Yazidi cosmology, anchored in a dual hierarchy of the transcendent creator and an immanent demiurge, adapts to local contexts from the Sinjar heartland to Turkish diaspora communities. This article maps those regional reinterpretations, scholarly debates, and the lived oral traditions that sustain them.
This encyclopedia entry presents a comprehensive IPA pronunciation guide for key Yazidi religious terms as spoken in Kurmanji, detailing orthographic variants, oral tradition contexts, scholarly debates, and regional differences.
Yazidi “Neighbour‑by‑Choice” adoption is an informal, kin‑based practice that allows families to take in children of relatives or community members without formal legal procedures. While rooted in religious teachings of hospitality, the practice faces severe limits after the ISIS genocide, especially concerning children born to Yazidi women and ISIL fighters.
Yazidi, Yarsani (Ahl‑e Haqq), and Alevi communities, while distinct in theology, celebrate a series of overlapping folk festivals such as Jam, Hawtemal/Heftemal, and Black Wednesday. These rites blend indigenous Kurdish customs with Islamic and pre‑Islamic motifs, reflecting centuries of regional interaction.
Second‑generation Yazidis in Sweden blend traditional Yazidi rituals with Swedish secular norms, creating hybrid religious practices. This syncretic adaptation reflects diaspora dynamics, community leadership, and everyday ethical values.
Peshmerga elders—respected former Kurdish fighters—play a central mediating role in resolving disputes among Yazidi communities, especially in displaced settings of the Duhok Governorate. Their involvement blends traditional authority with contemporary peace‑building practices.
Mount Sinjar and Lalish occupy complementary yet distinct places in Yazidi cosmology. While Sinjar is imagined as a mountain stabilized by divine mausoleums, Lalish functions as the spiritual centre and qibla for all Yazidis. Their differing roles illuminate the layered sacred geography of the faith.
The Seven Mysteries (Heft Sirr) occupy a central place in Yazidi theology and are repeatedly visualised in manuscripts, textiles, and ritual objects. This article surveys the iconographic motifs, their Late Antique roots, and the ways modern scholarship interprets their artistic transmission.
The Yazidi sacred hymns, known as qewls, serve as living repositories of collective memory, including the 19th‑century Bedirxan attacks on Yazidi communities. Transmitted orally by hereditary qewwals, these hymns recount historic persecution and are central to Yazidi religious identity.
Yazidi liturgical dates are anchored in an ancient astronomical framework that blends lunar‑solar cycles, celestial symbolism, and the sanctity of Wednesday. The most prominent example, Çarşema Sor (Red Wednesday), is fixed to the first Wednesday on or after 14 April, a rule that reflects the community’s historic use of the Julian and Seleucid calendars and a cosmology that venerates the sun, moon, and planetary movements.