Yazidism

A Kurdish faith centered on Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel, guardian of the world.

c. 12th century CE → · Kurdistan · Iranian & Dualist

Yazidism is a monotheistic religion of the Kurdish people teaching that one God created the world and placed it in the care of seven holy beings, foremost among them Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel. Blending ancient Iranian, Islamic-Sufi, and local elements, it transmits its beliefs through oral hymns and centers its devotion on the shrine of Lalish. Long persecuted and often misunderstood, its communities have endured great hardship into the present day.

Key figures

• Melek Taus (the Peacock Angel)
• Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir (reformer)

Texts

• Oral hymns (qewls)

Beliefs

• One God who entrusts the world to seven holy beings
• Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel, chief among them
• Rejection of any eternal power of evil

Rituals

• Pilgrimage to Lalish
• Baptism and sacred feasts
• Prayer facing the sun

Grew from

• Zoroastrianism
• Islam
• Sufism

Connections in the atlas

• Lalish, the Yazidi sanctuary
• Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir
• Peacock and the Peacock Angel
• The Kurds