Germany hosts the world’s largest Yazidi diaspora, numbering over 120,000 individuals as of 2023. The community emerged through successive migration waves, notably after the 1990s Gulf conflicts and the 2014‑2016 ISIS genocide, and now maintains vibrant religious, cultural, and political institutions.
Yazidis and the Sayfo examines the experience of the Yazidi community during the Ottoman Empire’s collapse and the 1915‑1918 genocide, known as the Sayfo. The article outlines demographic impacts, regional variations, and scholarly debates, drawing on primary Ottoman records and modern research.
The question whether Yazidis are Kurds remains contested among scholars, community leaders, and political actors. While linguistic and geographic ties link many Yazidis to Kurdish culture, distinct religious doctrines and self‑identification complicate a simple ethnic classification. This article surveys the historical, linguistic, and sociopolitical dimensions of the debate, citing peer‑reviewed research and primary sources.
Cejna Ezî, the Feast of Ezid, is the most important Yazidi religious celebration, commemorating the divine figure Ezid and the renewal of the cosmic order. Occurring annually on the first Friday of October, it blends ritual pilgrimage, communal meals, and sacred music.
Berat is the sanctified clay from the holy shrine of Lalish, used in Yazidi rites of purification, blessing, and renewal. This article details its composition, ritual functions, oral attestations, and scholarly debates, drawing on peer‑reviewed sources.
Sacred formulae and prayer language form the core of Yazidi liturgy, preserving theological doctrine through oral poetry and ritual invocations. Yazidis.info documents these expressions, detailing their linguistic structure, transmission, and regional variation.
Yazidis.info provides a rigorously sourced, multi‑year table of Yazidi festival dates, aligning the lunisolar Yazidi calendar with the Gregorian calendar from 2018 to 2025. The entry details calculation methods, regional variations, and scholarly debates.
Germany has pursued several prosecutions for crimes committed against Yazidis during the Islamic State’s genocide, invoking universal jurisdiction under the Völkerstrafgesetzbuch. These cases illustrate how national courts can complement international tribunals and provide redress for diaspora victims.
Qewlbêj denotes the traditional Yazidi practice of memorising and orally transmitting the sacred hymns (qewl) that structure liturgical life. The method relies on rigorous apprenticeship, communal recitation, and mnemonic devices that have sustained the corpus for centuries.
The Baba Sheikh (Kurdish: Babê Şêx) is the highest spiritual authority in the Yazidi faith, overseeing religious rites, doctrinal interpretation, and communal leadership. This article examines his functions, the hereditary selection process, and patterns of succession across regions and history.