Views of History and Society in Yezidi Oral Tradition
Frances Christine Allison
University of London
This thesis will study the way in which the Yezidis, a Kurdish-speaking religious minority, perceive and present their history and society. By considering Yezidi oral traditions, the only form of literature available to the entire community, it will analyse the way this community, so often described by outsiders, describes its own history and social institutions. The thesis will confine itself to secular traditions; some scholarly work has already been done on the sacred traditions,1 which in any case are couched in mythological terms and do not present or comment on specific historical events. Most of the traditions which will be included are self-referential; they are told by Yezidis about Yezidis. The material transcribed, translated and analysed in this study consists of prose narratives and predominantly lyric poetry;2 there is little discussion of 'epic' (heroic narrative) due to lack of examples in the Yezidi community. Of course, any study made by an outsider cannot hope to understand a community’s comment ...
Contents
Part I / 6
Chapter One: Introduction to Yezidi Oral Traditions / 7
Introduction / 7
The Theoretical Perspective of this Work / 8
The Non-Literate Cultural Environment / 20
The Fieldwork Environment / 28
The Yezidi Community in Northern Iraq / 34
The Material Collected / 50
Conclusion / 53
Chapter Two: Genre and Tradition / 54
Introduction and Definitions / 54
Genres Observed in The Field / 58
Composition and Transmission / 90
Conclusions: Relative Status and Future Prospects / 97
Chapter Three: Yezidi Views of History / 101
Introduction / 101
A Yezidi Historical Discourse / 101
Yezidi Chronology / 106
Some Elements of The Yezidi Historical Discourse / 119
Two Important Themes in Historical Tradition / 128
Conclusions / 172
Chapter Four: Love Songs and Stories Among the Yezidis / 174
Introduction / 174
Stories and Songs of Love / 175
Examples of Love Stories / 188
Conclusions: Fantasy, Reality and the Portrayal of Women / 213
Chapter Five: Women's Lament / 218
Introduction / 218
Types of Women's Lament: Performance and Theme / 229
Conclusions: Laments in Yezidi Society / 255
Chapter Six: Conclusions / 261
Part II / 267
Kurdish Texts , / 268
Chapter Three: Yezidi Views of History / 268
Chapter Four: Love Songs and Stories Among the Yezidis / 290
Chapter Five: Women's Laments / 320
Translations of Kurdish Texts / 332
Chapter Three: Yezidi Views of History / 332
Chapter Four: Love Songs and Stories Among the Yezidis / 359
Chapter Five: Women's Laments / 396
Appendix: Informants and Performers / 411
Bibliography / 418
ABSTRACT
The Yezidis are a Kurdish-speaking religious minority living mainly in Northern Iraq. In the past their religion forbade literacy; thus their accounts of their history and their descriptions of their society have been preserved orally. This thesis considers how the Yezidis use oral literature, or verbal art, to represent themselves and their past. It is based largely on fieldwork carried out in Northern Iraq.
The theoretical perspective of this work combines elements of both literary and social studies by considering both text and social context. The genre of a tradition has major implications for its content; three genres considered in detail are lyrical song, prose narrative and extemporised lament. Yezidi discourse about the past stresses their distinctive identity and their endurance against adversity and persecution. This is reflected in the oral traditions, especially in the lyrical song, which is performed at festivals and is extremely popular; prose narratives of events predating the immediate past, on the other hand, are in decline. Most love songs and stories feature historical figures; the performance of lyrical love songs, many of which depict conflict between the wishes of the individual and the rules of a society where marriage is arranged, provides an outlet for the audience’s own emotions. Laments are performed by women. Using traditional imagery, they are a vehicle for the expression of a variety of emotions by the performer. Their performance is a social duty and is likely to remain so.
The texts included in this work comprise variants of two historical themes, Feriq Paşa and Dawûde Dawûd: variants of a theme of love, Derwêşê ‘Evdî, and examples of women's lament, both semi-professional and personal. Some of these were transcribed f from material collected during fieldwork; all were translated for this thesis. An appendix lists performers and informants.
Part I
Chapter One: Introduction to Yezidi Oral Traditions
Introduction
This thesis will study the way in which the Yezidis, a Kurdish-speaking religious minority, perceive and present their history and society. By considering Yezidi oral traditions, the only form of literature available to the entire community, it will analyse the way this community, so often described by outsiders, describes its own history and social institutions. The thesis will confine itself to secular traditions; some scholarly work has already been done on the sacred traditions,1 which in any case are couched in mythological terms and do not present or comment on specific historical events. Most of the traditions which will be included are self-referential; they are told by Yezidis about Yezidis. The material transcribed, translated and analysed in this study consists of prose narratives and predominantly lyric poetry;2 there is little discussion of 'epic' (heroic narrative) due to lack of examples in the Yezidi community. Of course, any study made by an outsider cannot hope to understand a community’s comment on itself at every level. Nevertheless, the material presented, which has never before been the subject of academic study, offers unprecedented insight into the Yezidis’ image of themselves and their world, and into the function in their community of those songs and stories which describe their history and social environment.
Most of the material studied was collected between March and mid-October 1992 in the area of Northern Iraq controlled by the Kurds. Since the intention is not merely to transcribe and translate …
1 Most recently, Kreyenbroek 1995; Murad 1993.
2 All these definitions, and the forms of tradition found, will be discussed at greater length in Chapter Two.
Frances Christine Allison
Views of History and Society in Yezidi Oral Tradition
University of London
SOAS University of London
Views of History and Society in Yezidi Oral Tradition
Frances Christine Allison
Ph. D. Thesis
SOAS
University of London
1996
