yazidism a kind of zoroastrianism and ancient mesop. This book had taken my breath away and i just implore people to read it. Nov 21, 2015 official site of the week magazine, offering commentary and analysis of the days breaking news and current events as well as arts, entertainment, people and gossip, and political cartoons. Jan 29, 2016 yazidi resistance to the arab conquerors who invaded mosul in the first turbulent phase of islamic expansion in the 7th century went down in history. The aljilwah for satanists the aljilwah is a book of mystery and enlightenment, belonging to the kurdish tribe of people known as the yezidi. The religion is rather difficult to study closely, and the translations of texts are not entirely complete, as the yezidi practitioners are understandably cautious about outsiders. Two short books, kitab aljilwah book of revelation and maafrash black book, form the sacred scriptures of the yazidis. The yazidi holy books are the book of revelation and the black book. The book also has many notes, a extensive bibliography for further study, and a reproduction of the original arabic manuscript witten in the 1800s. A key aspect of yazidism is its belief in one source of good and evil. A page from yazidi book of revelation manuscript wikisource has original text related to this article.
Theres a lot of mystery surrounding the yazidi, and a lot of contradictory information. Yazidis project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. A very brief history of the yazidi and what theyre up. There they baptize their children, tie colorful cloth to the tomb of the 12th century sufi mystic who reformed the yazidi religion, hug pillars, light fires and perform other rituals. Therefore, the history of the yazidi is an oral history kizilhan, 2014. The quatrains of nostradamus are some of the most famous prophetic books in history. The yazidis of syria had their origins, according to sheref khan, in the element of. Steve quayle on fallen angels, nephilim, satan, and the. The rise of islamic fundamentalism more broadly has pushed thousands of yazidis to seek asylum in europe. The yazidi black book is one of two books written in the style of a holy book of the yazidis in.
They are many voices crowded in a small theatre, asking us to let them on the stage and listen to their story and their own narration of history. The black book and the other socalled scriptures have been systematically debunked by scholars as being false. This specific work covers the black book of the yezidis meshaf resh. A horrifying retelling of farida story, a nineteen year old yazidi girl from iraq, whose family and life. Kiteba cilwe the yazidi book of revelation kiteba cilwe in kurdish. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Its leaders both reside in the iraqi town of ain sifni.