Preserving Yazidi Genealogies: Community Records, Digital Archives, and Legal Implications

This encyclopedia entry surveys the multifaceted efforts to preserve Yazidi genealogies, highlighting community‑based record‑keeping, digital archiving initiatives, and the legal ramifications for descendants of genocide survivors.

Preserving Yazidi genealogies (Kurmanji: têkiliyên nêzîkî yê Yazîdî) refers to the systematic collection, documentation, and safeguarding of family lineages, tribal affiliations, and oral histories of the Yazidi people, executed through both traditional methods and modern digital platforms.

Pronunciation & orthography

The term appears in Kurmanji Latin script as têkiliyên nêzîkî yê Yazîdî, in Arabic‑script as تێکلیکێن نێزیکی یا زیدی, and in Cyrillic (used by some diaspora communities) as тêкiliyên нêзîкî йê Язîдî. IPA transcription: /teːkiˈlijen neˈziki je jaˈzidi/. Common English misspellings include “Yazidi” vs “Yazidi” and “genealogy” vs “geneology”.

Main exposition

Community‑driven record‑keeping

Yazidi families have long relied on oral lineage transmission, wedding registers, and tribal rosters maintained by elders. Workshops organized by HÁWAR.help empower community members to digitise family photographs, birth registers, and land‑ownership documents, thereby creating a resilient, locally owned repository (HÁWAR.help). This participatory model ensures authenticity and counters external narratives that reduce Yazidi history to the 2014 genocide.

Digital archiving initiatives

Two major projects illustrate the digital turn. The Yazidi Community Archive, launched by HÁWAR.help, centralises pre‑ and post‑genocide material, offering an accessible online portal for scholars and the public (HÁWAR.help). Complementarily, the ElBarlament‑sponsored “Archiving the Yezidi culture – Iraq and Syria” programme (Dec 2025‑Aug 2026) digitises family trees, oral testimonies, and cultural artefacts across Sinjar, Sheikhan, and Al‑Hasakah, strengthening the broader Yazidi Community Archive (ElBarlament).

“Our aim is to record Yazidi heritage beyond the genocide narrative, preserving living traditions for future generations.” – Project coordinator, HÁWAR.help

Legal implications for descendants

Children born to Yazidi survivors of ISIS‑engineered sexual slavery often lack civil documentation, exposing them to statelessness or the risk of acquiring a nationality linked to their perpetrator fathers. McGee (2020) highlights that these legal gaps jeopardise access to education, health services, and property rights, underscoring the urgency of integrating genealogical records into national civil‑registry systems (McGee).

Integration with civil‑registry reforms

Advocates argue that verified genealogical data from community archives can streamline birth‑registration processes, reduce duplication, and provide a basis for nationality claims. Collaborative pilots in Iraqi ministries have begun testing archive‑derived data to issue identity documents for displaced families, though bureaucratic resistance remains.

In the oral tradition

Yazidi qewl (sacred hymns) and beyts (poetic couplets) embed lineage references, celebrating ancestral heroes and tribal origins. Oral historians recorded by the Yazidi Genocide Archive note verses that explicitly name families, reinforcing collective memory (Yazidi Genocide Archive).

“My forefather, Şêxê Melek, taught me the sacred fire; his name lives in every qewl we sing.” – Oral testimony, Yazidi Genocide Archive

Scholarly disagreement

Thomas McGee argues that genealogical archives must be legally recognised to prevent statelessness, urging immediate policy integration (McGee). In contrast, Sebastian Bloching cautions that over‑reliance on digital platforms may marginalise oral custodians, advocating a hybrid model that preserves both digital and performative traditions (ElBarlament).

Common misconceptions

Regional variation

In Sinjar and Sheikhan (Iraq), genealogical records are tightly linked to tribal councils (ʿashiret) and land‑ownership deeds. Syrian Yazidis, especially in Al‑Hasakah, emphasize diaspora‑linked family trees due to extensive displacement. Turkish Yazidi enclaves, now largely depopulated, retain fragmented oral lineages preserved in diaspora associations. The Caucasus diaspora maintains genealogies through community newsletters, while Western diaspora communities rely on digital platforms to share scanned documents and collaborative databases.

Timeline

Data table