The Yazidi Youth Forum in Germany mobilises a new generation to reinterpret and sustain ritual practices, balancing diaspora integration with the preservation of core religious traditions. Drawing on community studies, the forum’s activities illustrate how youth agency reshapes Yazidi rites in a European context.
The Yazidi calendar incorporates an intercalary month called Adarê Zêde to align the lunar‑based months with the solar year. Its insertion follows rules derived from the ancient Seleucid calendar, ensuring that the Yazidi New Year remains anchored to spring.
The Çavuş system represents the grassroots tier of Yazidi religious administration, while the Central Spiritual Council functions as the national authority. This article compares their structures, duties, and historical evolution within the broader context of state‑regulated religious institutions.
Female qewlbêj are the women who chant the sacred qawls in Yazidi religious ceremonies. Though traditionally a male‑dominated role, recent scholarship documents limited but significant female participation, especially in diaspora communities.
This article examines three closed religious communities—Yazidism, the Amish, and Mandaeism—through their histories, doctrines, social structures, and contemporary challenges. By juxtaposing their origins, rituals, and interactions with the wider world, the piece highlights both shared traits of insularity and distinct theological pathways.
Yazidi genealogical preservation combines community‑driven record‑keeping, digital archiving projects, and legal advocacy to safeguard lineage information threatened by genocide, displacement, and statelessness. Initiatives such as the Yazidi Community Archive and regional digitisation programmes document centuries‑old lineages while addressing citizenship challenges for survivors’ children.
The Yazidi community of Sinjar is structured around three hereditary castes—Mirids, Sheikhs, and Pirs—each with distinct roles in religious and secular governance. Central to this system is the hereditary Mîr of Sheikhan, who appoints the Baba Sheikh and oversees the seven sanjaks that organize clan life.
The peacock, known as Tawûs in Kurdish, is the central divine figure of Yazidism, embodying the Angel of Light, cosmic order, and the material world. This article surveys its theological role, artistic representations, oral traditions, scholarly debates, and regional variations across Kurdish Yazidi communities.
Yazidi shrines, from village mazars to the grand Lalish complex, encode a rich symbolic language that intertwines theology, cosmology, and community memory. This article surveys their forms, meanings, and regional variations, drawing on recent scholarship and heritage documentation.
Qewlê Çarşema Sor is a divinely‑originated hymn recited during the Yazidi New Year, embodying cosmogonic symbolism and guiding the ritual actions of egg‑breaking, colour‑mixing and sacred offerings. Its verses link the Pearl myth to the transition from darkness to light, anchoring theology and communal practice.