Society

In Turkey, Yazidi women navigate a complex social fabric, exercising informal religious authority, preserving oral traditions, and acting as community mediators despite formal exclusion from the priestly castes. Fieldwork in Batman‑Beşiri and oral histories reveal their pivotal influence on rituals, mourning practices, and cultural resilience.

Yazidi personal names display distinct gendered patterns rooted in religious symbolism, linguistic morphology, and social change. This article surveys the linguistic forms, cultural meanings, and recent shifts caused by displacement and conflict.

Yazidi women and minors eligible for reparations under Iraq’s Yazidi Survivors’ Law can apply online, in‑person, or via remote testimony. The process involves eligibility verification, document submission, and support services provided by the Directorate of Survivors’ Affairs.

The Sinjar Reconstruction Authority (SRA) is the institutional mechanism created to operationalise the 2020 Sinjar Agreement. It coordinates reconstruction, return of displaced Yazidis and other residents, and security‑stability initiatives across the disputed Sinjar district, drawing funding from Iraqi state budgets, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and international donors. Persistent political rivalry, competing local power‑brokers and security vacuums have hampered its effectiveness.

Yazidi Qewwals are hereditary reciter‑musicians who preserve the sacred hymns (qewls) through oral transmission. Their training begins in early childhood, involves intensive memorisation, musical instruction, and ritual duties, culminating in a formal apprenticeship under a master Qewwal.

The Digital Archives of Kochek Revelations is a community‑driven, web‑based repository that records, digitises, and curates the living oral canon of Yazidism. Built on the foundations of the Yazidi Community Archive and Yazda’s cultural preservation programmes, it safeguards qewls, çiroks and other sacred texts for scholars and future generations.

Inter‑caste marriage—marriage between members of different Yazidi castes—has historically been prohibited but is undergoing transformation in the wake of genocide, diaspora, and modern pressures. This article surveys recent trends, the social and religious challenges faced, and how Yazidi communities across regions are responding.

Yazidi women play a crucial role in preserving the community’s oral hymns and ritual knowledge, transmitting qewls, beyts, and ceremonial practices within families and domestic spheres. Their contributions sustain the faith’s continuity alongside the male qawwāl tradition.

Since the mid‑2010s, Yazidi refugees have turned entrepreneurial activity into a cornerstone of their integration in Germany. Case studies of restaurants, textile workshops, and digital startups illustrate how community networks, German integration policies, and cultural resilience combine to foster economic participation.

Yazidism teaches that souls are reborn through successive lives, a doctrine that permeates daily practices such as marriage, mourning, and communal solidarity. This belief shapes strict endogamous marriage rules, rituals of remembrance, and the distribution of wealth, reinforcing both continuity and resilience within Yazidi society.