Sunday, November 15, 2009

An Interview on Yezidism



Q: What is Yezidism?

A: I need to start with a confession! I am a Kurd. Also, I am proud to be Kurdish, and especially proud of Kurdish literature. It is a rich and highly complex tradition that ranks as equal to every other textual heritage on the world stage. Some of the symbols, however, hold strange and terrible secrets. They are images of a pagan past, which disappears into the mists of Pre-Islamic antiquity.

Q: Terrible Secrets?

A: Yes, these secrets are not always understood by the western nations. For example, Fared ad-din Attar’s poem called “Mantiqu-t Tair” and known in English as “The conference of the birds” (translated by S. C. Nott, a disciple of Gurdjieff), we are shown the arrogant figure of the Peacock. He is depicted as a beautiful but brazen bird that is quick to find a multiplicity of reasons for not going on a quest to meet the heavenly Simourg. As the Peacock says to the Hoopoe:

“The painter of the world” he said “to fashion me took in his hand the brush of the jinn. But although I am Gabriel among birds my lot is not to be envied. I was friendly with the serpent in the earthly paradise, and for this was ignominiously driven out. They deprived me of a position of trust, they, who trusted me, and my feet were my prison.”

His excuses, on reflection, hide a number of folk traditions, which can be traced all the way back to the Yezidis. In his book “Meetings with remarkable men”, Gurdjieff tells his readers about a strange game played in certain areas of the Caucasus by the kids in their school yards. It entails drawing a circle around a Yezidi youth and watching his or her inability to escape from its confines. Now, as usual, the devil is in the detail. After all, the Yezidis are Kurdish as well as pagan and not the heretics or devil worshippers of that region. What is more, they have folk tales, poems and artistic representations about a Peacock angel (Tawuse Melek), which tell a very different story concerning this spirit - being.

Q: How ancient?

A: Certain scholars argue that the origins of Yazidism are ultimately shrouded in Near Eastern prehistory. Although the Yazidis speak Kurdish, their faith shows strong influences from archaic Mithraism and Mesopotamian traditions. What is more, the Yazidis own name for themselves is Ezidi or Yezidi or, in some areas, Dasini (the latter, appears to be, a tribal name). Other scholars have also derived the name Yazidi from Old Iranic yazata, and say it is a derivation from Umayyad Caliph Yazid I (Yazid bin Muawiyah), revered by the Yazidis as an incarnation of the celestial figure Sultan Ezid: an opinion rejected by the Yazidis as a community. Lastly, their cultural practices are observably Kurdish, and almost all speak Kurmanjî. Thus, historical origins are really complex.

Q: Who then, is the Peacock Angel?

A: The two sacred books of the Yezidis - Kiteba Cilwe” ("Book of Illumination”) and “Mishefa Resh” (“Black Book”), recount a creation story wherein God tests his creation. Each of the seven angels was sent to bow before Father Adam and all of them obeyed, apart from Tawuse Melek. He alone asserted the pre-eminence of the

spirit world above the material order. He alone defended the “Otherness” of the light powers. For this reason, according to the Yezidis, God rewarded him and sent him to the Earth as a prince of bright forces. As we may read:

God first created Tawuse Melek from his own illumination (Ronahi) and the other six Archangels were created later. Then God gave life to Adam from his own breath and instructed all archangels to bow to Adam. The Archangels obeyed except for Tawuse Melek. In answer to God, Tawuse Melek replied, "How can I submit to another being! I am from your illumination while Adam is made of dust." Then God praised him and made him the leader of all angels and his deputy on the Earth.

That is why the Peacock presents both Sufi and scholar with such an ambiguous plumage. Tawuse Melek is either the governor of light or a demon in disguise, depending upon the religious beliefs and ethnic identity of an author.

Q: Are ethnicity and belief interlocked?

A: Everyone is an embodiment of their culture. We are the living representatives of our traditions, music and poetry are the memory of a people. In this respect, the Yezidis are no different from anyone else. Perhaps this is the reason why so many Yezidis have died as martyrs to their faith. If this continues to happen, however, our Earth will not only loose a very peaceful and unbiased people, but an irreplaceable link to Heathenism.

Q: How can Kurdish paganism help British Heathens to evolve?

A: Kurdish spirituality is a great treasure as well as a resource in world culture. Furthermore, it offers British pagans a paradigm case for a generous hearted spirituality, which is true to the lives of the people, at the same time offering an insight into the structure of the human soul itself. After all, the symbols and images of every ethnic group tell us about its relationship to other peoples as well as the living environment. In this sense, the Kurdish community has an immense amount to teach the British about the value of grass roots paganism, while offering progressive examples of how to adapt on a daily basis in order to evolve.


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