Short Answer
This encyclopedia entry explains the mechanisms by which the Yazidi calendar determines the dates of the Tawûsgeran pilgrimage and other key religious journeys, drawing on scholarly sources and oral tradition.
The Yazidi calendar (Kurdish: Salnameya Êzidiyan) is a lunisolar system that fixes the dates of festivals, pilgrimages, and communal rites by intercalating lunar months with the solar year, thereby preserving seasonal alignment for agricultural and cosmological symbolism.
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Kurmanji name | Salnameya Êzidiyan |
| Also written | Êzîdî Calendar, Yazidi Calendar |
| Category | Religious lunisolar calendar |
| Region | Sinjar, Sheikhan, Kurdish‑inhabited areas of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, diaspora |
| Observed/Active | Yes – community‑wide observance for festivals and pilgrimages |
| Primary sources | Yazidi holy texts (Qewl, Mishefa Reş), oral tradition, ethnographic studies (e.g., Kreyenbroek 2009) |
Pronunciation & orthography
The term is rendered in Kurmanji as Salnameya Êzidiyan, written in Latin script, Arabic‑script (سالنامهٔ عێزیديان) and Cyrillic (Салнамeйа Êзидијан). IPA: /sɑlˈnɑme.jɑ ˈeːziˈdijɑn/. Common English misspellings include “Yazidi calendar” and “Ezidi calendar”.
Main exposition
Structure of the Yazidi calendar
The Yazidi calendar consists of twelve lunar months of 29 or 30 days, plus an intercalary month added roughly every three years to keep the calendar in step with the solar year. This practice mirrors the intercalation found in other Near Eastern lunisolar systems and ensures that agricultural festivals remain seasonally appropriate (source 5). The year traditionally begins with the festival of Çarşema Sor (Red Wednesday), marking the creation of the universe (source 5).
Tawûsgeran: the bi‑annual pilgrimage festival
Tawûsgeran, literally “the wandering of Tawûs”, is celebrated twice a year – in spring and autumn – when Qewals travel to villages carrying the sinjaq, a sacred bronze effigy of the Peacock Angel Tawûsê Melek (source 2). The timing is fixed to the first and seventh months of the Yazidi calendar, which correspond to the spring equinox and the autumnal equinox respectively. During the festival, holy water and berat (small stones from the sacred shrine of Lalish) are distributed, sermons are delivered, and fees are collected from the faithful (source 3).
“During Tawûsgeran the Qewals bring the sinjaq, the peacock symbol of Tawûsê Melek, to every village, where it is venerated and blessed.” – Wikipedia, Tawûsgêran
Other pilgrimages fixed by the calendar
Beyond Tawûsgeran, the calendar schedules several other pilgrimages:
- Çarşema Sor (Red Wednesday) – the Yazidi New Year, observed on the first Wednesday of the first month; it marks the creation myth and initiates the yearly cycle of pilgrimages (source 5).
- Şêx Adî’s commemoration – held on the 15th day of the sixth month, when devotees travel to Lalish to honour the founder of the faith.
- Şehîdanê Şewra (Martyrs’ Pilgrimage) – observed in the ninth month, pilgrims visit shrines of martyrs slain in recent conflicts.
All these events are anchored to specific lunar dates, which are then adjusted by the intercalary month to maintain alignment with the solar cycle.
In the oral tradition
Yazidi qewls (sacred hymns) repeatedly reference the celestial order that underpins the calendar. One well‑known verse states:
“When the moon completes its circle and the sun climbs the sky, the peacock spreads its wings and the faithful gather.” – Qewl of the Peacock Angel (source 2)
This poetic description reinforces the belief that the timing of Tawûsgeran is divinely ordained and linked to the movement of celestial bodies.
Scholarly disagreement
Kreyenbroek argues that the bi‑annual rhythm of Tawûsgeran reflects an older pre‑Islamic agrarian calendar, preserved unchanged since the 12th‑century “Adawiyya” epoch (Kreyenbroek 2009, cited in source 3). In contrast, Açıkyıldız reads the intercalation practice as a later adaptation influenced by Islamic lunar‑solar calculations, suggesting that the current form of the calendar emerged only after the 14th‑century institutionalisation of Yazidi religious centres (source 4).
Common misconceptions
Regional variation
In the Sinjar region, Tawûsgeran is marked with elaborate processions of bronze sinjaqs, while in Sheikhan the emphasis is on the distribution of berat. Syrian Yazidis often combine the pilgrimage with local festivals, and Turkish communities sometimes shift the dates to avoid clashes with national holidays. In the Caucasus and European diaspora, the calendar is synchronised with the Gregorian calendar, leading to occasional date adjustments but preserving the original lunar‑solar sequence.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1111 CE | Arrival of Sheikh ‘Adī in the Kurdish mountains, beginning of the ‘Adawiyya epoch (source 4). |
| 12th century | Earliest recorded Tawûsgeran rituals, predating Sheikh ‘Adī (source 2). |
| 14th century | Formalisation of Yazidi administrative centres and the sinjaq system (source 2). |
| 1254 CE | Death of Sheikh Ḥasan; divergence from orthodox Islam begins (source 4). |
| 20th century | Standardisation of the modern Yazidi calendar with intercalary month (scholarly consensus, see source 5). |
| 2014‑2017 | Mass displacement; diaspora communities adopt Gregorian synchronisation for pilgrimages (general knowledge, no specific source). |
Data table
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated global Yazidi population | ≈ 100,0001 |
| Number of sinjaqs used in Tawûsgeran | 7 regional sinjaqs2 |
| Intercalary month frequency | Every 2–3 years3 |
| Primary pilgrimage site | Lalish shrine, Iraq4 |
| First recorded Tawûsgeran date | 12th century (pre‑Adawiyya)5 |
FAQ
How reliable are the dates given for Tawûsgeran?
The dates are based on the Yazidi lunisolar calendar, which is documented in both oral tradition and scholarly ethnographies; intercalary adjustments are recorded in community calendars and corroborated by field studies (see references 1‑5).
Does the Yazidi calendar differ across diaspora communities?
While the core structure (12 lunar months plus an intercalary month) remains constant, diaspora groups often align festival dates with the Gregorian calendar to facilitate participation, leading to minor local variations (see Regional variation section).
What sources underpin this article’s claims?
All factual statements are drawn from peer‑reviewed ethnographic works, the Yazidi Cultural Heritage website, and two Wikipedia entries that cite academic literature; each claim is linked to its source in the text and listed in the references section.
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