Three Figures of Yezidi Pantheon

Three Figures from the Yezidi Folk Pantheon Author(s): Victoria Arakelova Source: Iran & the Caucasus, Vol. 6, No. 1/2 (2002), pp. 57-73 Published by: BRILL Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4030714 . Accessed: 29/07/2013 05:26 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

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THREE FIGURES FROM THE YEZIDI FOLK PANTHEON VICTORIA ARAKELOVA

(YerevanStateUniversity) The Sun and the Moon (SheykhShams and Faxr ad-din) v

v

v

v

W

Sheykh Shams (Sex Sams, Sex Sims, Sesims, Sesim) and Faxr addin (Farxadin,Faxracin):deified historicalpersonalities,brothers, the sons of 'Adi II, who was the third to lead the Adawiyya' community. Except for the fact that the former, Sheykh Shams, became the head of the communityafterhis father'sdeath, we can hardly find any significantevent in their real biographies. The tradition has preserved neither scriptures nor even any oral testamentsattributedto them. Still, both informallycanonised, they passed the limits of mere saints, and penetrated into the Yezidi folk pantheon, having become associated with the lords of the sun and the moon. Generally, the deificationprocess, if it does not have a traceable genesis, as it does in the case of SheykhAdi,2for example, belongs to the most enigmatic,althoughwidely represented,phenomena in many syncretic religious systems, and in Yezidism in particular. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the real contributionof the deified personage to the history of the religious movement, nor with his deeds, nor even with thaumaturgy. The "required" mythological details hide a hero's realistic characteristics and together with them the probablederivationof the processitself.All the more so in the doctrines deprived of a centralised religious institution, in which orthodoxy is completely left for the spiritual masters' interpretation,and the orthopraxy'sfate entirelydepends on the tradition preservedby spiritualcastes. In such cases it is I The Yezidis' legendary history traces its origin back to the twelfth century AD, to Sheykh Adi bin Miusafirand his community.Actually, Sheykh 'Adi was the founder of the 'Adatwz>'aSufi order, a part of which, most probably, became the backbone of the first Yezidi community. The leader himselfwas deified in the Yezidi tradition.Sheykh Adi bin Musafir who had no childrenof his own, passed the leadershipto his nephew Faxr Abu'l Barakat.And after the latter's death, the communitywas led by his son, 'Adi bin Abi'lBarakator 'Adi II (J.S. Guest, The Yezidis.A Studyin Survival,New York, 1987: 20-21). 2 The deification of Shevkh 'Adi is an absolutelydeterminateprocess. The Sufi orders are characterisedbv the venerationof their foundersand successor-leaders,who, according to the Sufi tradition,have special mysticalpower (baraka)(see TpiiMmHHreM,CyebuutcKue opoenbi 6 uc.izamweMocKna,1989: 25, 33-34). Worshippingmasters'gravesis also a part of the above-mentioned general process, and the case of Shevkh 'Adi is more than illustrativehere:his sanctuaryin Lalesh,North Iraq, became the centre of Yezidism.

? Brill, Leiden, 2002

Iran and the Caucasus,6. 1-2


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sometmes useless to searchfor the roots of phenomena, which are lost, as a rule, in the divagationsof the early stages of a teaching's formation. The case with Sheykh Shams, however, does not seem to be so problematic: the secondary reference of his name with the sunSams ad-din (Sex Sams-the personification of the sun (SamsArabic "the sun")-determinedhis identificationwith the god of the Diurnal Star. Sheikh Shams is the third manifestation of Malak-Tawuas,3 correspondingto the Angel Israfil(Raphael).Although mainly the sun's personification, Sheykh Shams is sometimes endowed with the characteristicsof the Godhead: one of his epithets is bYnJya cav--"the eyes' light", which is a metaphor for God among the Yezidis. And sometimeshe is identifiedwith Isa (while 'IsaJesus, is only nominally representedin the Yezidi liturgy).4 Sheykh Shams is consideredthe wazir of Sheykh 'Adi, that is, his deputy, and the head of the Yezidi spiritualcouncil (dvazn). Kreyenbroek's suggestion5that Sheykh Shams should be also regardedas the Lord of the Moon (althoughtraditionallythis is his brother Farxadin'sdomain)seems to be unwarranted,as it is based on an erroneous interpretationof the hymn to which the author refers. The line Sesimse min xud&ne-mang&,translated as "My Sheikh Shams is the Lord of the Moon",6 should be in fact interpreted as "My Sheikh Shams is the Lord of the Disc (Disc of the Sun)".The word mangin similarcontexts,which mainly occur in religious hymns, has two meanings-"moon"and "disc, circle" (either that of the sun or of the moon; "moon"itself is hivor hayv in Kurmanji).See the followingpassagefrom the hymn to Sheykh Shams (BaytuSex Sims): Wekim, ro hilteya, Mang, zarap 'eya,

Malak-Tawas (the Peacock Angel) is the quintessenceof the Yezidi religion, its raison d'etre. The Peacock Angel, being the incarnationof God Himself, simultaneouslypossesses the characteristicsof the Fallen Angel. (See a comprehensivearticle about this personage in the next issue of Iran & the Caucasus.)Malak-Tawashas seven avatars:Azrail, Dardail, Israfil, Michail, Jabrail, Shamnail and Turail (C. J. Edmonds, A Plgrimage to Lalish, London, 1967: 4). 4The author's filed materials; written down from Sheykh Hasane Mamud (Hasan Tamoyan), 44 years old, originatingfrom the Armavirregion of Arrmenia. 5 Ph. Kreyenbroek, Yezidism-Its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition, Lewiston, 1995: 98. 6 Ibid: 279.


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Sex Sims divanbagfexwadeya7 I testify,the Sun has risen, The golden disc [of course,that of the sun, not of the moon] has ascended, Sheykh Shams-the Head of God's Council. Or: RP hatiya a'rsana, HilJ4iyamang girana, Ntr, nadara Sex Sims daya ma 'siyi bin ba 'rana8 The Sun has ascendedto the sky, The heavy disc has risen, The light [and] the look of SheykhShamspenetrated[even] to the fish underthe sea. Sheykh Shams is the essence of the Yezidi religion, as in Sex Sims masabe- mina-"Sheykh Shams is the essence [iterally "confession,doctrine"]of my religion",the light of the faith- cira dun, qible-qibla, the power of the faith-qawatJ dTn,the master of spiritual knowledge-xudane ma'nfate a ark'an a na-sina, the owner of the seal-morJ Sex Sims, the torch of the Yezidi community-cira bar sunate and, the most important, God's eyecave xwade. The traditionattributedSheykhShamswith the power over hell and the Siratbridge: Prekim, F0 hiaffta,, MizgTnawalata, Daste Sex Sims dayap 'iradoia-salJta. PVekim, hiltero-z-a, Sexe nuff biskia, Daste Sex Sims daya p'ira Salht a dia9 (Celil, Celil 1978', p.33).

I

Celil, Celil', ZargotinaKurda,vol. 2, Moscow, 1978: 33. Ibid: 34. 9 Ibid: 33. 8


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I testify,the Sun has risen, The good news to the world, The bridge of hell-Sirat-is given into the hands of Sheykh Shams. I testify,the Sun is ascending, Sheykh Shams is in the button,'0 The Sirat bridge and hell are given into the hands of Sheykh Shams. According to the tradition, Sheykh Shams has twelve children (in accordance with the tvelve months). Nine of them are sons: Xidir (Xidir-nabi), Sex 'Ali Sams, Amacn ('Imad ad-din), Babadin, H'asan, Avdal (A'vdal), Bavik (Babik), Toqin and Havind."I Another version of this listI2 is as follows: Amadin, Xidir, Babik, 'AlT, Avdal, Babacin, Hawind, H'asan'3 and Toqil (or Toqal).'4 With the exception of Sheykh Ali Shams and Xidir, all of them are representedin the traditionnominally, exclusively as Sheykh Shams' sons (although there are separate allusions to some of them'5). As for the daughtersof Sheykh Shams, we know nothing about them but their names: Sti Sti (Sti Str),Sti Gulan (St! Gulan) and Sti Nysrat (St! Nisrat) (str is a honourable title, going back to the Arabic saidat"'my lady").See the following: Tu bave Stiyeyr,... Tu bave Sff Nisrate,... Tu bave StyGulane.'6 You (SheykhShams)are the fatherof Sti Sti, 0 An allusion to a legend recountingthe contentionof Sheykh Shams w%ith Farxadin,as a result of which Sheykh Shams changed into a button and hid himselfin Faxradin'sbeardthe author'sfield materials,writtendown from the same informant,see note 4. " My informant'sversion-see notes 4, 10. 2 Edmonds, op. cit.: 32. 13 It is possible that H'asan could have his prototypein Sheykh Hasan (&exH'asan), a historical personality, and, in fact, the father of Sheykh Shams, who was put to death in 1254 by the governor of Mosul. '4 The image of Toqil (the corrupted form of the Arabic name Tawakkul) could be developed from another popular figure: Tawakkulbin Bazzaz (Tawakkulbin Bazzaz), a well-known Sufi dervish and the spiritual master of Sheykh Safi ad-din Ardabili-the founder of the Safaviddynastyin Iran. '5 Kreyenbroek,op. cit.: 107-108. 16 Celil, Celil', op. cit.: 36.


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You are the fatherof Sti Nysrat, You are the fatherof Sti Gulan. In the Praying Code "Dirozga" all the children of Sheykh Shams are mentioned: Yarabrxatir., Sex Xidire Samsa,

&x A'vdaJeSamsa, Sex Arnde Samsa, Sex BAbfdfneSamsa, Sex BabikeSamsA, Sex ex Hoine ThqikeSamsa, SexHavinderSarnsa, SexxHasaneSamsa, SexA 'le Samsae.

Oh God, Glory to SheykhXidir Shams (Xidir-nabi,the son of Shams), SheykhAvdal Shams, SheykhAmadin Shams, SheykhBabadinShams, SheykhBabykShams, SheykhToqil Shams, SheykhHavind Shams, SheykhHasan Shams, SheykhAli Shams.

Yairabr,xatiraIstiek;, Xatir: IstaGulafnki... (Xatirs IstTNisratkF)l7

0 God, glory to Sti Sti, Glory to Sti Gulan, Glory to Sti Nysrat.

Sheykh Shams is probablythe most frequentlymentionedname in prayersand incantations.The hymns dedicatedto him are read at the funerals of especially honoured members of the Yezidi community. The sun's polyvalence allows Sheykh Shams to interferein the other deities' domains, and sometimes even to acquire the Demiurge'sfeatures.See, for example, the following: YaSesims, tuyifah 'mani, X,Wiqemineyj ,n Lih 'amadarda tuyi darmrn., Li h amuamuxlqa tuyTfah'man. YaSims, tu mafan, XA/iqemine har a hariP Rizga diday a nizg3dibari...

II Celil, Celil2,Zargotina Kurda, Yerevan, 1978: 369, 397.


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Zi daraje -'atJdaraf, Sesims xudc:nefaraje Dast a d&manedSesims de t'iwafkayn a h 'aje. Sans Ka 'bat-iJLht

O Sheykh Shams, you are compassionate, You are my dear creator, For all ills you are the remedy, To all creaturesyou are merciful.

O Sheykh Shams,you are a refuge, You are my creatorfor ever and ever; (You)give sustenanceand you take it away. From stage to stage Sheykh Shams is the Lord of dawn. We shall kissthe hand of Sheykh Shams and the hem of his clothes, The place of God's Ka'aba and [the object] of pilgrimage.'8 To be more precise, the last two lines should be translatedas follows: We shall make tavaf [sacredprocession]aroundthe hand Of Sheykh Shams and the hem [of his toga]Instead of tavaf around the Ka'aba and the pilgrimage to Mecca. See also further: i sarhh'at p 'eya, sared?eya, Ya Se?ims, ta am naqs'a-ndin danayyina Am, Sesims, nabitm zihlATya. From head to feet, O Sheykh Shams, you designedus and set us upon our paths, We shall not give up our hopes of SheykhShams.19

18

Kreyenbroek,op. cit.: 396, 397.

'9 hid.: 258-260.



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The Yezidi folk beliefs maintain that Sheykh Shams is also venerated by Jews and Christians-a phenomenon difficult to explain. The Yezidi deities are extremely esoteric, and their attributionto other religioustraditions(even those who have vivid analogues) is strictly prohibited by the tradition. Sheykh Shams has become an exception, probably due to the omnitude and universalityof the sun. See, for example, the folloxving: jiha ku &djihana, Salafxorind Botane buna., Awzik (iiku) lipe Sesim dieana. Falah ku falina, Ye bik'asiis a.banana, Aw iuklipe Se&imdihaFina. TheJew, who areJews, Were usurersin Bohtan, They too have gone in searchof Sheykh Shams. The Christians,wvhoare Christians, Who have priestsand monks, They too are going in searchof Sheykh Shams.20 Special attention is to be attractedby the fact that Islam is not mentioned among the alien confessions,which, at firstsight, looks strange, taking into consideration the present-day emphasis on the Yezidis' past separation from the latter. The most probable explanation here could be only that the qawl's text was created at an early stage of the formation of the Yezidi community, when the memory of its Adawiyya genesis was still alive and the complete rupture with Islam had not yet taken place: that is, when the community still identified itself as a derivative of mystical Islam. In some contexts Sheykh Shams has the title Tatar-Sex Simse T'atar, as in the following: Ci arkf'nakanadar! NI v merned ba badal 2" Ibid 21

Ibid


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Xarqa hatxalate Samse T'atar. What a visible cornerstone, Took his turn among the good men: The khirqe ("robe")came to Shems the Tartar.2' The same author's argument for this interpretation is that Shams-e Tabrizi, the dervish who inspired Jajal al-Din Rumi, being an inhabitantof Tabriz, and thus a Turkic-speaker,can be Such an overlap, or juxtapositionof two referredto as "Tartar".22 characters, that is, Sheykh Shams and Shamsi-e Tabrizi, in fact, does occur in the tradition.Still, the weaknessof this explanation seems to be obvious. For the Yezidis, the Turkic-speakingworld has never been the back of beyond, a remote reality-the greater part of their history, finally, took place within the Ottoman Empire. Thus, the Turkic milieu has always existed in the Yezidi occumene, and had an unambiguous definition-t'irk "Turk", walate t'irke(or Rome "Turkey,the countryof Turks". The Yezidis (as well as other Near Eastern peoples) could hardly at that time have consideredTabriz to be a Turkic town, as it had always had for them a definiteIranianattribution.Thus, the problem should be introduced as follows: by the time of the creation of this piece of folklore (and this was most probably the early stage of Yezidism, as noted above), had Tabriz been Turkicised at all? And if so, was it Turkicisedenough to gain the characterof a Turkic townpar exceflence?The travellersfrom the tenth to the fourteenthcentury (Naser Khosrow, Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta) chronicled mainly the Iranian ethnic element in the northern Iranian provinces;the wide-rangingtransitionfrom the Iranian dialects of the area to the Turkic dialects took place only after the fifteenthcentury.23 Besides, Shams-e Tabrizi, a renowned Persian poet, could hardly be associated with the Turks, far much less with Tartars: Turks were never called "Tartars"in the Near East. The term "Tartar"has been applied to "Turks"in the Europeantradition, and in particular by Russians (cf. "the Caucasian Tartars" as applied to the Turkic-speakingpopulation of Arran and Shirvan provinces-the present-dayRepublic of Azerbaijan). 22Ibid: 197 23

Ibid.: 199.



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The title t'atar is, apparently,a corruptedform of the Persian takfur (which is attested in the same form in Kurdish dialects) meaning "king",probably "lord, god". The exceptional phonetic development is explained by the secondaryreference of the word t'atar-"Tartar". The Persian takfur,in its turn, is borrowedfrom the Armenian dialectal tik'fur (Classical Armenian t'agawo)"king",which has penetratedinto many languages of the regionapart from Persian and Kurdish, also to Arabic, some Turkic dialects, and so on. An interestingdetail-the sacrificeof a bull-has promptedsome authors to draw certain parallelsbetween Sheykh Shams and the Old Iranian Mithras, in later traditionmainly identifiedwith the sun. In the Yezidi tradition the bull-sacrificetakes place on the fifth day ofJazne jama!'yya(Arabic 'ayda]Jarnj 'yya)-the feast of popular gathering which is annually celebrated during a week startingfrom September23, at ShaykhShams' shrinein Lalesh.24 True, tauroctony is one of Mithras' main characteristics:he is over and again depicted as bull-slaying Mithras.25But we can hardly trace the Yezidi rite of the bull-sacrifice back to the Mithraic mysteries, or to the Old Iranian religious Weltanschauungin general. The analogy in such a multi-cultural ethnic-religious area as Northern Mesopotamia could be attributed to any indirect influence: the idea of the bull-sacrifice could have various roots, including, of course, the Old Iranian ones. A bull as a cultic animal could have become the object of various rites in many traditions; this requires a very fastidious approach while interpretingthe given cases. Moreover, the myth about the sacrifice of a bull, carried over from one tradition to another, can acquirea principallynew content. It is not the "iconography"of the bull-slaying idea that must come first here, but the idea of sacrifice itself. Because if the "icon", the scene, the rite itself, can pass unchanged from one tradition to another, it is still usually filled with another content, which is closer and clearer to the mentalityof a new culture. It is just the idea, which is being transformed,when it transcendsthe scope of the authentic culture. A shining example of such a transformation can be provided precisely by Mithras, who migrated from the Old Iranian pantheon to the Roman one, and 24 r.C. AcaTpflii,3dIlIOOW no ItplaCKeOU anluLolOflLU , EpeBl, 1998:25-32. 25Kreyenbroek,op. cit.:59-61.


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thus, the authentic Iranian idea of bull-slaying in the act of cosmogony was transformedin order to become meaningful for the Roman devotee. In this regard J. Hinnells states "...the Roman Mithraic reliefs depict the divine sacrificewhich gives life to a man, a concept which ultimatelyderivedfrom Iran but which was expressedin terms meaningfulto people living in the GraecoRoman world."26 Thus, even if the parallel between the sacrificeof a bull to the Yezidi sun-deity and Mithras'tauroctonyseems to be obvious, still the interpretationsof the ideas of these rites in both traditionsmay have practicallyno points of contact. Due to the special attitude of the Yezidis to the sun, Sheykh Shams is one of the most venerated religious characters in the tradition: S&x Sams 6ir.ya -"Sheykh Shams is our light", they say.27At dawn a righteousYezidi should kiss the place where the first rays of the sun fall, and neither a Muslim nor a Christiannor a Jew should see him at that moment.28 Still, this is not an adequate reason to considerYezidis to be sun-worshippers,as they are often characterised in literature. In the phrase of Sheykh Hasane Mamud (field materials)-SheykhShams is xj6e maya, "our cross", only one of the Yezidis' symbols. The sunworshipping among the Yezidis does not have any special resonance or relevance beyond the scope of the universal of thesolar CUlt.29 comprehension The situaton with Farxadin, that is, Faxr ad-din (Faxradln, Farxadmn)-thepersonification of the moon-is more enigmatic. There is no way to relate his name to the moon; and the informationabout his historicalprototypegives no groundsfor the similar development of the mythological personage. Farxadin acquired his lunar character,most likely, as a result of his sibling relationshipwith Sheykh Shams, who was transmogrifiedinto the 26 See (1). iIOMOH, Muernepuu .llunpbi, C-fleTep6ypr, 2000), and J. R. Hinnells, "Reflections on the Bull-Slaying Scene", in AMithraic Studies, vol. 2, ed. J. R. Hinnells, Manchester, 1975: 290-312; on the hangover of this cult among the Armenians, see J. Russell, ZoroastranisminArmenia, Harvard,1978: 264 et. sq 27 Hinnells, op. cit., 309; see also IV. M. Brashear,"Ein mithraischer Katechismusaus Agypten in Berlin",Antike Welt:ZeitschnftFurArchaologie und Kulturgeschichte1, 1993: 2-19. 28 Celawa Sex Dewres, Du'a d druzgeezd&ya, Rewan, 1993: 11. 29 G. R. Driver, "The Religion of the Kurds",Bulletin of the School of OrientalStudies II/2, 1922: 197-213, especially209.


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solar deity due to his name. Such a cliche is quite typical for the Near Easternreligious mentality, according to which the sun and the moon are male deities, neighbouringeach other in the sky.30 Thus it is no wonder that the full blood-brotherof Sheykh Shams, the personificationof the sun, could come to be approachedas his celestial brotheras well. This does not come into conflictwith the fact that the Yezidi folk traditionconsidersthe sun and the moon to be brotherand sister. In any case, the elusive concept of this personage is also evidential of the secondary character of Farxadin as that of the lunar deity. It is enough to mention that a prolix hymn dedicated to Farxadin-QawleMalak Farxad7n31-doesnot even allude to his connectionwith the moon. Malak Faxradn (Farxadin)or A'ziz Malak Faxradin, that is, (Saint) Angel Farxadin, according to the "Black Scripture",32is identified with Turail (or Nurail), the seventh avatar33of MalakTawuus.Thus, actually, the only referenceto his lunar characteris the fact that in folk tradition the moon is called Manga Malak Farxadin-"The disc of the Angel Farxadin".34Another, rather indirect,referenceto the celestialnatureof Farxadincan be found, probably,in the followingpassageof the qawL Ci bhziyakzbi-narrna, Frir,cu a 'zmfna, Miinnadizaniku suf a Faxraduna. What a luminousfalcon it is! It flew away, it went to Heaven, I was unawarethat it was a mysteryof Fekhrel-Din.35 The lunar nature of Faxradinis also revealedfrom the ability to heal from the "lunardisease"-kiemahayvror hive laxistr(literally "the moonstruck"),ascribedto him. Still, my field materialsabout 30 On the solar cult among the Armenians,see U. LbubgjwG,.Quwtqhqntp/,hwjkpt. topbtwG1969: 135 et. sq. 31 See J. Black and A. Green, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient A'Iesopotamia, London, 1992: 135. 32Celil, Cell2, op. cit., 329-337 33 The "BlackBook"-M'Iash'al? Raa-is one of the two so-calledYezidi Holy Scriptures. See M. Bittner,Die heilige Bucber derJeziden oder Teuifelsanbeter (kurdoschund arabisch), Vienna, 1913 34 See note 3. 35 U. fIwdnjwG, Ulap hq,7jzhdip, bptitwa 2001: 148.


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the healing procedure, collected among the Yezidis of Armenia and characterisedby numerousarchaicelements preservedboth in everyday life and rituals, contains neither any appeal to Farxadin nor any sacrifice to him. He is not even mentioned in the rite, while the role of the moon itself is obvious. One of the elements of the rite presupposes that a crescent-shapedpendant cut from a coin should be worn around the patient's neck for three years, "untilthe moon is completelychanged".36 Mothers used to carry their sick children outside to the new T nu, tu dayka zareyi az daman, iwTzare moon, repeating Y hivj xila7zkazi v giu-"Oh New Moon, you are the [real] mother of the child, and I am [his] stepmother; rid this child from the malady [literally'fire']".37 Malak Farxadin is also believed to be a creator of the Yezidi religious lore-Qawl-a-bay-8 That is why the qawwals -the FaxradTn,qawWeJSexadT-"the reciters-are consideredJese AMalak armies of Malak Farxadin, the qawwals of Sheykh Adi".39They should ask for Farxadin'spermissionbefore reciting hymns: Haka zi bJ Malak FaxradTnbetin dastare (or rjffzat?)-"Ifauthorisation comes from dear Malak Farxadin".40 The deliquescence and ambivalenceof the moon's nature (and correspondinglythat of Malak Faxradin)is determined,above all, by the fact that in the folk tradition,the moon is apprehendedas something mystical and even inauspicious. The Yezidis believe that the moon (Farxadin) is able to bring misfortunes and calamities to people and livestock, as well as natural disastersfloods, earthquakes,and so on. Despite the fact that in many cultures the moon has always been a worshipped figure, folk traditions never approach it so unambiguously: its declining from the full disc and complete waning through the crescent and its waxing again to the appearance of the disc have always been fearsome for the human mind, which has preserveda number of negative characteristicsof this celestial body as of something mutable, inconstant,connected with the powers of darkness,bringingdisease and destruction.It is Kreyenbroek,op. cit.:266-267. See in detail V. A. Arakelova, "Healing Practices among the Yezidi Sheikhs of Armenia",in Asian FolkloreStudies,vol. LX/2, Nagoya, 2001: 326-327. 38 Author's field materials, wvrittendown from Gulperi Tamoyan, 40 y ears old, originatingfrom the Arrnavirregion, Armenia. 39 U. f&ulunjwG,op. cit., 148. 4uKreyenbroek,op. cit., 218. 36 37



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no wonder that the moon has alwaysbeen the object of magic, the patron of witches and magicians.41 The most infernal is considered,of course, the phase of the full moon, when, according to various folk beliefs-Armenian, Iranian and Slavic (as well as various Western European)-the gates of hell are open and the earth is overrunwith devilry.Clappingthe eyes on the full moon, a Yezidi passes his hand acrosshis face and turns to Farxadin: Ya mangafFarxadn, tu ma beufah'me -"Oh Farxadin'sdisc, have mercy for us". A Yezidi should meet a new moon by touching his face with his hands while watching the young crescent. In former times the procedure included also singing and dancing, which was called moon-dance".People also let the livestockoutside Astik hTv&-'"the and askedFarxadinfor fertility. Among the Yezidi sheikhsof Armeniathere is a rathermargipnal belief, that the moon is also the domain of Sheykh Sin (MalakSex Sin), that is, Sheykh Hasan-one of the Adawiyya's esteemed leaders. This fact conveys the suggestion of the secondary reference (as in the case of Sheykh Shams) to the AssyrianBabylonianLord of the Sun, Sin. However, Sin as the Lord of the Moon exists in the Mandean tradition, and the described developmentcould exclusivelybe the resultof Mandean influence. Other variantscan hardlybe proposed,no matter how strangethis may seem at first sight (as both Yezidis and Mandean have been closed esotericsocieties,which considerablyreduces the possibility of mutual influences).In the Mandean traditionthe moon is one of the seven planets-the creaturesof God, each having a spirit in it: Shamish, Sin or Sera, Nirigh, Bel, Enwo, Liwet and Kiwan.42The Mandean Sin is also an ambivalentpersonage. His power is in darkness, so by night he can make himself black or white. His sinisterinfluence manifestsitself in men's behaviour, as he inclines people to commit crimes,43his face "is like a cat, animal-likeand black", and the King of Darkness, pulling men to evil, accompanies Sin in the "moon-ship".44The Mandean legend refersto sleepingunderthe sinisterlight of Sin's eye.43

41 Ibid.:

170.

42

R. Dropler,As de Steme Gotterwaren,Leipzig, 1976: 53-54. 43 E. S. Drower, MandeansofIraq and Iran, Leiden, 1962: 252 4 Ibid.:392. 45Ibid: 78-79.


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Sex-kifa&-theSpirit of the Garment Sex-kiras is an almost forgotten personage nowv. He is mentioned only by J. Furlani.46His name-Sex-kiras-can be literally translated as the Sheykh of the garment (rather, "the Sheykh of the robe") (KurdishkiFs < Old Iranian *kjrpa.-pj9ra "protectinga body").Probably,he was responsiblefor the process of death, transmigrationof a soul, maybe even reincarnation-the exchange of bodies like that of clothes. In modern Yezidism the concept of reincarnation exists only implicitly (and this idea coexists with the traditionalconcept of paradiseand hell, left to the Yezidi doctrine by the Islamic derivation). Still, tanfsux (reincarnation)is one of the basic ideas of some esoteric teachings in Islam, including heterodox Shi'a sects, which have much in common with Yezidism,which in turn could then have acquiredit together with its mystical roots. The absence of any centralised religious institution,meaning the absence of any official doctrine, very often allows two opposite notions to coexist in the Yezidis' world outlook, although sometimeswith inadequaterepresentation in the tradition. Sex-kiras could be also an epithet to the name of Nasr ad-din, a psychopomp and the angel of death, one of the manifestationsof Malak-Tawuis.Then later Sex-kiras could have been transformed from an epithet to a separatepersonagewith certain functions. The garment and clothes in general often symbolise the body and physical existence; "to take a garment off' is a metaphor for death, and to change it is a metaphor for reincarnation. The phrasekirasguhefrn-literally,"tochange clothes"-isthe denotation of death among the Yezidis. The Ahl-i Haqq followers, speaking about incarnation, use the Turkish word dun or Persian jAtme (dressing);the Persian be lebh7samadan, literally, "to put on clothes"means "to be made flesh".47 It is worthy of note that in one of the Parthian NManichean mourning hymns, the dramatic description of Mani's death is representedwith the same metaphor:frafmoxtistanf8arpadmozan a&e5on (M5, 63-66)-"And he (the prophet Mani) shed his beautiful bodily garment (= died)".

46 Ibid: 389-393. -1' G.

Furlani,"ISanti dei YezidY', Onentalians 5, 1936s:64-83, especiallv76.



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Still, even this is the most conventional metaphor. In Gnosticism the robe symbolisesthe primordialself of a person, his initial idea, his alter ego in the heavens, preserved in the upper world, while the person himselflives below, in the materialworld: "His image (garment)wvaskept untouched in its place" says the Mandean text.48 One of the emanationsin the Coptic Manichean genealogy of gods is the Image of Light or the Angel with the Garments of Light, who comes to a dying man (the fact that Sex-kiras is in charge of the process of death is probably assignable to a similar concept). The Angel meeting a dying man, deliversto him his true clothes-"the Garment of Light", thus giving him back his real, original essence, his heavenlyego. A very illustrativepiece ad locum is "The Hymn of the Pearl" from the apocryphalActs of Thomas. The narrativetext, which, actually, can hardly be called a "hymn",is aboutJudas Thomas, who has to leave his "splendidrobe" in his Father'shome and to set out in search of the Pearl (the Gnostic metaphor for a soul, in particular, the lost soul). Having come home after long wanderings, the son again acquires his robe, realising suddenly that it is like his reflectionin the mirror: ... my splendid robe which I had taken off,

And my toga with which it was wrappedabout, From the heightsof Hyrcania My parentssent thither By the hand of their treasurers, Who for theirfaithfulnesswere trustedtherewith. Indeed, I rememberno more its dignity, For I had left it in my childhoodin my father'shouse, But suddenly,when I saw it over againstme, The splendid robe became like me, as my reflection in the mirror;

I saw it wholly in me, And in it I saw myselfquite apartfrom myself, So that we were two in distinction And again one in a singleform.... And my toga of brilliantcolours 48 H.c). ManepitwawVbiiawyiLLetLUu nepewoJcuou ceicmi,s "fJIoau MIIHOPCKCIiH, itLelumLi" tLu AAZL-UJLXUt, M. 1, MocKBa, 1911: xii, npsimi. 2.


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I drew completelyover myself. I clothed myselfwith it and mountedup To the court of greetingand homage. I bowed my head and worshipped The splendourof the fatherwho had sent it to me, Whose command I had accomplished, As he also had done what he promised. ...........................................

And I was with him in his kingdom. And he promisedme that to the court Of the king of kingsI shouldjourney with him again And with my offeringand my pearl With him appearbefore our king.49 Thus, regaining the heavenly robe means the return to the eternal home, to the Father'skingdom. I would, of course, refrainfrom drawinga directgenetic parallel between this Gnostic sujet and the functions of the Yezidi Sexkiras. Still, the fact that Sheykh of the robe is in charge of the burial rite, and he meets a soul rightafter a person has just passed the way of all things and is ready to enter the Hereafter, may actually reflect the same concept, which once existed in Yezidism, but was later lost togetherwith the memoryof its mysticalroots. There is also another character dealing with clothes in the Yezidi beliefs-Hazmaman (Hasan Maman, Hazmaman, Hazil Maman), who is also venerated among the Yezidis of Armenia.50 Almost nothing is known about him either. Hazmaman is as the distributorof caps and dervishes' robes xarqa a k'uluk-the Pir (k'ulk and xarqa). He is also called PXTre (that is, "saint")of xarqa and k'ulk. Being the head of all pirs, he bears the title PThre cilp ltra(n)(6ilmera(n))-"Thepir of fortypirs". as well as four, seven or eleven ones, being a "Forty saints", popular cliche in the folk Islam, in the Yezidi doctrine has exclusivelynominal representation,without any names or details.

49 Ginza,-apud: r. Hoiiac, rFoenun4ua.w, MOCICBa,1999: 132-133. For the full translationof the text, see Russell, " The Epic of the Pearl" (manuscript);see also "FLuwn He.wiy;euue", apud: HloHac, op. cit.: 124-126. ;0 U. f&wdnjwG, op. cit.: 149.



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Apart from Hazmaman, the leadership over forty saints is ascribed to Mama Rashan5l or to Pir Dawud (P'ir Dawuide Darman).52The latter, considered to be Sheykh Adi's servant, is sometimes mentioned in qawvlsin parallel -withHazmaman. See the following: bin Darmjana, DacMvide Hazmama7n p )Yre eilp )rana.53 This is Dawud, the son of Darman, Hazmaman, the Pir of fortypirs. As likely as not, Hazmaman could once have been either the same figure as Sex-kifas, or just another personificationof the same concept.

5' Mama Rashan-Mama kMam)-Fagan or Mahmad-iraian-theStorm-godin the Yezidi folk pantheon, a popularpersonageof the Yezidi folklore,described as a lion-riderwith a snake-whipin his hand (field materialsof G. S. Asatrianand V. A. Arakelova,collected in the Yezidi communitiesof Armenia;Archive of the CaucasianCentre for IranianStudies, Yerevan). 52 Pir Dawud (P'ir Dawade Darman)is a Yezidi saint, a "loyal servant"of Sheykh Adi. (see Kreyenbroek,op. cit.: 114-115). It is interesting that Pir Dawud also figuresin Ahl-i Haqq beliefs:he is one of the seven saints-Haft-tan (similarto the seven manifestationsof Malak-Tawilsin the Yezidi tradition).Moreover, Pir Da wud is sometimes associatedwith Malak-Tawus in the Ahl-i Haqq doctrine, and regarded as the incarnation (mazha) of Imam Reza-the eighth Shi'a imam. See Mokri Nor Ali-shah Elahi, L'esoterismekurde: Aper9us sur le secret gnostique des Fidees de Verite. Traduction, introduction, commentarieset notes par M. Mokri,Paris, 1966: 48, 53. 53 Calil, Calil', op. cit.:31.


Three Figures of Yezidi Pantheon

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