Yazidi reincarnation rites, rooted in ancient Kurdish belief, show marked regional variation. While core theological concepts remain constant, the ritual forms differ between Iraq, the Caucasus, Turkey and diaspora communities.
Since 2021, a handful of podcasts—including Yazidi Voices, the Yazda Global Podcast, C4JR’s Five Years of the Yazidi Survivors Law, and Reuters’ For Yazidis, a Long Road Back—have become central platforms for testimony, legal analysis, and advocacy, shaping how Yazidis discuss identity, justice, and reconstruction.
The Sevenfold Prayer, known in Kurmanji as Sêwê Kêş, is a central liturgical recitation in Yazidi worship. Performed by hereditary qawwals, it structures communal prayer, reinforces theological doctrine, and connects the faithful to the oral canon of sacred hymns.
Yazidi oral tradition research is driven by a handful of universities whose scholars have produced the most influential fieldwork, publications, and digital archives. The University of Exeter, Freie Universität Berlin, and Central European University currently lead the discipline.
Since 2015 Yazidi internally displaced persons (IDPs) have benefited from several renewable‑energy projects, notably solar micro‑grids in camps such as Khanke. These initiatives provide lighting, phone charging, and communal services while reducing gender‑based violence and dependence on diesel generators.
The Yazidi Academy has been pivotal in creating a unified Kurmanji orthography for Yazidi communities, bridging oral tradition and modern literacy. Its work, grounded in scholarly collaboration, has shaped education, publishing, and cultural preservation across the Middle East and diaspora.
After the 2005 Iraqi Constitution formally recognised Yazidis as a distinct community, documenting their land ownership has remained fraught with obstacles. Destruction of records, lingering discriminatory policies, weak land governance and gendered barriers all impede the creation of reliable land‑tenure data for Yazidi households.
This article examines the theological content of the Kitêba Cilwe, the Yazidi Book of Revelation, focusing on Sheikh Adi’s teachings. It analyses the text’s structure, oral‑written transmission, and its role in shaping Yazidi cosmology and ritual practice.
Yazidi cosmology teaches that each soul undergoes a cycle of reincarnation, guided by seven divine angels led by Tawûsî Melek. The angels act as custodians of creation, overseeing the soul’s purification and return to the earthly realm.
This article examines the role of Sheikh Adi and other Kurdish‑regional Sufi saints in shaping Yazidi theology, ritual practice, and inter‑faith dynamics. Drawing on Persian, Arabic, and Kurdish sources, it traces historical links, oral traditions, scholarly debates, and contemporary misconceptions.