Life-Cycle Rituals in Êzîdîtism

The life of an Êzîdî is, from birth to marriage, embedded in a dense web of ritual transitions that lead the individual step by step into the religious community and its social order. Unlike in the scripture-based religions of the surrounding world, these rites of passage are not derived from a holy book but are transmitted orally and performed through the consecrated bearers of the clergy, Şêx and Pîr. The rites are regionally varied: what is weighted differently among the Êzîdî of Şingal than among those in Turkey, Syria or the Caucasus is a recurring finding of research (Kreyenbroek 1995; Omarkhali 2017).

Note on terminology: This article consistently uses the self-designation Êzîdî/Êzîden. Tawûsî Melek, the Peacock Angel, is in Êzîdî theology never understood as the “devil”, this equation stems from polemical foreign literature. Proper names and technical terms appear in Kurmancî-Latin spelling.

Delimitation: This article treats the rites of passage from birth to marriage systematically. The rites surrounding death and burial are presented separately in the article Death, Soul and Rebirth and are touched on here only where they are immediately relevant to lifelong bonds (such as the brother/sister of the hereafter). General customs and festivals are found in Traditions and in the festival calendar.

1. Birth and naming

With the birth of a child the life cycle begins, and already here the connection to the hallowed centre of the religion, to Lalîş, is established. Matter from Lalîş, consecrated water from the holy springs as well as the holy earth pressed into little balls (berat), plays a continuous role in piety and accompanies a person from cradle to grave (Açıkyıldız 2010; Asatrian & Arakelova 2014).

The naming traditionally takes place soon after birth. Names are frequently drawn from religious tradition, names of holy figures from the holy genealogy or formations with the elements dîn (“religion/faith”) and references to light. Important is this: unlike in the Muslim ʿaqîqa, in which naming and the first hair-cutting coincide on the seventh day, in Êzîdîtism the naming is separated in time from the first hair-cutting, the child already bears its name when the bisk ceremony takes place (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”; Omarkhali 2017).

2. Bisk/Bişk: the first hair-cutting

The first ritual hair-cutting of the child, bisk (also bişk), belongs to the earliest and most important rites of passage. Among many Êzîdî, especially those from Turkey, from Armenia and Syria, it is regarded as the central initiation rite par excellence; in the European diaspora the term is often translated as “baptism” (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”).

2.1 Procedure

At the bisk the first two or three locks are cut from the child. The cutting is performed by the family’s Şêx. According to the older tradition this should happen on the fortieth day after birth; in modern practice the ceremony mostly takes place later, when the child is about seven, nine or eleven months old (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”; Omarkhali 2017).

2.2 The locks for Şêx and Pîr

Characteristic is the destination of the cut-off locks: traditionally one lock each was intended for the Şêx and one for the Pîr of the family, the two consecrated personages of rank to whom every lay family (Mirîd) is hereditarily bound (see social order). With this the cutting visibly sealed the child’s lifelong religious bond to its spiritual caretakers. In today’s practice the locks are in many cases kept by the family itself (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”).

2.3 Classification

The bisk formally recalls the Muslim ʿaqîqa, in which the hair of the newborn is cut on the seventh day. Research considers an inspiration from the Islamic rite possible but emphasizes the independence: the Êzîdî rite lies later in time, is separated from naming and is embedded in its own Şêx-Pîr system (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”; Kreyenbroek 1995). In some traditions there is mention of a specially responsible Şêxê biskê (the “Şêx of the hair-cutting”) who performs this rite (Asatrian & Arakelova 2014).

3. Mor kirin: the baptismal and consecration rite with Lalîş water

The second great act of initiation is mor kirin (“the sealing”), a baptismal and consecration rite that shows clear similarities to Christian baptism and is in the diaspora likewise frequently called “baptism” (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”).

3.1 Holy water from Lalîş

The rite is ideally to be performed in Lalîş, because for it the consecrated water of the holy springs is used, namely the Kaniya Spî (“White Spring”) and the Zimzim spring. The core of the rite consists in pouring holy spring water over the child’s head three times. Mor kirin is performed by a person from a Şêx or Pîr family who renders this service in Lalîş (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”; Açıkyıldız 2010).

3.2 Timing and practice from afar

Ideally mor kirin is performed when the child is about nine or ten years old. For families who cannot reach Lalîş, in remote regions or in the diaspora, the rite can be carried out alternatively with water that has been brought to the place of residence from the springs of Lalîş (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”).

3.3 Significance

Mor kirin is regarded as the formal admission and sealing of belonging to the community. Its significance reaches into the rites at the end of life: according to Iraqi-Êzîdî tradition, the corpses of those who have died without mor kirin are to be washed specially by their Şêx, Pîr or the brother/sister of the hereafter: an indication of how closely the consecration rite is linked to a person’s ritual status beyond death (Asatrian & Arakelova 2014; cf. Death, Soul and Rebirth).

4. Initiation into the order of estates: the religious bonds

The rites of passage of childhood serve not only the individual but anchor him in the threefold caste order of the Êzîdî, the consecrated estates Şêx and Pîr as well as the large estate of the laity (Mirîd). This estate membership is hereditary and unchangeable; one is born an Êzîdî, and a conversion from outside is, according to traditional doctrine, not possible (Kreyenbroek 1995; Spät 2005; see social order).

4.1 Bond to Şêx and Pîr

Every lay family is hereditarily bound to a particular Şêx family and a particular Pîr family. These accompany the family across all stations of life, from the bisk through mor kirin, marriage and illness to burial, and receive religious dues in return. The rites of early childhood make this lifelong assignment visible and effective for the first time (Kreyenbroek 1995; see clergy).

4.2 Hosta/Mirebî: the religious master-teacher

Beyond Şêx and Pîr, every Êzîdî is supposed to have a personal spiritual master-teacher and godfather, who in tradition is called Hosta (“master”) or Mirebî/Murebbî (“educator, master-teacher”). This figure takes on a spiritual-educational accompaniment and belongs to those obligatory religious relationships that bind every single believer into the network of the order of estates (Kreyenbroek 1995).

4.3 Birê/Xwişka Axretê: brother/sister of the hereafter

Among the obligatory religious bonds there belongs, finally, the spiritual siblinghood with a brother or a sister of the hereafter: Kurmancî Birê Axretê (brother) and Xwişka Axretê (sister). This person accompanies the human being into the hereafter, intercedes for his soul and takes on a ritual role at death (such as in the washing of the dead). Since this bond primarily concerns the rites at the end of life, it is treated in detail in the article Death, Soul and Rebirth; here let it only be noted that, alongside Şêx, Pîr and Hosta/Mirebî, it belongs to the indispensable spiritual relationships of every adult Êzîdî (Kreyenbroek 1995; Spät 2005).

5. Circumcision (sunet/kerf) and the Kîrîv

The circumcision of boys (Kurmancî sunet, also xetne; the act and the bond arising from it are grasped with the term kerf) is not an independent commandment of Êzîdî doctrine, but a social institution widespread in the region that the Êzîdî share with their neighbours. In the history of research it is interesting above all because it founds a cross-group alliance relationship (Arakelova 2016, Iran and the Caucasus; Açıkyıldız 2010).

5.1 The Kîrîv as circumcision godfather

Central is the Kîrîv (also kerîf), the godfather who holds the child on his knees during the circumcision. Out of this act there arises a form of blood brotherhood (Kurmancî kirîvatî, in the literature also kerâfat): the Kîrîv and the family of the child become permanently bound to each other, with mutual obligations and a sibling-like relationship. This bond acts like a kinship and entails marriage prohibitions between the families involved, which are passed on across generations (Arakelova 2016; Açıkyıldız 2010).

5.2 Cross-group choice

A peculiarity: the Kîrîv was traditionally often chosen outside one’s own community: Êzîdî frequently took Muslim or Christian godfathers. In this way protective and alliance relationships with the neighbouring peoples arose, while one’s own caste structure was not additionally burdened with obligations. This institution has declined sharply in recent decades; in the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia) it has been largely abandoned (Arakelova 2016).

5.3 Interlacing with other bonds

Where the kerf relationship could not be maintained for practical reasons, for instance because of small community size, in some regions of Transcaucasia the brother of the hereafter took over functions of the circumcision godfather and partly merged with the role of the Şêxê biskê (the Şêx of the hair-cutting). The individual ritual godparenthoods, hair-cutting, circumcision, hereafter-siblinghood, are thus not rigidly separated offices, but can overlap regionally (Arakelova 2016).

6. Marriage

The conclusion of marriage is the central rite of passage of adult life. It is regulated more strictly than any other area of life by the principle of endogamy: marriage within one’s own group (Kreyenbroek 1995; Spät 2005).

6.1 Endogamy rules: marriage within the caste

For Êzîdî marriage two interlocking rules apply:

1. Marriage only within the community. A marriage with non-Êzîdî is traditionally forbidden; since one cannot convert to Êzîdîtism, such a union means the loss of belonging for those concerned.
2. Marriage only within one’s own estate. Even between the castes, Şêx, Pîr and Mirîd: marriages are not permissible; each estate marries within itself, and within the consecrated estates there are additionally sub-lineages with their own marriage barriers (Spät 2005; Kreyenbroek 1995; see social order).

This double endogamy is the load-bearing principle of the entire Êzîdî social order. It secures the continued existence of the castes and of the hereditary Şêx-Pîr-Mirîd bonds, but in the diaspora it increasingly becomes a challenge, because suitable partners from the right estate are harder to find (Spät 2005; cf. young diaspora).

6.2 Courtship and bride-gift

The initiation of the marriage traditionally proceeds through the families. The bridegroom or his family pays a bride-gift (in the literature called kalam, regionally also naxt) to the father or brother of the bride, reported in the order of magnitude of about thirty sheep or goats. To circumvent the high bride-gift, there occasionally came an abduction/flight of the couple by mutual agreement (Encyclopaedia Iranica; Asatrian & Arakelova 2014). The traditional low age of marriage, set very early for girls and boys in older sources, has risen markedly in the modern communities.

6.3 Wedding customs

The wedding is a multi-day community festival with music, dance (govend) and a feast (see Traditions and cuisine). A recurring transmitted motif is the bridal procession from the father’s house to the house of the bridegroom, during which the bride prays on the way at sanctuaries (ziyaret). On entering the new house symbolic actions follow, and the marriage itself is concluded by a Şêx; a widespread symbol is the joint breaking of a little stick, which symbolizes the bond of the couple, unbroken until death (Asatrian & Arakelova 2014). Such customs vary strongly regionally; many of the older descriptions refer to particular areas and should not be read as a pan-Êzîdî norm.

6.4 Prohibitions and dissolution

Besides caste and community endogamy, kinship prohibitions apply as well as the marriage barriers arising from the kirîvatî godparenthood (section 5). The marriage can under certain conditions be dissolved; if a man leaves the community for a longer time, his marriage can be annulled, whereby a renewed marriage is under circumstances forbidden (Asatrian & Arakelova 2014). The role of the woman in marriage and family is treated more extensively in the article Women in Êzîdîtism.

7. Classification

The life-cycle rites of the Êzîdî together form a coherent system that binds the individual seamlessly into the religious and social order:

• Birth and naming establish the first connection to the community.
• Bisk and mor kirin are the two great initiation rites of childhood, the hair-cutting seals the bond to Şêx and Pîr, the baptism with Lalîş water the belonging to the religion.
• The rites anchor the human being in the obligatory spiritual bonds: Şêx, Pîr, Hosta/Mirebî and brother/sister of the hereafter.
• Circumcision and Kîrîv create, often across groups, alliance and kinship relationships with their own marriage prohibitions.
• Marriage is subject to the strict double endogamy (community and caste) and concludes the transition into adult life.

These rites are no rigid set of rules, but an orally transmitted, regionally multiform practice in the process of change, especially in the diaspora, where Lalîş-distant conditions, small communities and new lifeworlds change many of the transmitted forms (Omarkhali 2017; Spät 2005).

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.
• Khanna Omarkhali: The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition, From Oral to Written. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2017.
• Eszter Spät: The Yezidis. London: Saqi Books, 2005.
• Birgül Açıkyıldız: The Yezidis, The History of a Community, Culture and Religion. London: I.B. Tauris, 2010.
• „Yazidis ii. Initiation in Yazidism", in: Encyclopaedia Iranica., iranicaonline.org
• Victoria Arakelova: „Yezidi Circumcision and Blood-Brotherhood (Including the Circumcision of the Dead)", in: Iran and the Caucasus 20/3–4 (2016), S. 325–340., brill.com · academia.edu
• Garnik S. Asatrian & Victoria Arakelova: The Religion of the Peacock Angel, The Yezidis and Their Spirit World. Durham: Acumen, 2014.
• Ergänzend (rituelle Einordnung): „First haircut" (Bisk-Abschnitt), en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_haircut

Related articles: Traditions · Social order · Clergy · Death, Soul and Rebirth · Women in Êzîdîtism · Êzîdî religion · Festival calendar · Lalîş · Holy genealogy

3.4 Meaning of the Word, Kaniya Spî, and the Officiating Micewir

The name mor kirin literally means “to seal/stamp” (from mor “seal, stamp”): through the rite the child is formally “sealed” as belonging. The water used comes from the Kaniya Spî (“White Spring”); as an alternative, the only slightly less sanctified Zimzim spring is also considered permissible. The Kaniya Spî holds a preeminent position in Yazidi cosmogony: it is regarded as the primordial spring from which later creation emerged, which is why its water is seen as especially pure and ideal for sacred rites (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”; Açıkyıldız 2010).

The rite is performed not by just any cleric, but by a person from a Şêx or Pîr family who, at the relevant time, serves in Lalîş as Micewir (also mijêwir, “guardian/custodian” of a sanctuary). That a woman from these consecrated families can also perform the rite is expressly noted in scholarship (Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Yazidis ii. Initiation”). The baptism thereby marks not only entry into the social community, but also the bond to the sacred tradition surrounding Şêx Adî and Siltan Êzî (Sultan Ezid), under whose sign Lalîş stands as the principal sanctuary.

3.5 Re-Baptism (re-mor) of the Survivors of the 2014 Genocide

A recently documented and religiously significant application of the rite is the re-admission of women and children who, during the genocide from 2014 onward (one of the 74 Fermane, see History), had been abducted, forcibly converted, and enslaved by the terrorist organization “Islamic State.” The then supreme spiritual dignitary Baba Şêx (Baba Sheikh) issued, as early as September 2014, the directive that survivors of IS captivity should remain Êzîdî and be re-admitted into the community without blame, a remarkable break with the otherwise strict rule that a forced conversion entails the loss of belonging (UNHCR; Fisher & Zagros 2017).

For this purpose, the returnees are invited to Lalîş, where, at the sacred temple, water from the Kaniya Spî is poured over their hair, the traditional baptismal event, here understood as an act of healing, purification, and symbolic rebirth. This “re-baptism” has been described in scholarship as an example of religious adaptability and communal resilience (Fisher & Zagros 2017; UNHCR).

4.3 Birê/Xwişka Axretê: Brother/Sister of the Hereafter

Finally, among the obligatory religious bonds is spiritual siblinghood with a brother or sister of the hereafter: in kurmancî Birê Axretê (brother) and Xwişka Axretê (sister). This person accompanies the individual into the hereafter, intercedes for their soul, and assumes a ritual role at death (for example in the washing of the dead). Since this bond primarily concerns the rites at the end of life, it is treated in detail in the article Death, Soul, and Rebirth; here let it merely be noted that, alongside the Şêx, Pîr, and Hosta/Mirebî, it belongs to the indispensable spiritual relationships of every adult Êzîdî (Kreyenbroek 1995; Spät 2005).

For the life cycle before death, two things are important here: First, the brother or sister of the hereafter is assigned to an Êzîdî not only at death, but already from youth onward; the bond is usually formally established before marriage (Yazidi social organization, en.wikipedia; Spät 2005). Second, according to widespread tradition, this person generally comes from a Şêx lineage and actively accompanies the individual through the rites of passage of adult life, especially the wedding (see Section 6). Thus, according to Eszter Spät, it is the brother or sister of the hereafter who is to open the consecrated ritual undergarment (gerîvan) at the neck opening, a detail that shows how closely this sponsorship is, already during life, interwoven with clothing and bodily rites (Spät, “Ritual Items of Clothing”). The siblinghood of the hereafter is therefore not a purely death-related institution, but a ritual sponsorship effective throughout the entire adult biography.