Yazidi Dietary Laws: Permissible Foods, Fasting Practices, and Festive Meals

This encyclopedia entry provides a scholarly overview of Yazidi dietary regulations, drawing on ethnographic, demographic, and religious sources.

Yazidi dietary law (Kurmanji: qada xwarinê) defines the foods that Yazidis may consume, the periods of fasting they observe, and the special meals prepared for religious festivals.

Pronunciation & orthography

The term is spelled qada xwarinê in Latin‑script Kurmanji, قەدە خواردنێ in Arabic script, and қада хварине in Cyrillic used by some diaspora communities. IPA: /qɑˈdɑ xwɑˈriːne/. Common English misspellings include “kada khwarine” and “kada xwarin”.

Main exposition

Permissible foods

Yazidis traditionally consume meat from ruminants such as sheep, goat, and chicken, while abstaining from pork and horse meat, which are considered impure (Emmez 2020). Plant‑based staples include wheat‑based flatbread, lentils, beans, and a variety of locally grown vegetables and herbs that serve as identity markers within Yazidi households (Emmez 2020).

Fasting practices

The most prominent fast is the Fast of Ezi, observed by individuals aged fourteen and above. Participants refrain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset for three consecutive days, coupled with moral conduct such as charity and avoidance of harm (KDP 2023). In total, Yazidis observe twelve major fasts annually, interspersed with feast days that conclude each fasting period (KDP 2023).

“The fast also emphasizes righteous conduct: avoiding harm to others, increasing charitable deeds, and giving alms—clear expressions of the fast’s humanitarian and social dimensions.” (KDP 2023)

Festive meals

Feast days are marked by the preparation of celebratory dishes such as kutilk (a wheat‑based dumpling), roasted lamb, and sweet pastries flavored with local herbs like mint and dill. These meals reinforce communal solidarity and are often shared with neighbors regardless of religious affiliation (RSTP 2017).

In the oral tradition

Yazidi qewls (sacred hymns) frequently reference food as a symbol of divine generosity. One beyit declares, “The Lord gives wheat to the humble and lamb to the faithful,” underscoring the spiritual significance of permissible foods (Britannica 2026).

“The Lord gives wheat to the humble and lamb to the faithful.” (Britannica 2026)

Scholarly disagreement

Kreyenbroek argues that the prohibition of pork is primarily a cultural diffusion from neighboring Muslim communities, whereas Açıkyıldız reads the restriction as an ancient Indo‑Iranian taboo preserved in Yazidi theology.

Common misconceptions

Regional variation

In Sinjar and Sheikhan, lamb is the centerpiece of most feasts, while Yazidi communities in Turkey’s Batman province emphasize wheat‑based dishes due to agricultural patterns (Emmez 2020). Syrian Yazidis incorporate locally available spices, and diaspora communities adapt recipes to available ingredients, often substituting beef for lamb.

Timeline

Data table