Yazidi writing has evolved from early Arabic‑script transcriptions to modern Latin and Cyrillic orthographies, culminating in a Unicode proposal in the 2010s. This article traces the historical milestones, scholarly debates, and regional variations that shaped the scriptic landscape of the Yazidi community.
The Ottoman, Safavid, and European colonial powers pursued a series of policies aimed at converting the Yazidi minority from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. These efforts combined military conscription, legal pressure, and missionary activity, often framed as attempts to tame ‘heretical’ communities.
Yazidi festivals are celebrated differently across regions. In Sinjar, communal rituals revolve around sacred sites like Lalish, while Sheikhan emphasizes local shrines and the Jama Festival. The diaspora adapts these rites to new contexts, preserving core elements through virtual gatherings and community centers.
The Yazidi calendar is a lunisolar system that runs parallel to the Gregorian year. This article explains the principles behind its conversion, outlines the computational steps, and provides practical tools for scholars who need precise Gregorian equivalents for Yazidi dates.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become essential for documenting Yazidi sacred sites, combining satellite imagery, community testimony, and a searchable database. This article explains how GIS is applied, the methodological steps, and its impact on preservation and research.
Çarşema Êzî, also known as Çarşema Sor or Red Wednesday, marks the Yazidi New Year on the first Wednesday of April. The festival blends ancient cosmology, communal rites, and regional customs across the Yazidi homeland and diaspora.
The Yazidi tradition reveres the def (a frame drum) and the shibâb (oblique wooden flute) as sacred instruments, while the temir— a lesser‑documented metal idiophone—appears sporadically in regional practice. Their sounds accompany the qawwâl in ritual chant, embodying cosmological symbolism and oral transmission of holy hymns.
Cejna Êzî, the Yazidi New Year, is fixed to the first Wednesday after 13 April in the Gregorian calendar. Its calculation rests on a lunisolar system that aligns with both Julian and Gregorian reckoning, producing the celebrated “Red Wednesday.”
Yazidi educational institutions comprise a network of schools, universities, and community learning centers that aim to preserve the Yazidi language, culture, and professional skills. From digital initiatives like Yazidi At School to hybrid models such as Sinjar Academy, these entities serve displaced and underserved Yazidi youth across Iraq, the diaspora, and beyond.
This article outlines scholarly standards for rendering Yazidi sacred literature from Kurdish (Kurmanji) scripts into a consistent Latin alphabet. It provides practical rules, discusses regional variations, and reviews key academic debates.