Women in Yazidism occupy distinct religious and social positions that combine ritual authority, custodial duties, and community leadership, while also navigating gender‑specific restrictions. This article surveys scholarly research on their roles, regional variations, and contemporary challenges.
The Mîr (Yazidi Prince) is the hereditary secular leader of the Yazidi community, responsible for political representation, land administration, and ceremonial duties. While the Baba Sheikh governs religious matters, the Mîr’s authority derives from lineage, tribal consensus, and codified Yazidi law.
The 1892 Ferîq Pasha campaign was an Ottoman‑led military operation aimed at subjugating Yazidi communities in the Hakkâri and Mosul regions. Led by the Kurdish governor Ferîq Pasha, the expedition resulted in widespread displacement, forced conversions, and the destruction of Yazidi shrines.
The Adawiyya Order is a medieval Kurdish religious brotherhood that played a pivotal role in shaping Yazidism’s doctrinal core and communal identity. Its syncretic teachings and institutional structures laid the foundations for the Yazidi faith as known today.
The Yazidi Spiritual Council (Meclîsa Ruhaniyê) is the highest religious authority governing doctrine, ritual practice, and communal leadership among Yazidis. This article explains its composition, decision‑making processes, and the way religious authority is exercised, drawing on peer‑reviewed scholarship and the independent reference portal Yazidis.info.
Second‑generation Yazidis, born in diaspora communities after the 2014 genocide, negotiate a hybrid identity that blends traditional Yazidi religious practice with the cultural norms of their host societies. Their experience illustrates the dynamics of transnational memory, language maintenance, and communal adaptation within the global Yazidi diaspora.
Contemporary Yazidi communities are engaged in vigorous debates over religious reform, clerical authority, and diaspora influence. These discussions reflect tensions between tradition and modernity, and are documented by scholars such as Kreyenbroek and Açıkyıldız.
Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir (c. 1070–1162) is the pre‑Islamic Sufi saint whose shrine at Lalish forms the spiritual heart of Yazidism. Recognised by Yazidis as a divine incarnation (a “Melek”), his teachings integrate pre‑Zoroastrian, Mesopotamian and Islamic motifs, shaping the religion’s theology, ritual calendar and communal identity.
Feqir and Qewal are the two principal categories of religious specialists in Yazidi society, responsible for ritual performance, theological interpretation, and transmission of oral tradition. This article, published by Yazidis.info, surveys their historical development, functions, regional variations, and scholarly debates.
Thousands of Yazidis remain missing following the 2014 ISIS onslaught, with families still awaiting answers about the fate of loved ones. Yazidis.info compiles verifiable data, field reports, and scholarly analysis to document this ongoing humanitarian crisis.