This article compares the historic sanctuary of Lalish in Iraqi Kurdistan with Armenia’s Ziarat Temple, examining their origins, architecture, rituals, and roles in Yazidi identity. It highlights both sites’ significance for pilgrims and their distinct cultural contexts.
The Yazidi diaspora mobilises political, legal and cultural strategies to influence Iraq’s minority laws, championing the Yazidi National Identity Bill and broader recognition of genocide victims. Through NGOs, parliamentary blocs and transnational networks, diaspora actors seek justice and institutional reform.
The spread of Yazidi communities beyond their historic homelands has introduced a range of loanwords into du‘a, the sacred prayer language. This article examines how diaspora contact with Arabic, Turkish, Persian, and Western languages reshapes Yazidi devotional lexicon.
Iraq’s 2005 Constitution guarantees freedom of religion but does not name the Yazidis explicitly. Complementary statutes—most notably Law No. 8 of 2021 for Yazidi female survivors—seek to fill this gap, yet implementation remains uneven, as highlighted by the 2014 genocide case study.
Fieldwork on Yazidi sacred music must balance respect for the community’s spiritual heritage with rigorous academic standards. Core guidelines—derived from leading ethnomusicology societies—cover informed consent, data ownership, cultural sensitivity, and the avoidance of exploitation.
This article examines the Ottoman Empire’s legal‑religious pronouncements (fatwās) against the Yazidi community during the late 19th century, analyzing their textual content, historical context, and scholarly interpretations.
Yazidi sacred sites in Turkey are recorded through visual ethnography, satellite‑imagery analysis, and community interviews, while preservation relies on local initiatives, NGOs, and Turkish heritage authorities. The process balances scholarly documentation with the community’s own memory practices.
This article examines the visual symbols that define Yazidi sacred architecture and objects, from the mausoleums of saints to the peacock and serpent motifs that adorn temples. It explores how these icons convey theology, communal memory, and resilience amid persecution.
Yazidi sacred literature, once an exclusively oral tradition preserved by hereditary reciters, began to be committed to writing in the 1970s and has since undergone systematic canonisation and printing. This article traces the historical, linguistic, and scholarly dimensions of that transition.
Melek Tawûsî, the Peacock Angel, is the chief divine figure in Yazidism, leading the seven celestial beings that oversee the world. This article traces his mythic origins, theological role, and addresses widespread misconceptions that link him to Satanic worship.