devil worshippers don't eat lettuce

this article, which ran in an alaskan newspaper back in 2002, is interesting enough for a reprint here. with interlineal commentary from this emily, of course. it is about an obscure non-Muslim religious group whose members are Kurds (who are, culturally and linguistically, Persians): the yazidi.

Yazidis
Mariam Fam, Associated Press Writer, 4 January 2002

Followers of obscure sect accused of devil worship

Yarmouk Compound, Iraq (AP) - Tucked away in a mountainous area in northern Iraq is the Yarmouk Compound, home to followers of an obscure faith derided by some as a religion of devil worship. Yazidi traditions are so shrouded in secrecy, no outsiders have seen its most important rituals. Few people besides Yazidi religious leaders have copies of the group's holy books.

Living on the margins of this predominantly Islamic country, Yazidis struggle to maintain their traditions, with many settling in the compound's 3000 squat mud houses at the end of an unpaved three-mile road.

[snip]

Accusations of satanic worship are rooted in a central figure in the Yazidi tradition called Malak Ta'us, or the Peacock Angel, who many Muslims and other non-Yazidis consider the devil.

the parsi word for peacock is tavus, and the initial letter is written with the Arabic 'emphatic t', which suggests a non-Iranian origin.

the old persian name for divinities was yazata; in pahlawi (the middle persian language used by zoroastrians in their writings), it is yazd and in farsi (the 'standard persian' of iran), it is ized. these altter two specifically refer to the lesser divinities of the zoroastrian pantheon, who something like patron angels under the one, true God (avestan ahura, pahlawi ohr), Wisdom (avestan Mazdâ, pahlawi Mazd)/

in contrast, malak is an arab loanword; although it literally means "king, regent" it is used in the qur'ân to refer to angels. hence malak ta'us is the origin of the term yazidi - "angel/yazd-[worshippers]" - through a system of replacement. this might be deliberate misinformation given the secretive nature of most Near Eastern religions oppressed by Islam (see also the muwa7iddun "unists", known internationally as the druse or druze of lebanon and israel, and the alawites or alawi of syria and lebanon).

Yazidis, however, believe Malak Ta'us fell from grace, then later repented and must be appeased to avert his wrath. Yazidis have a hymn dedicated to Malak Ta'us and often display his peacock image and kiss it as part of their rituals.

"He can kill us, destroy our houses and punish us. We fear him," said Aizdu, sitting on the floor in a bare room where the compound's men gather for coffee and a smoke.

the peacock appears in the middle east as a sign connected with a divinity or the soul during the time when the first indo-iranians arrived; i wonder if this tradition remains from that time. about 1900 BCE, this pot style appeared in the latest stages of the indus/harappan societies of modern pakistan and northwest india; it is a funeral urn used for storing ashes and apparently heralds, with its new peacock imagery, the arrival of the first indo-iranian peoples into the end-stage culture of the area.

Yazidis have small communities in Syria, Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Armenia, but the majority of the estimated 100,000 followers of the religion live in Iraq. Iraq's government boasts of its tolerance of the Yazidis, but Yazidis are little more than tolerated. Most live in poverty and are the target of contempt.

like iranian zoroastrians, they don't wear blue; for zoroastrians, this was the most common colour of iranian peasant clothing but under islamic rule, they were forbidden from wearing blue. common origin, perhaps?

The government forbids discrimination in hiring or housing, but can't stop other Iraqis from calling Yazidis "devil worshippers" or viewing them as defiled. Though their beliefs and lifestyle may set Yazidis apart from other Iraqis, they say times of need bring them closer, like in the army.

[snip]

Today, most speak Kurdish and few understand Arabic - the language of their holy books, called Kitab al-Jilwah, the Book of Emergence or Book of Revelation, and Mashef Rash, the Black Book.

Men are encouraged to leave beards untrimmed, grow their hair and braid it. They prefer to dress in white, since they believe their religion sanctifies the color. Yazidis regard marriage outside their faith as a sin punishable by ostracizing or even death to restore lost honor.

Among their more unusual beliefs is that evil is found in lettuce; therefore, the vegetable should never be eaten. It is one of the traditions Yazidis said they make sure to observe though they don't know their origin. [emphasis mine]

they neglect to mention here that butter beans are also prohibited. lettuce and butter beans store up evil - have to remember that.

"We have to follow our traditions," Aizdu said.

i'll have to look into how the Yazidis are doing in post-saddam iraq. were they, in fact, re-Kurdified and have they joined the greater Kurdish alliance? if so, that's a very, very good thing.