Sacred and Tabooed Animals in Êzîdîism

In Êzîdîism, numerous animals carry a religious-symbolic meaning. Some are considered sacred and may not be hunted, killed or eaten; others are tabooed only regionally or in a caste-bound manner; still others appear as companions, forms of transformation or mounts of the sacred beings in the Qewl (sacred hymns). Animal symbolism is therefore not a marginal topic but runs equally through the creation myth, the genealogy of saints, festivals and the order of purity (Kreyenbroek 1995; Spät 2005; Açıkyıldız 2010; Aysif 2021).

Scope of this article. The peacock as the emblem of the Peacock Angel is only touched on briefly here, its full theology is set out in Tawûsî Melek. The food and purity taboos (fish, rooster, lettuce, the colour blue, the four elements) are treated systematically in Purity, Taboos and Dietary Rules. This contribution instead bundles together the animals themselves and their symbolic-religious role and refers to those articles for the details rather than repeating them.

Important to note at the outset: The peacock and Tawûsî Melek are never the “devil” in the Êzîdî tradition. The animal and bird symbolism of Êzîdîism is luminous and affirming of creation; the old foreign slander of “devil worship” is refuted in detail in Tawûsî Melek and is not repeated here.

1. Animals in the Êzîdî worldview

Êzîdîism knows no sharp break between human being, animal and the divine sphere. Creation emerged in stages from the light of the one God Xwedê, and animals share in this interwoven, ensouled world (Kreyenbroek 1995; Aysif 2021). Characteristic features are:

• Sacredness instead of worship: Sacred animals are not worshipped as gods; they are emblems of divine attributes (light, protection, wisdom, grace) or stand under the protection of a particular sacred being (xudan).
• Patronages: Animals are assigned to individual sacred beings of the Heft Sirr (Seven Mysteries) and of the genealogy of saints, for instance snakes to Şêx Mend, mice to Şêx Sicadîn.
• No serpent-as-tempter theology: Unlike in the biblical-Quranic paradise myth, the snake in Êzîdîism is not evil (Spät 2005; Asatrian & Arakelova 2014).

The following sections treat, for each animal: religious meaning, myth or attestation, status of veneration or taboo, and source. Uncertain interpretations, or those attested only in individual sources, are expressly marked as such.

2. Peacock (Tawûs): the highest animal symbol

The peacock (Kurmanji tawûs) is the central animal symbol of Êzîdîism because it is the emblem of Tawûsî Melek, the Peacock Angel. Its radiant feathers are interpreted as an image of the sun’s rays and of the “countless colours of creation”; it stands for divine light, beauty and renewal (Açıkyıldız 2010; Kreyenbroek 1995).

• Status of veneration: The peacock is sacred. To hunt, kill, eat, curse or mistreat it is expressly forbidden (Açıkyıldız 2010).
• Cult object: The Sancak/Senjaq: cast peacock bronzes, embody Tawûsî Melek and are carried through the villages in the Tawûsgêran.

The full theology, iconography and the refutation of the “devil worshipper” slander are set out in Tawûsî Melek. Here the peacock is named only as the head of the animal symbolism, not repeated.

Source: Açıkyıldız 2010; Kreyenbroek 1995; Rodziewicz 2014. (Trust: high, attested multiple times.)

3. Rooster (Dîk): bird of sunrise

The rooster (dîk) stands close to the peacock as a bird and is connected with the sun and sunrise: and thereby with Şêx Şems, the Sun Angel (cf. Section 6). Its crowing announces the first sunlight; at the nocturnal vigil of the Êzîdî New Year (Çarşema Sor) the rooster’s crow marks the first sunrise of the new year (Asatrian & Arakelova 2014; cf. Kreyenbroek 1995).

• Pictorial tradition: In some, especially Caucasian-Georgian: depictions the divine bird symbol was rendered as a rooster instead of a peacock; in Western reception this temporarily led to a peacock-rooster confusion (Asatrian & Arakelova 2014). (This convergence is the subject of scholarly discussion and not conclusively settled.)
• Taboo status: The rooster is not tabooed community-wide. In certain Pîr lineages it is considered protected and may not be slaughtered, a caste-/family-bound taboo, not a general one.

The dietary-taboo aspect of the rooster is treated in Purity, Taboos and Dietary Rules; here its solar symbolism is to the fore.

Source: Asatrian & Arakelova 2014; Açıkyıldız 2010; Kreyenbroek 1995. (Trust: medium, rooster-peacock convergence debated.)

4. Snake (Mar): the black guardian at the Lalîş portal

The snake (mar) is one of the most striking animal symbols of Êzîdîism. At the entrance portal of the sanctuary of Lalîş (Maqamê Şîxadî), to the right of the door, a large, rearing black snake is carved into the stone. Its black colouring derives, according to tradition, from pilgrims touching it over generations and from its being blackened by the soot of the sacred lamps (Spät 2005; Açıkyıldız 2010).

4.1 Şêx Mend: “Xudanê Mara,” Lord of the Snakes

The snake is closely connected with Şêx Mend (Şêx Mend Paşa, son of Şêx Fexredîn), who is regarded as “Xudanê Mara”, Lord/Keeper of the Snakes. According to one legend, Şêx Mend, a companion of Şêx Adî and an earthly manifestation of one of the sacred beings, transformed himself into a great black snake in order to fend off a tribe (the Haweris) that wanted to forcibly convert the Êzîdîs, and faced them in the valley of Hasana (Spät 2005; Ezidi Heritage). The descendants of the Mend lineage are credited to this day with a special power over snakes; they are said to be practised in handling them from childhood (Spät 2005).

4.2 Apotropaism and the Flood myth

The Lalîş snake has an apotropaic (evil-averting) character: it symbolizes protection and safety and may not be killed (Spät 2005). A myth of its own connects it with the Êzîdî Flood narrative (Qewlê li ser Tofanê): when, during the Flood, a stone tore open the ship of Nuh (Noah), the snake sealed the hole with its coiled body and thus saved the ship; in gratitude it was held in honour (Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005; Spät 2005).

• Status of veneration: The snake is not evil and stands under the protection of Şêx Mend; it is interpreted as the guardian of the threshold of the sanctuary (Aysif 2021).
• Its own hymn: There exists a Qewl tradition of its own, the Qewlê Keniya Mara (“Hymn of the Laughing Snakes”) (Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005).

Debated interpretations (attributed): Spät links the Êzîdî veneration of snakes with Gnostic serpent currents (Naassenes/Ophites); Asatrian & Arakelova with the Mesopotamian sacred serpent bašmu. These connections are debated, not assured.

Source: Spät 2005 (“Black Snake”); Açıkyıldız 2010 (pp. 121–130); Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005 (Qewlê Keniya Mara); Aysif 2021; Ezidi Heritage. (Trust: high for the finding at the portal; interpretations of origin debated.)

5. Gazelle / Deer (Xezal · Cêran): grace and a sacred name

The gazelle or deer (xezal; also cêran) embodies grace, gentleness and beauty. In the creation hymn Qewlê Afirîna Dinyayê it is said that through Lalîş “the gazelles received their substance”, the animal is part of the ordered creation interwoven by the sanctuary (Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005).

5.1 Xezal: the sacred woman behind the animal name

The gazelle is especially closely connected with the genealogy of saints: the venerated sacred woman Khatuna Fekhra (Xatûna Fexra), patroness of women, children, pregnancy and birth, bore, according to tradition, the birth name Xezal (“Gazelle”), a name that expresses gentleness, grace and beauty. She was the daughter of Şêx Fexredîn and sister of Şêx Mend (the Lord of the Snakes, Section 4). In tradition the deer/the roe is regarded as her assigned animal (Wikipedia “Khatuna Fekhra”; cf. Spät 2005).

5.2 Hunting taboo

This association with the saint explains why the gazelle is in many places regarded as a shunned animal “related” to the saints and is not hunted or eaten. The taboo, however, is observed with regionally varying strictness (cf. Purity, Taboos and Dietary Rules; Açıkyıldız 2010).

Source: Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005 (Qewlê Afirîna Dinyayê); Wikipedia “Khatuna Fekhra”; Açıkyıldız 2010. (Trust: high for the Xezal-Khatuna connection; strictness of the hunting taboo regional.)

6. Bull (Ga): the sacrificial animal of the Feast of the Assembly

The bull or young ox (ga) is the most important sacrificial animal of Êzîdîism. The bull sacrifice (qurbana ga) is a core rite connected above all with Şêx Şems (the Sun Angel) and with the great autumn festival.

6.1 The sacrifice at the Cejna Cemaiyê

During the autumn pilgrimage Cejna Cemaiyê (“Feast of the Assembly,” roughly 6–13 October) a ceremonial bull sacrifice takes place before the shrine of Şêx Şems in Lalîş. On the fifth day of the festival, a young ox is released on the hill on the way to the Şems shrine; around a hundred men of a particular caste chase it through the fields of Lalîş and try to pull out one of its hairs, whoever succeeds is granted a year of blessing. Afterwards the animal is slaughtered, cooked and distributed among all the pilgrims (Wikipedia “Cejna Cemayê” / “Sheikh Shems”; Kreyenbroek 1995). For the festival in detail: Cejna Cemaiyê.

6.2 Meaning and debated background

The meat is distributed among the needy, the bones treated honourably, the bull stands for vital force, renewal and community. A bull sacrifice is also performed at the Red Wednesday (Êzîdî New Year) and at local festivals.

Debated interpretations (attributed): Asatrian & Arakelova see in Êzîdî bull symbolism a reminiscence of the Mithras cult (the Mithraic tauroctony); Rodziewicz interprets the rite of the Red Wednesday in a musical-cosmological way. These connections are speculative or debated, not assured (Asatrian & Arakelova 2014; Rodziewicz 2020).

Source: Kreyenbroek 1995 (Chap. 5); Wikipedia “Cejna Cemayê,” “Sheikh Shems”; Asatrian & Arakelova 2014; Rodziewicz 2020. (Trust: high for the rite; Mithraic derivation debated.)

7. Fish (Masî): the hidden animal of the primordial water

The fish (masî) is connected with the primordial water and the pre-existent, “hidden” sphere: in the creation narrative the water first emerged from the dark primordial ocean, and the fish are regarded as the oldest living beings. There exists a Qewlê Gay û Masî (“Hymn of Bull and Fish”) of its own (Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005).

• Taboo status: The fish is tabooed regionally and in a caste-bound way: shunned especially in the Sheikhan/Lalîş area and by parts of the clergy (Şêx, Pîr), while it is eaten in Şingal (Sinjar).

The rationale and regional spread of the fish taboo is set out in detail in Purity, Taboos and Dietary Rules; here the cosmological meaning (primordial water, oldest creature) is to the fore.

Source: Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005 (Qewlê Gay û Masî); Kreyenbroek 1995; Aysif 2021. (Trust: medium, cosmological interpretation; taboo regional.)

8. Further animals

8.1 Horse (Hesp · Bor)

The horse (hesp; the noble, often white riding horse bor) stands for the Êzîdî horseman and warrior tradition and is regarded as a “vehicle of the soul”, whoever honours a horse honours its soul. Saints ride mythical horses in the hymns (for instance Şêx Mend; Pîr Hesen Meman); Qewls of their own such as Qewlê Borêt Feqîra (“Horses of the Feqîrs”) sing of them (Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005). The connection with Old Iranian-Central Asian horse sacredness (Avesta) is assumed in scholarship.

Source: Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005; Aysif 2021. (Trust: medium.)

8.2 Tortoise (Kûsî)

The tortoise (kûsî) is a symbol of the hidden and the long-lived. In the Qewlê Şêşims it is said in effect: “All tortoises, all snakes, everything hidden and everything manifest, their refuge too is with Şêx Şems” (Kreyenbroek & Rashow 2005). (Trust: high.)

8.3 Mouse (Mişk)

The mouse (mişk) stands under the protection of Şêx Sicadîn (one of the Heft Sirr) and, in strict tradition, may not be killed without cause (Kreyenbroek 1995). (Trust: medium.)

8.4 Dove

The dove is associated in popular symbolism with purity and peace; a clear, broadly attested independent cult could not be securely demonstrated in the scholarly sources drawn on here. This attribution is therefore uncertain and is named here only as an open question, not as an attestation.

9. Terms and conventions (Kurmanji)

Sources

• Philip G. Kreyenbroek: Yezidism, Its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 1995.
• Philip G. Kreyenbroek & Khalil Jindy Rashow: God and Sheikh Adi are Perfect, Sacred Poems and Religious Narratives from the Yezidi Tradition. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2005.
• Eszter Spät: The Yezidis. London: Saqi Books, 2005; ead.: “The Black Snake”, https://web.archive.org/web/2018/http://www.personal.ceu.hu/students/09/Eszter_Spat/Mararesh.htm
• Birgül Açıkyıldız: The Yezidis, The History of a Community, Culture and Religion. London: I. B. Tauris, 2010.
• Garnik S. Asatrian & Victoria Arakelova: The Religion of the Peacock Angel, The Yezidis and Their Spirit World. Durham: Acumen/Routledge, 2014.
• Artur Rodziewicz: “Tawus Protogonos…”, Iran and the Caucasus 18 (2014); id.: “The Yezidi Wednesday and the Music of the Spheres”, Iranian Studies 53 (2020).
• Rezan Shivan Aysif: The Role of Nature in Yezidism, Poetic Texts and Living Tradition. Göttingen University Press, 2021., https://univerlag.uni-goettingen.de/handle/3/isbn-978-3-86395-514-4
• Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis i. General”, https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yazidis-i-general-1/
• Ezidi Heritage, “Şêx Mend and the Role of Snakes in Ezidism”, https://ezidi-heritage.com/articles/snakes-in-ezidism/
• Wikipedia, “Cejna Cemayê”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cejna_Cemayê
• Wikipedia, “Sheikh Shems”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Shems
• Wikipedia, “Khatuna Fekhra”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khatuna_Fekhra

Statements marked as “debated,” “speculative” or “uncertain” (rooster-peacock convergence, Gnostic or Mithraic derivations, dove) reflect open research questions and regional differences and are not to be read as assured facts.

This article is part of the Êzdîxan Wiki. Related articles: Tawûsî Melek, Purity, Taboos and Dietary Rules, Mythology + Symbolism, Lalîş, Cejna Cemaiyê, Religion + Theology, Sanctuaries worldwide.