Yazidism
| Yazidism ئێزدیتی, Êzdiyetî | |
|---|---|
Conical roofs over the tomb of Sheikh Adi at Lalish, the holiest Yazidi temple | |
| Type | Ethnic religion |
| Classification | Iranian religions |
| Scripture | Yazidi Book of Revelation Yazidi Black Book |
| Theology | Monotheistic |
| Mir | Hazim Tahsin or Naif Dawud |
| Baba Sheikh | Sheikh Ali Ilyas |
| Language | Kurdish (Kurmanji) |
| Headquarters | Lalish, Nineveh Plains, Iraq |
| Origin | 12th century Kurdistan |
| Absorbed | Adawiyya |
| Members | Referred to as Yazidis:
c. 200,000–1,000,000 (Encyclopædia Britannica est.) c. 200,000–300,000 (Encyclopædia Iranica, 2004 est.) |
| Other name(s) | Sharfadin |
| Part of a series on |
| Kurdish history and Kurdish culture |
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| Part of a series on the Yazidi religion |
| Yazidism |
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Yazidism, also known as Sharfadin, is a monotheistic ethnic religion which has roots in pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion, directly derived from the Indo-Iranian tradition. Its followers, called Yazidis, are a Kurdish-speaking community.
Yazidism includes elements of ancient Iranian religions, as well as elements of Judaism, Church of the East, and Islam. Yazidism is based on belief in one God who created the world and entrusted it into the care of seven Holy Beings, known as Angels. Preeminent among these Angels is Tawûsî Melek (lit. 'Peacock Angel', also spelled as Melek Taûs), who is the leader of the Angels and who has authority over the world. The religion of the Yazidis is a highly syncretistic one: Sufi influence and imagery can be seen in their religious vocabulary, especially in the terminology of their esoteric literature, but much of the mythology is non-Islamic, and their cosmogonies apparently have many points in common with those of ancient Iranian religions.