Yazidi Sacred Texts: A Guide to Qewl, Beyt, and Mishur

This encyclopedia entry offers a scholarly overview of the core Yazidi sacred texts, focusing on their classification, linguistic features, oral transmission, and academic study.

Yazidi sacred texts (Kurmanji: qewl, beyt, mishur) are the primary poetic and liturgical compositions that convey Yazidi theology, cosmology, and ritual practice.

Pronunciation & orthography

The three terms are rendered in Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) as qewl /keˈwl/, beyt /bejt/, and mishur /miˈʃur/. Arabic‑script versions appear as قوڵ, بيت, and مِشور, while Cyrillic transcriptions used by some Georgian Yazidis read кѳл, бет, andмишур. Common English misspellings include “qawl”, “bayt”, and “mishur”.

Main exposition

Qewl – Divine Hymns

Qewls are considered to be of divine origin, transmitted orally by hereditary reciters (qawwāl) and regarded as the theological backbone of Yazidism (Omarkhali 2017). They are typically end‑rhymed, long poems; the longest known qewl contains 117 stanzas (Iranica). Qewls are performed with the sacred tambourine (daf) and flute (šebāb) during festivals such as the Feast of the Assembly (Cejna Êzîd).

“The qewl is the mouth‑piece through which the Creator’s will is spoken to the faithful.” (Omarkhali 2011)

Beyt – Respectable Verses

Beyts occupy a secondary status: they are highly respected poetic compositions but are not claimed to be directly divine (Wikipedia). Their structure is shorter than qewls, often consisting of couplets that elaborate on moral or mythic themes. Beyts are recited in private devotion and during communal gatherings.

Mishur – Prayerful Invocations

Mishurs are functional prayers (duʿa) addressed to specific divine beings or saints. They are concise, repetitive, and designed for personal supplication or for marking transitional moments in ritual (Omarkhali 2011). While less poetic than qewls or beyts, mishurs retain a formalized meter that aids memorization.

In the oral tradition

The Yazidi corpus has remained overwhelmingly oral until the late 20th century. Families of qawwāl memorize hundreds of verses, passing them down through generations. Audio recordings collected by Omarkhali (2017) demonstrate the melodic variants of the same qewl across different villages.

“When a qewl is sung, the melody itself becomes a carrier of meaning, intertwining the sacred text with the listener’s spiritual experience.” (Omarkhali 2017)

Scholarly disagreement

Philip G. Kreyenbroek argues that qewls should be understood primarily as mythic narratives rather than doctrinal statements, emphasizing their role in communal identity formation. Khanna Omarkhali, by contrast, stresses the theological centrality of qewls, treating them as a “scripturalised” canon that reflects Yazidi cosmology (Omarkhali 2017). Jalal Açıkyıldız questions the categorisation of beyts, suggesting that the distinction between beyts and qewls is fluid in practice.

Common misconceptions

Regional variation

While the core repertoire of qewls is shared, regional dialects affect pronunciation and melodic patterns. In Sinjar, the “Berane Qewls” (Rams’ Qewls) dominate ritual cycles, whereas in the Sheikhan area additional local qewls are performed during weddings. Syrian Yazidis have incorporated Arabic loan‑words, and Turkish diaspora communities sometimes render the texts in Latin script for younger audiences.

Timeline

Data table

Notes:

1. Omarkhali 2017, p. 23.
2. Omarkhali 2011, p. 45.
3. Iranica entry on Qawl, 2026.