Yazidi Festivals Connected to the Doctrine of Reincarnation

This encyclopedia entry surveys the Yazidi festivals that are explicitly linked to the community’s concept of reincarnation, drawing on contemporary scholarship and primary religious texts.

The term refers to the annual celebrations—most notably Sersal (also called Çarşema Sor) and Charshama Sor—that ritualise the renewal of life and the return of souls to the material world.

Pronunciation & orthography

The festivals are rendered in Kurmanji as Sersal (pronounced /seɾˈsal/) and Çarşema Sor (/t͡ʃaɾˈʃe.ma ˈsoɾ/). Arabic‑script forms appear as ‎سَرساڵ‎ and ‎چارشەمە سۆر‎, while Cyrillic transcriptions used by some scholars read «Серсал» and «Чаршема Сор». Common English misspellings include “Charshama Sor” (often written without diacritics) and “Red Wednesday” (a literal translation).

Main exposition

Yazidi New Year (Sersal / Çarşema Sor)

Sersal, known locally as Çarşema Sor (“Red Wednesday”), commences on the first Wednesday on or after 14 April in the Gregorian calendar (1). The celebration begins the evening before, when families boil and colour eggs, bake the festive sawuk bread, and visit the graves of ancestors, offering fruits and prayers (1). These funerary rites are grounded in the Yazidi belief that the soul undergoes successive incarnations; the act of feeding the dead symbolises the community’s invitation for the departed spirit to re‑enter the cycle of earthly life (3). The sacred spring of Zemzem in the Lalish sanctuary is also visited, where devotees receive blessings that are thought to aid the soul’s purification before rebirth.

“The New Year rites of Yazidism are a vivid enactment of the soul’s renewal, intertwining ancestral veneration with the promise of future incarnation.”

Charshama Sor

Charshama Sor, celebrated on the first Wednesday after 13 April, is distinct from the Iranian Charshanbe Suri and does not serve as a transition between old and new years (2). Instead, it marks the awakening of nature and the cosmological renewal of the world. The festival’s symbolism includes the “birth” of a divine entity—interpreted by scholars as the re‑emergence of the soul in a new earthly form (2). Rituals involve lighting fires, dancing around sacred trees, and reciting prayers that invoke the creative force of Tawûs Melek, the Peacock Angel, who in Yazidi theology oversees the cycle of souls (3).

“Charshama Sor embodies the cosmogonic renewal of the world, echoing the doctrine that each soul is reborn in harmony with the seasonal rebirth of nature.” (2)

The doctrinal link: reincarnation in Yazidi thought

The Yazidi worldview, articulated in texts such as the Mushaf al‑Jalwa, explicitly affirms the transmigration of souls (3). This belief permeates ritual practice: both Sersal and Charshama Sor function as communal reenactments of the soul’s journey from death to rebirth. The New Year’s grave‑visiting rites physically manifest respect for ancestors whose souls are expected to return, while Charshama Sor’s fire‑rituals symbolise the purgative flame that prepares the soul for its next incarnation.

In the oral tradition

Yazidi qewl (sacred hymns) frequently reference the cyclical nature of life. For example, Qewlê Şêx Adî includes the verse:

“From the earth we rise, to the earth we shall return, and in each spring a new breath is given to the faithful.”

Ethnomusicologists note that this hymn is traditionally performed during Sersal celebrations, reinforcing the theological link between festival and reincarnation (4).

Scholarly disagreement

Kreyenbroek argues that the New Year rites are primarily agrarian and only secondarily theological, suggesting that the reincarnation motif is a later interpretive overlay (3). By contrast, Açıkyıldız contends that the explicit mention of soul renewal in Charshama Sor’s liturgy demonstrates an intrinsic doctrinal connection, predating modern scholarly analysis (2).

Common misconceptions

Regional variation

While the core elements of Sersal and Charshama Sor are shared across the Yazidi homeland, regional expressions differ:

• Sinjar: Emphasis on fire‑lighting near the sacred hill of Şêx Adî.
• Sheikhan: Larger communal meals featuring sawuk bread; more extensive grave‑visiting rituals.
• Syria & Turkey: Diasporic communities adapt the festivals to urban settings, often holding indoor ceremonies and using digital platforms to stream the Lalish rites.
• Caucasus diaspora: Incorporates local musical instruments into the qewl performances, highlighting the universal theme of renewal.

Timeline

Data table