Yezidism – its background observances and textual tradition

2019/09/56406-1567417083.jpg
Read: 1518     16:30     02 Сентябрь 2019    

Philip G. Kreyenbroek


Part 2

One of the aims of the present book is to revive this interest. First of all, it intends to draw attention to the existence of an extensive corpus of Yezidi religious texts, which have always been handed down orally and until recently did not exist in written form. Secondly, it seeks to present Yezidism as an essentially non-literate religion, many of whose characteristic elements derive from its oral character. It will further be argued that several aspects of Yezidism can be better understood in the light of modem insights in the field of ancient Iranian religion, while the striking parallels with a modern sect, the Ahl-e Haqq, are also undoubtedly significant.
The Yezidis have often been described as a secretive people who are not permitted to reveal their religion to outsiders. While many travellers denied any such reticence on the part of their informants, it is true that the Yezidis have succeeded in keeping hidden several elements of their faith, including the character of a large body of religious texts, the Qewls, for a long time. The Qewls are hymns which are chanted by trained bards (qewwal) on occasions of a religious nature. A.H. Layard (1849: I. 293, 305), whose pioneering work on the Yezidis was to prove immensely influential, stated that these texts are in Arabic and therefore unintelligible to most Yezidis. Although it is true that they contain a relatively large number of Arabic loan-words, the language of the Hymns is in fact a form of Northern Kurdish. It is possible that some Yezidis may have believed that these holy texts, with their unfamiliar vocabulary, were in a foreign language—some modem Yezidis still believe that they are in Arabic—but the majority of Layard's informants must have known better. The most probable reason for this piece of misinformation, therefore, is a desire to screen these holy texts from the inquisitive attention of aliens. If such was indeed their aim, they succeeded remarkably well; Layard's assertion was regularly repeated in later publications. Even the Kurdologist Roger Lescot, who knew of the existence of the Qewls and presumably discussed them with local informants, failed to realise their importance for the study of Yezidism. The world of scholarship, in fact, remained ignorant of the character and importance of these texts until the Yezidis themselves drew attention to them. In 1978, the brothers O. and I. Jelil included a number of Qewls in their publication Kurdskij Folklor'. More or less at the same time, two Yezidi intellectuals from Iraq, Pir Khidr Sileman and Dr Khelil Jindi, who were deeply concerned about the threats facing their community generally and their oral tradition in particular, prevailed upon the spiritual leader of the day to allow them to record and publish a number of these texts. An impressive collection of texts was published in their book Ezdiyatt In 1979; this was followed in 1985 by another work by Sileman, Gundiyati, which contains more Qewls.
The existence of a hitherto unknown body of textual sources naturally puts the study of Yezidism on a new footing. Its evidence confirms the validity of the information contained in the 'Sacred Books', whose authenticity had earlier been called in question. While this corpus of texts cannot be said to represent an 'official' form of Yezidism—which, it will be argued, does not exist—it does reflect a coherent tradition in the light of which some of the other data can be studied. The unexpected and striking similarities between the legends and imagery found in these texts and those of the Ahl-e Haqq—another cult which probably originated among Western Iranians—indicates that both cults spring from a common, well-defined, non-Islamic tradition. A comparison between these two cults and elements of ancient Iranian religion further suggests that a number at least of the Iranian traits go back to an ancient faith which was probably dominant among speakers of Western Iranian languages before Zoroastrianism became prominent in their areas. Ironically, a more detailed study of the tradition itself thus provides precisely the type of information which earlier scholars were so eager to find. The realisation that elements deriving from an ancient Iranian faith—together with traits of Islamic origin—play a significant role in Yezidism helps us gain a better understanding of the history of the religion, and of some of its practices and preoccupations. For example the belief that the 'elements', water, fire, earth and air, are closely associated with divine beings and therefore deserve respect, has clear counterparts in both Zoroastrianism and the faith of the Ahl-e Haqq.
The insight that the tradition is fundamentally non-literate throws further light on its development. It can be shown, for example, that in composing their 'sacred history' the Yezidis adapted the objective historical facts in such a way that these came to fit a preconceived pattern; this would have been almost impossible in a strongly literate culture. Such characteristic features as the indistinct identity of many Yezidi holy beings, and the frequent disagreements among Yezidis concerning details of the faith, can all be traced back to a tradition where written documents play hardly any role at all. While an understanding of Yezidism as a "scriptural faith without a scripture" diminishes that religion and its members, the view that its non-literate nature is one of its essential characteristics leads to an appreciation of Yezidism as a complex faith, perfectly adapted to its cultural environment. Further study of Yezidism along these lines may make a significant contribution to our understanding of the development of non-literate religious traditions generally.

To be continued………





Tags: #yazidisinfo   #yazidi   #yezidi   #aboutyazidi  



Yezidism – its background observances and textual tradition

2019/09/56406-1567417083.jpg
Read: 1519     16:30     02 Сентябрь 2019    

Philip G. Kreyenbroek


Part 2

One of the aims of the present book is to revive this interest. First of all, it intends to draw attention to the existence of an extensive corpus of Yezidi religious texts, which have always been handed down orally and until recently did not exist in written form. Secondly, it seeks to present Yezidism as an essentially non-literate religion, many of whose characteristic elements derive from its oral character. It will further be argued that several aspects of Yezidism can be better understood in the light of modem insights in the field of ancient Iranian religion, while the striking parallels with a modern sect, the Ahl-e Haqq, are also undoubtedly significant.
The Yezidis have often been described as a secretive people who are not permitted to reveal their religion to outsiders. While many travellers denied any such reticence on the part of their informants, it is true that the Yezidis have succeeded in keeping hidden several elements of their faith, including the character of a large body of religious texts, the Qewls, for a long time. The Qewls are hymns which are chanted by trained bards (qewwal) on occasions of a religious nature. A.H. Layard (1849: I. 293, 305), whose pioneering work on the Yezidis was to prove immensely influential, stated that these texts are in Arabic and therefore unintelligible to most Yezidis. Although it is true that they contain a relatively large number of Arabic loan-words, the language of the Hymns is in fact a form of Northern Kurdish. It is possible that some Yezidis may have believed that these holy texts, with their unfamiliar vocabulary, were in a foreign language—some modem Yezidis still believe that they are in Arabic—but the majority of Layard's informants must have known better. The most probable reason for this piece of misinformation, therefore, is a desire to screen these holy texts from the inquisitive attention of aliens. If such was indeed their aim, they succeeded remarkably well; Layard's assertion was regularly repeated in later publications. Even the Kurdologist Roger Lescot, who knew of the existence of the Qewls and presumably discussed them with local informants, failed to realise their importance for the study of Yezidism. The world of scholarship, in fact, remained ignorant of the character and importance of these texts until the Yezidis themselves drew attention to them. In 1978, the brothers O. and I. Jelil included a number of Qewls in their publication Kurdskij Folklor'. More or less at the same time, two Yezidi intellectuals from Iraq, Pir Khidr Sileman and Dr Khelil Jindi, who were deeply concerned about the threats facing their community generally and their oral tradition in particular, prevailed upon the spiritual leader of the day to allow them to record and publish a number of these texts. An impressive collection of texts was published in their book Ezdiyatt In 1979; this was followed in 1985 by another work by Sileman, Gundiyati, which contains more Qewls.
The existence of a hitherto unknown body of textual sources naturally puts the study of Yezidism on a new footing. Its evidence confirms the validity of the information contained in the 'Sacred Books', whose authenticity had earlier been called in question. While this corpus of texts cannot be said to represent an 'official' form of Yezidism—which, it will be argued, does not exist—it does reflect a coherent tradition in the light of which some of the other data can be studied. The unexpected and striking similarities between the legends and imagery found in these texts and those of the Ahl-e Haqq—another cult which probably originated among Western Iranians—indicates that both cults spring from a common, well-defined, non-Islamic tradition. A comparison between these two cults and elements of ancient Iranian religion further suggests that a number at least of the Iranian traits go back to an ancient faith which was probably dominant among speakers of Western Iranian languages before Zoroastrianism became prominent in their areas. Ironically, a more detailed study of the tradition itself thus provides precisely the type of information which earlier scholars were so eager to find. The realisation that elements deriving from an ancient Iranian faith—together with traits of Islamic origin—play a significant role in Yezidism helps us gain a better understanding of the history of the religion, and of some of its practices and preoccupations. For example the belief that the 'elements', water, fire, earth and air, are closely associated with divine beings and therefore deserve respect, has clear counterparts in both Zoroastrianism and the faith of the Ahl-e Haqq.
The insight that the tradition is fundamentally non-literate throws further light on its development. It can be shown, for example, that in composing their 'sacred history' the Yezidis adapted the objective historical facts in such a way that these came to fit a preconceived pattern; this would have been almost impossible in a strongly literate culture. Such characteristic features as the indistinct identity of many Yezidi holy beings, and the frequent disagreements among Yezidis concerning details of the faith, can all be traced back to a tradition where written documents play hardly any role at all. While an understanding of Yezidism as a "scriptural faith without a scripture" diminishes that religion and its members, the view that its non-literate nature is one of its essential characteristics leads to an appreciation of Yezidism as a complex faith, perfectly adapted to its cultural environment. Further study of Yezidism along these lines may make a significant contribution to our understanding of the development of non-literate religious traditions generally.

To be continued………





Tags: #yazidisinfo   #yazidi   #yezidi   #aboutyazidi