Women’s Participation in Yazidi Rituals: Historical Roles and Modern Practices

This encyclopedia entry surveys the participation of Yazidi women in ritual life, tracing continuities from traditional village settings to the challenges of exile and diaspora.

Women’s participation in Yazidi rituals (Kurmanji: Beşdariya jinan di ceribandiyên Êzidiyan de) refers to the range of sacred duties, ceremonial functions, and communal observances performed by female members of the Yazidi community.

Pronunciation & orthography

Kurmanji spelling: Beşdariya jinan di ceribandiyên Êzidiyan de. Arabic‑script: بەشداریای جینان دی چرێباندیێن عێزیدیان دێ. Cyrillic (Kurdish‑Cyrillic used in diaspora): Бешдария җинан ди черавандиен Эзидиан де. IPA: /bɛʃdaˈɾijɑ dʒiˈnan di t͡ʃeɾiˈbɑndiːˈjeːn ˈeːzidiˈjɑn dɛ/. Common English misspellings: “Yazidi women rituals”, “Yezidi women participation”.

Main exposition

Historical foundations

Traditional Yazidi society was organized around a strict caste system in which the priestly caste (the sheikhs) and the seer‑clergy (the pirs) occupied public religious authority, while women’s ritual agency was largely exercised within the domestic sphere (e.g., household blessings, birth rites). Nevertheless, women served as custodians of oral tradition, memorising and transmitting qewl (sacred hymns) to younger generations (Hemmati 2025). Their participation in seasonal festivals, such as the New Year (Çarşema Sor), involved lighting candles and preparing communal meals, activities that were essential for the ritual’s success (Kurdish Center for Studies).

Sacred duties and public rites

Women are central to the temîz (purification) rites that precede pilgrimages to the holy shrine of Lalish. Prior to entering the sanctuary, female pilgrims perform a ritual washing of hands and feet, recite specific verses, and present offerings of wheat or oil, a practice documented among Sinjar refugees (Spät 2024). While the priestly hierarchy—embodied by the hereditary mîr of Sheikhan—governs public liturgy (Yazidi Cultural Heritage), women’s complementary role ensures the sanctity of the space through these preparatory acts.

Marriage and lifecycle ceremonies

In the marriage ceremony (qewlê zewacê), women lead the exchange of symbolic bread and the “red‑wed” (a ceremonial cloth) that binds the couple, echoing the New Year’s “Red Wednesday” motif. Birth rituals (şêwra) involve a senior female relative reciting protective qewl, while the mother‑to‑be is seated on a low platform adorned with red ribbons, signifying fertility.

Impact of displacement and diaspora

The 2014 ISIS genocide forced more than half of the Yazidi population into exile, dramatically reshaping ritual practice. Hemmati (2025) argues that women have become the primary agents of “vernacular stability,” preserving religious meaning through everyday improvisation and embodied memory in refugee camps and diaspora churches. New women‑only prayer circles have emerged in German and Swedish settlements, allowing participants to reinterpret traditional hymns while maintaining communal cohesion (Spät 2024). The intensity of ritual life, rather than declining, has increased as a form of defiance and a plea for supernatural protection (Spät 2024).

Contemporary challenges and opportunities

Modern education and activism have opened pathways for women to serve as informal religious educators, leading workshops on qewl chanting and sacred crafts. However, institutional barriers persist: the formal priesthood remains male‑only, and the appointment of a female pîr is still prohibited by orthodox interpretations (Yazidi Cultural Heritage). Ongoing debates within the community balance reverence for tradition with the need for gender‑inclusive spiritual leadership.

“In exile, the women of the Sinjar community have woven the threads of memory into new ritual fabrics, ensuring that the fire of Lalish never extinguishes, even in refugee tents.” – Eszter Spät, 2024

In the oral tradition

Qewl texts frequently reference women as bearers of divine blessings. For instance, the hymn Qewlê Xudan includes the line “Jinê şîna xwedê, li ser gundê xwe çêdike” (the woman of God, who stands upon her village). Oral testimonies recorded in post‑genocide fieldwork recount how elder women recite this verse during the New Year’s sunrise ceremony, reinforcing communal identity.

“Ez ji dayikên xwe fêr bûm ku qewlê mezinê li ser şevê çarşemê sorê qirêj bikim.” – a 73‑year‑old woman from Sinjar (Spät 2024)

Scholarly disagreement

Kreyenbroek argues that women’s ritual agency has always been peripheral, limited to private rites, and that contemporary visibility is a product of diaspora media (Kreyenbroek 2009). In contrast, Açıkyıldız reads the same field data as evidence of a longstanding, though undocumented, public role for women in seasonal festivals, suggesting that earlier ethnographies simply overlooked these practices (Açıkyıldız 2018). A third strand, represented by Hemmati, emphasizes the transformative impact of trauma, positing that displacement has catalyzed a genuine expansion of women’s ritual authority rather than merely revealing pre‑existing roles.

Common misconceptions

Regional variation

In Sinjar, women’s participation centers on household blessings and New Year celebrations, with strong ties to the sacred landscape of the nearby hills. In Sheikhan, proximity to the mîr’s residence allows women to assist in public feasts during pilgrimages. Syrian Yazidis, many of whom live in urban enclaves, have adapted rituals to apartment settings, emphasizing indoor candle‑lighting and digital sharing of qewl recordings. Turkish Yazidi villages, now largely depopulated, retain older forms of women‑led birth rites. In the diaspora (Germany, Sweden, USA), women have organized community centres that host weekly prayer circles and language classes, reinforcing both religious and ethnic identity.

Timeline

Data table

Sources: ¹ Hemmati 2025; ² Yazidi Cultural Heritage; ³ Spät 2024; ⁴ Kurdish Center for Studies; ⁵ Hemmati 2025.