How women was perceived in the Yazidi society of the 19th century. Tradition and Superstition

2020/01/50532-1578381010.jpg
Read: 1670     12:30     07 ЯНВАРЬ 2020    

Murat Gokhan Dalyan

Cabir Dogan


Some Beliefs  The Yezidis usually had a nomadic way of life. Belief in the presence of an “Al Karısı” (“Red Woman”), which is present in many cultures and thought to harm pregnant women and newborns, was also widespread among Yezidi women . Various rituals were held to protect the pregnant woman, the newborn or the mother from spirits. Wishes were made to a woman named Pira Fat (Mother Fat) or Pira Fatma (Mother Fatma), citing “Pira Fat Ya Pira Fat Arimın Bıka” (O Mother Fat/Fatma, keep me from evil). In addition, various spells were cast and sorcery performed to help women and girls have a good marriage. According to another Yezidi belief, priests walked through a crowd with lamps in their hands, and men and women waved their right hands above the lamp, thus cleaning it, and then touched their right eye brows with their right hands, finally moving it to their lips. In the meantime, women with children in their arms would bless them with oil according to the tradition. Those who were not fortunate enough to touch the lamp still extended their hands towards the flames . During the pilgrimage, married women who did not have children bought blessed stones from the Kucheks, a religious class, so that they could have children, and the girls did the same so that they could have a happy marriage in the future .

Nunhood Like in Christianity, there was a group of women called “Fakriyat” among the Yezidis, consisting of widows or virgins who never married but devoted themselves to religious service. Their most important duties included making candles for the Sheikh Adi temple, preparing candlewicks, and carrying wood to the temple. The nuns were managed by a head nun and their numbers varied over the course of different periods. In some periods, there were as many as 500 nuns . These women were differentiated from other women in society by their wearing of long white headscarves. 
Funerals Women had important duties and responsibilities to carry out at funerals. When someone died in a family, after funeral preparations were made and the walk towards the cemetery began, the wife of the deceased wore all white, then covered herself in dust or mud to show her grief, and accompanied the funeral procession with her friends . While the body of the deceased was being lowered into the grave, the women cut their long hair with a scissor or knife of their husband’s as a display of love and loyalty, and this hair would be buried together with the body. According to Sabiha Yalkut, the cut hair would be placed on the gravestone or on the grave itself . Differently from the men, during burial, only a stone would be placed under the head of the woman. In April each year, women would visit the cemeteries, offer food and beverages to the visitors, and clean around . Yezidi women did not inherit anything from their fathers. When the father died, all the property, including bride prices to come from the girls to be married, was divided between the sons .

Conclusion

In the transition from the 19th to the 20th century, Yezidi women still had a secondary status compared to men. In traditions and in practice, women were treated as sex objects and as sources of profit by the society. This attitude, although minimized, still lingers on. The most important factor behind the resilience of these practices is the preference of the Yezidi community to live an isolated life. Yet, there were important differences between Yezidis and other communities in the region, the most noticeable of which was the fact that women did not avoid contact with men in social life, and freely communicated with them. By the standards of its age, this was a very advanced practice, unanimously noted by all foreigners who came into contact with the Yezidis. References Ainsworth, W. F. (1842). Travels and Researches in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Chaldea and Armenia.





Tags: #yazidisinfo   #yezidi   #yazidi   #historyofyezidis  



How women was perceived in the Yazidi society of the 19th century. Tradition and Superstition

2020/01/50532-1578381010.jpg
Read: 1671     12:30     07 ЯНВАРЬ 2020    

Murat Gokhan Dalyan

Cabir Dogan


Some Beliefs  The Yezidis usually had a nomadic way of life. Belief in the presence of an “Al Karısı” (“Red Woman”), which is present in many cultures and thought to harm pregnant women and newborns, was also widespread among Yezidi women . Various rituals were held to protect the pregnant woman, the newborn or the mother from spirits. Wishes were made to a woman named Pira Fat (Mother Fat) or Pira Fatma (Mother Fatma), citing “Pira Fat Ya Pira Fat Arimın Bıka” (O Mother Fat/Fatma, keep me from evil). In addition, various spells were cast and sorcery performed to help women and girls have a good marriage. According to another Yezidi belief, priests walked through a crowd with lamps in their hands, and men and women waved their right hands above the lamp, thus cleaning it, and then touched their right eye brows with their right hands, finally moving it to their lips. In the meantime, women with children in their arms would bless them with oil according to the tradition. Those who were not fortunate enough to touch the lamp still extended their hands towards the flames . During the pilgrimage, married women who did not have children bought blessed stones from the Kucheks, a religious class, so that they could have children, and the girls did the same so that they could have a happy marriage in the future .

Nunhood Like in Christianity, there was a group of women called “Fakriyat” among the Yezidis, consisting of widows or virgins who never married but devoted themselves to religious service. Their most important duties included making candles for the Sheikh Adi temple, preparing candlewicks, and carrying wood to the temple. The nuns were managed by a head nun and their numbers varied over the course of different periods. In some periods, there were as many as 500 nuns . These women were differentiated from other women in society by their wearing of long white headscarves. 
Funerals Women had important duties and responsibilities to carry out at funerals. When someone died in a family, after funeral preparations were made and the walk towards the cemetery began, the wife of the deceased wore all white, then covered herself in dust or mud to show her grief, and accompanied the funeral procession with her friends . While the body of the deceased was being lowered into the grave, the women cut their long hair with a scissor or knife of their husband’s as a display of love and loyalty, and this hair would be buried together with the body. According to Sabiha Yalkut, the cut hair would be placed on the gravestone or on the grave itself . Differently from the men, during burial, only a stone would be placed under the head of the woman. In April each year, women would visit the cemeteries, offer food and beverages to the visitors, and clean around . Yezidi women did not inherit anything from their fathers. When the father died, all the property, including bride prices to come from the girls to be married, was divided between the sons .

Conclusion

In the transition from the 19th to the 20th century, Yezidi women still had a secondary status compared to men. In traditions and in practice, women were treated as sex objects and as sources of profit by the society. This attitude, although minimized, still lingers on. The most important factor behind the resilience of these practices is the preference of the Yezidi community to live an isolated life. Yet, there were important differences between Yezidis and other communities in the region, the most noticeable of which was the fact that women did not avoid contact with men in social life, and freely communicated with them. By the standards of its age, this was a very advanced practice, unanimously noted by all foreigners who came into contact with the Yezidis. References Ainsworth, W. F. (1842). Travels and Researches in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Chaldea and Armenia.





Tags: #yazidisinfo   #yezidi   #yazidi   #historyofyezidis