wissen

Êzîdî Sanctuaries Outside Lalîş

AI-generated content – unverified. This translation was created automatically by a local language model and has not yet been verified by human experts. Source references and detailed claims may contain errors. Please treat it as a work in progress. Switch to the German original version to see the verified state.
en2,673 words⏱ approx. 12 min read📚 8 sections🔖 ≥7 sourcesQuality C · unverified

8 verified · Wikimedia Commons · CC license

🖼 Images

This article presents the other shrines and holy places of the Êzîdî, from the dense belts of sanctuaries in Şingal (Sinjar) and in Şêxan, through the great diaspora temples in Armenia and Georgia, to the small house shrines in every Êzîdî household. The principal sanctuary Lalîş is treated here only as a point of reference; the basic architectural forms of Êzîdî sacred buildings are explained in the overview article Architecture and Sanctuaries. Proper names appear in Latin Êzîdî spelling (Hawar); the account follows the scholarly literature (above all Açıkyıldız 2010, Kreyenbroek 1995, Spät 2005/2010, Encyclopaedia Iranica) and documenting institutions (ALIPH Foundation, World Monuments Fund).

Introduction

The religion of the Êzîdî knows no single, standardised house of worship, but rather a network of holy places spread across the settlement areas: mausoleums and shrines, sacred springs, caves, trees and groves, together with small house shrines within the dwellings. At the centre of this sacred landscape lies the valley of Lalîş in the Şêxan district north of Mosul, with the tomb of the reformer Şêx Adî ibn Musafir († 1162). Yet Lalîş is only the highest point of a far-ramified sacred geography.

Terminological note: Tawûsî Melek (“Peacock Angel”) is the foremost of the seven angelic beings and is venerated in Êzîdî theology, he is not to be equated with the “Devil” (an externally imposed defamation). The Êzîdî call themselves Êzîdî (sing.) / Êzîdî (plur.); the older exonym “Yazidis” is avoided here.

1. The Shrine System: mzar, ziyaret and the holy beings

Êzîdî shrines are called, depending on region and linguistic stratum, mzar (Arab. mazār, “place of visitation”), ziyaret (ziyâret, “pilgrimage, visit”) or generally quba (after the dome- or cone-shaped crowning). They are almost always the burial or memorial place of a holy being: a Xas (saint), Xudan (protector) or one of the central angelic figures. Such a place may be a masonry mausoleum with the characteristic fluted conical tower, but equally a spring, a cave, a tree or a mere heap of stones on a mountain summit (Açıkyıldız 2010; Kreyenbroek 1995).

Theologically, these places are linked with the system of the holy beings. At the centre stand the Heft Sirr (“Seven Mysteries”), the seven angels headed by Tawûsî Melek; assigned to them are earthly manifestations such as Şêx Adî, Şêx Hesen and Şêx Şems (cf. Religion and Culture). Many shrines are dedicated to these angels or to the saints of the holy caste families (Şêx, Pîr), whose offices and genealogies are treated in the article Clergy and Religious Offices.

The visit to a shrine follows fixed gestures: pilgrims kiss the doorframe, step over the sacred threshold (never on it), enter the room barefoot, light oil lamps in the wall niches and tie wish-knots into cloths on the shrine columns and holy trees. These practices repeat in miniature what the great autumn pilgrimage to Lalîş, the Cejna Cemaiyê, performs on a grand scale.

Note on counting: The notion of “365 shrines” current in popular texts is inaccurate. What is attested are 365 oil lamps in and around Lalîş as well as the conception of 365 holy beings (Xudan) in the Êzîdî pantheon, not 365 buildings (cf. Architecture and Sanctuaries).

2. Sanctuaries in Şingal (Sinjar)

The Şingal mountains in north-western Iraq are, alongside Şêxan, the most important Êzîdî heartland, and until 2014 the densest belt of shrines outside Lalîş. Here lie the most significant sanctuaries after Lalîş; here, too, the genocide of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) struck the sacred landscape most harshly (background: Şingal).

2.1 Şerfedîn: the second most important sanctuary

The Şerfedîn temple (also Sharfadin), located on the southern slope of the Şingal mountains near the village of Sinûnê, is regarded by the Êzîdî, after Lalîş, as the second most important sanctuary and as one of the oldest and holiest places of all (Wikipedia “Sharfadin Temple”; List of Yazidi holy places).

The shrine is dedicated to Şeref ed-Dîn (Sharaf ad-Dîn ibn al-Hasan), the son and religious successor of Şêx Hesen. Şeref ed-Dîn headed the Adawiyya order and died, according to the sources, in 1258 (sometimes given as 1259) in the fight against the invading Mongols. In the sacred hymn Qewlê Şerfedîn he is identified with the figure of the coming redeemer (Mahdî), who is to dwell in a cave until the end of time (Wikipedia “Sharaf ad-Din ibn al-Hasan”). The foundation stone of the temple bears, by the common reading, the year 1274; the complex is therefore often described as “about 800 years old”.

Accuracy note: The figure 1274 refers to the construction or foundation stone of the temple, not to the saint’s year of death (≈ 1258). Both dates are occasionally conflated in the literature; they are deliberately kept separate here.

Architecturally, Şerfedîn is a building of light (pale yellow) stone with two cone-shaped peaks; at the tip of each cone sit three gold-coloured spheres and a crescent pointing to the sky (Wikipedia “Sharfadin Temple”). During the IS assault in August 2014 a small group of lightly armed Êzîdî fighters under Qasim Şeşo defended the shrine and was able to preserve it from destruction, Şerfedîn thus became a symbol of Êzîdî resistance.

2.2 Mam Reşan: shrine of the patron of rain and harvest

The Mam Reşan shrine (Mam Rashan) on the Şingal mountains dates, according to the common dating, from the 12th century. It is dedicated to Pîr Mehmê Reşan (Pir Mehmed Reshan), a saint venerated as the patron of agriculture, protector of the harvest and bringer of rain; in times of drought special ceremonies for rain and for the fertility of the fields are held at his shrines (Wikipedia “Mam Rashan Shrine”; “Pir Mehmed Reshan”). The building followed the classical type, a tall conical tower over a square burial chamber.

In 2014 Mam Reşan was deliberately destroyed by IS. Reconstruction began in the summer of 2020 with documentation and survey; in October 2020 the Êzîdî religious authorities blessed the works. The project was carried by the Geneva-based ALIPH Foundation together with the World Monuments Fund (ALIPH Foundation; World Monuments Fund / Culture in Crisis). Mam Reşan has since been regarded as one of the flagship projects of heritage restoration in Şingal.

2.3 Çilmêra: the “Forty Men” on the highest summit

Çilmêra (also Çel Mêra, Chermera, “Forty Men”) is a summit sanctuary on the highest point of the Şingal mountains and counts among the holiest Êzîdî sites (List of Yazidi holy places). The name refers to forty saints said to be buried or venerated here, a motif of the “forty men/saints” widespread in the Near East. Its exposed high location also made the place a point of refuge and assembly during the flight of the Êzîdî into the mountains in August 2014.

Further Şingal sites in the standard list include the Şebl Qasim shrine on the mountains and the Şêx Mend temple in southern Şingal (to the “Lord of Snakes”, → 3.2). The total number of shrines damaged or destroyed in 2014 is given in the most frequently cited surveys as about 68; the figure varies according to source (cf. Architecture and Sanctuaries).

3. Sanctuaries in Şêxan and around Lalîş

The Şêxan region in the Nineveh Plain, the ancestral land of the holy Şêx families, forms the second great belt of shrines. Here, around Lalîş, around Baʿadre/Baʿadrê (seat of the Mîr) and around the twin villages of Başîqa and Bahzanê, numerous mausoleums are lined up.

3.1 Shrines around Lalîş and in Baʿadrê

Beyond the valley of Lalîş, the surrounding villages bear sanctuaries of their own. In Baʿadrê lie, among others, the Quba Hacî Alî temple and the Xiz Rahman shrine; in the wider region there are shrines such as Xatarah, Dughata or Sreşka (List of Yazidi holy places). Many of these buildings follow the Lalîş type with a fluted conical tower; they are dedicated to the local saints of the Şêx and Pîr families and serve the surrounding communities as places of pilgrimage and assembly.

3.2 Şêx Mend: the shrine of the “Lord of Snakes”

The shrine of Şêx Mend (in Ain Sifni/Şêxan, with a counterpart in southern Şingal) is associated with the holy lineage that, in Êzîdî tradition, holds power over snakes. Architecturally the building stands out: square ground plan, flat roof without a conical tower, with a depiction of a snake on the gate (Spät, The Black Snake; Açıkyıldız 2010). In Êzîdism the black snake is regarded as a protective symbol (Noah myth), not as a threatening sign.

3.3 Mehmê Reşan in Şêxan too: and the holy grove of Şêx Bekir

The aforementioned Mehmê Reşan (→ 2.2) is venerated not only in Şingal: a tomb ascribed to him lies near Bardarash behind Mount Maqlûb in the Şêxan region, and a shrine is dedicated to him in Lalîş as well (Wikipedia “Pir Mehmed Reshan”). The same patron of rain and harvest thus links the two heartlands of Şingal and Şêxan.

The sacred landscape of Şêxan also includes the holy olive grove of Şêx Bekir near Bahzanê: the source of the ritual olive oil for the lamps of Lalîş. IS severely damaged the grove in 2014–2016 by arson (according to reports, about 800 of some 3,000 trees were burned); it has since been rehabilitated with the support of the ALIPH Foundation. Numerous mausoleums in Başîqa and Bahzanê were destroyed in 2014 and rebuilt for the most part by the diaspora without state aid. The Malak Miran temple in Başîqa, dedicated to the angel Malak Miran, was reopened in January 2018 after its destruction (List of Yazidi holy places).

4. Diaspora: Armenia

In the South Caucasus lives the oldest continuously existing Êzîdî diaspora in the world (in detail: Êzîdî in Armenia and Georgia). Here the first Êzîdî temples outside Iraq arose.

4.1 Quba Mêrê Dîwanê (Aknalîç): the largest Êzîdî temple in the world

In Aknalîç (Aknalich, Armavir Province, about 35 km west of Yerevan), the Quba Mêrê Dîwanê: the largest Êzîdî temple in the world: was opened in September 2019. The full name is roughly Quba Heft Merê Dîwanê û Tawûsê Melek; the building is dedicated to Tawûsî Melek and the seven angels (Heft Sirr) (Al Jazeera 2019; Wikipedia “Quba Mêrê Dîwanê”).

The Armenian architect Artak Ghulyan designed a building about 25 m high of granite and marble with seven domes around a central, higher arched dome: the seven refer to the Heft Sirr. The complex comprises a prayer hall, a priestly seminary and a museum. It was financed by the Russia-resident, Armenian-born Êzîdî entrepreneur Mirza Sloian.

Canon check “largest temple in the world”: The designation as the largest Êzîdî temple in the world is consistently attested and canonical in serious reporting (Al Jazeera, MassisPost et al.) and in the reference dossier Armenia and Georgia. The opening year 2019 is established (construction from the 2010s onward).

4.2 Ziyaret (Aknalîç): Armenia’s first Êzîdî temple

Only a few metres from the Quba Mêrê Dîwanê stands the older, smaller Ziyaret temple, inaugurated in 2012: the first Êzîdî temple in the post-Soviet space (Wikipedia “Quba Mêrê Dîwanê”; List of Yazidi holy places). Together with the great new building it forms a pilgrimage ensemble for the Armenian Êzîdî, the country’s largest ethnic minority. A further temple, the Şêxûbekir shrine near Rya Taza, was blessed in December 2020.

5. Diaspora: Georgia

5.1 The Sultan Êzîd temple in Tbilisi

In Tbilisi (Tiflis) the Sultan Êzîd temple was ceremonially opened on 16 June 2015 in the Warketili (Varketili) district, the third Êzîdî temple in the world, after the temples in Iraq and in Armenia (DFWatch 2015; Rudaw 18.06.2015; reference dossier Armenia and Georgia). It is dedicated to the holy Sultan Êzîd.

Architecturally, the building is modelled on the Lalîş style: plain, unarticulated exterior walls and a single conical peak. On the grounds there additionally stands a pyramid-shaped glass building in which courses on Êzîdî religion and history as well as on the Georgian and Kurdish languages are offered. The Georgian government had donated the plot in 2009; construction was begun from 2012 by the “House of the Êzîdî of Georgia” and financed by local businessmen.

Date canon: Opening June 2015 (plot 2009, construction from 2012). Not “2013”. These values are fixed in the wiki’s number canon (#9).

6. House shrines and holy columns (Stûn)

Beside the great mausoleums, Êzîdism knows a domestic piety without a fixed building. In many Êzîdî dwellings there is a small house shrine: a niche or a demarcated sacred area where oil lamps are lit and prayers are spoken. A particular role is played here by the Stûn or Stûna Mîraza (“wish column”): a sacred column or pole (also at shrines and beneath holy trees) into which pilgrims and inhabitants of the house tie knots in cloth or silk scarves in order to express a wish (mirad), while at the same time loosening an older knot, as a “passing on” of the favour requested (Açıkyıldız 2010; Spät 2010).

Thus the Êzîdî sacred landscape stretches from the great, far-visible conical towers, through the regional shrine belts of Şingal and Şêxan and the new diaspora temples, right into the private living space, everywhere connected by the same gestures: lighting a flame, respecting the threshold, tying a knot.

Sources

Scholarly literature

  • Açıkyıldız, Birgül (2010): The Yezidis. The History of a Community, Culture and Religion. London: I.B. Tauris., standard work on Êzîdî sacred architecture and on the regional shrines.
  • Kreyenbroek, Philip G. (1995): Yezidism, Its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press., holy beings (Xudan/Xas), festivals, source criticism.
  • Spät, Eszter (2005): The Yezidis. London: Saqi; as well as Spät (2010): Places of Pilgrimage and studies on snake/Mam Reşan symbolism (The Black Snake).

Institutions and reference works

Encyclopaedic and journalistic sources

Verification and accuracy note: For the Şerfedîn temple, the foundation stone 1274 (construction) and the year of death ≈ 1258 (Şeref ed-Dîn) are deliberately kept separate. The opening year 2019 (Quba Mêrê Dîwanê) and the date 16 June 2015 (Sultan Êzîd temple Tbilisi) follow the wiki’s number canon (#9). The figure of “about 68” destroyed shrines as well as “800 of 3,000” burned olive trees follow the most frequently cited NGO/press surveys and may vary slightly according to source. Pre-Islamic derivations of individual sites remain contested in scholarship and are to be read as attribution.

Related articles: Lalîş, the central sanctuary · Architecture and Sanctuaries · Religion and Culture · Êzîdî in Armenia and Georgia · Şingal · Clergy and Religious Offices · Cejna Cemaiyê

As of: 2026-06-14.

More on this topic

Related articles

Religion + TheologywissenTawûsî MelekwissenÊzîdî Architecture and SanctuarieswissenMythology + SymbolismwissenThe Sacred Genealogy of the Êzîdîs: Castes, Saints and OfficeswissenTraditions + Life Ritualswissen

Related content

Kommentare

Noch keine Kommentare — sei der Erste.