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The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture and Religion


Auteur :
Éditeur : I.B.Tauris Date & Lieu : 2010, London & New York
Préface : Pages : 284
Traduction : ISBN : 978 1 84885 274 7
Langue : AnglaisFormat : 160x240mm
Code FIKP : Liv. Eng. Aci. Yez. N° 4658Thème : Général

Présentation
Table des Matières Introduction Identité PDF
The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture and Religion

The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture and Religion

Birgül Açıkyıldız


I.B. Tauris


Yezidism is a fascinating part of the rich cultural mosaic of the Middle East. The Yezidi faith emerged for the first time in the twelfth century in the Kurdish mountains of northern Iraq. The religion, which has become notorious for its associations with 'devil worship', is in fact an intricate syncretic system of belief, incorporating elements from proto-Indo-European religions, early Iranian faiths like Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism, Sufism and regional paganism like Mithraism. Birgül Acıkyıldız here offers a comprehensive appraisal of Yezidi religion, society and culture.
Written without presupposing any prior knowledge about Yezidism, and in an accessible and readable style, her book examines Yezidis not only from a religious point of view but as a historical and social phenomenon. She throws light on the origins of Yezidism, and charts its development and changing fortunes - from its beginnings to the present - as part of the general history of the Kurds. Her book is the first to place Yezidism in its complete geographical setting in Northern Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Transcaucasia. The author describes the Yezidi belief system (which considers Tawusi Melek - the 'Peacock Angel' - to be ruler of the earth) and its religious practices and observances, analysing the most important facets of Yezidi religious art and architecture (including funerary monuments and zoomorphic tombstones) and their relationship to their neighbours throughout the Middle East. Acikyildiz also explores the often misunderstood connections between Yezidism and the Satan/ Sheitan of Christian and Muslim tradition.
Richly illustrated, with accompanying maps, photographs and illustrations, this pioneering book will have strong appeal to all those with an interest in the culture of the Kurds, as well as the wider region.


Birgül Açıkyıldız studied art history at the universities of Hacettepe and Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne. She was then appointed to a Barakat Trust Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Khalili Research Centre for the Art and Material Culture of the Middle East, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford where she also worked as a Research Fellow. She taught at the Department of Islamic Art and Archaeology of the University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne and the Faculties Communication and Fine Arts of the University of Hacettepe. Currently, she is chair of the Art History Department of Mardin Artuklu University in Turkey.
birgul@acikyildiz.com


Table des Matières


Contents

List of Illustrations / ix
Acknowledgements / xv
List of Abbreviations / xvii

Introduction / 1
Meeting the Yezidis / 5
Geographical Location and Distribution / 33

1 Origins, History and Development / 35
Yezidis in Mesopotamia and Anatolia / 37
Yezidis in Syria / 63
Yezidis in Transcaucasia / 66

2 Religious Belief System / 71
God, Angels and the Trinity / 71
God (Xwede) / 71
Angels / 72
The Peacock Angel (Tawusi Melek) / 73
Sultan Êzi / 81
Sheikh Adi / 82
Yezidi Mythology / 86
The Creation of the Cosmos and the Universe / 86
The Creation of Human Beings / 87
The Flood / 88
Holy Books / 88
Religious Hierarchy / 91

3 Religious Practices, Observances and Rituals / 99
Haircut, Baptism, Circumcision, Brother of the Hereafter, Marriage, Death / 99
Prayer / 103
Fasting / 104
Pilgrimage / 104
Festivals and Ceremonies / 108
Taboos / 112

4 Material Culture / 115
Homeland, Landscape, Sacred Places / 115
Places of Worship / 130
The Sanctuary / 131
Mausoleums / 146
Shrines / 175
The Baptistery / 177
Caves 180
Tombstones / 182

5 Conclusion / 197

Appendices / 205
Appendix I: Yezidi Saints / 205
Appendix II: Genealogy of the Umayyads and Sheikh ‘Adi’s Family / 211
Appendix III: Genealogy of the Early Shamsani Family / 212
Appendix IV: Yezidi Mausoleums in Northern Iraq / 213
Appendix V: Typology of Mausoleums in Northern Iraq / 216
Appendix VI: Typology of Mausoleums in the Republic of Armenia / 217

Glossary / 219

Notes / 225

Interviews / 249

Bibliography / 251

Index / 269




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