Before the attacks on the Yazidi people by ISIS (The Islamic State) in 2014, very little attention was paid to the Yazidi by the Hindu community, and vice versa. However, over the months following the attacks on the Yazidi we saw a literal explosion on every media platform of attempts to try to equate the Yazidi people with Hinduism and the Vedas. There were even calls for the mass importation of the Yazidi into India which some Hindus claim is their original homeland. It is one thing to feel sympathy for the Yazidi and want to help them, it is another to try to equate them with Hinduism. I have come to know that this sudden mass movement to cloak the Yazidi in Hindu garb is a well-orchestrated deception by such powers as the Knights Templar, ISKON, and unscrupulous Zoroastrians. There is much that needs to be told and brought forth about this deception, why it is happening, and who is behind it, but let’s start with a general overview of the Yazidi as presented on the website www.yeziditruth.org. After reading through this initial report, it is certain that almost every Hindu will begin to doubt the “Yazidi are Hindus” narrative. However, keep in mind, the unmasking of this plot and the players behind it is far from over.
The Yazidi Are Abrahamics (Bible/Quran Based)
The Yazidi religion professes belief in a singular “supreme” god [similar to the biblical god] who manifests in the form of “Seven Great Angels”, the leader of which is a peacock named Tawsi Melek. The peacock king Tawsi Melek descended to earth to breathe life into the biblical Adam in the Garden of Eden. Afterward, the biblical Eve was created. The Yazidi believe that Adam was able to produce progeny spontaneously without Eve. Adam had a son through spontaneous generation named Shehid bin Jer who became the progenitor of the Yazidi race. All other peoples are believed to be the descendants of the mating of Adam and Eve, while the Yazidi are the descendants of Adam alone. According to legend, the peacock angel Tawsi Melek transferred his knowledge to Adam’s son Shehid bin Jer which became the foundation of the Yazidi religion of his progeny. Yazidi creation theology has no basis in Hinduism, which states that the world was created by an ultimately unknowable force, but is obviously a derivative of Abrahamism and closely resembles the creation myths found in the Bible and Quran.
The Yazidi come from Iraq, Not India
The Yazidi believe that the biblical Garden of Eden was a golden age of wisdom and prosperity. Moral decline began to set in, and so 6,000 years ago the Yazidi god sent a flood to cleanse the earth. This is nearly identical to the flood of Noah story found in the bible. After the flood, it is said the Yazidi dispersed to India, Afghanistan and Northern Africa. 4,000 years ago, per legend, the Yazidi began to return to Northern Iraq. In the 11th Century CE, the Yazidi culture was reformed by a sufist named Sheikh Adi who crystalized Yazidi scriptures and culture. Shekh Adi also formulated the modern Yazidi caste system. While some have claimed that the Yazidi are originally from India, the Yazidi claim Northern Iraq to be their homeland and state that some of their diaspora at one time immigrated to India due to natural disasters.
Yazidi Caste System Does Not Resemble The Hindu Varna System
The Yazidi claim they picked up their caste system from their diaspora in India, however it was modified by their last reformer, the Sufist Sheikh Adi. Whatever the origins of the Yazidi caste system, it no longer resembles the Varna System of Hinduism. There are three main castes of the Yazidi and they are strictly hereditary. Sheiks are the highest caste, Sheik being an Arabic word that means “leader”. The Sheiks are further divided into sub-castes: Faqirs, Qewels and Kochecks. Faqirs (another word for Sufi) are the highest of the Sheiks, they are priests who are often supported by the other castes through a tithing system. Qewels are bards or singers who attend ceremonies, a position which is also hereditary. Kochecks (female Fagras) are seers and psychics who serve at the holy sites in Lalish, they can come from any caste. The second highest caste are the Pir, a hereditary group who are said to be the descendants of a holy man named Peer Alae. The Pir are believed to have mystical powers. The Pir are present at and assist the Sheik with all marriage, burial and birth ceremonies. Pir are also viewed as advisors. Every Yazidi of every caste are required to take one Pir and one Sheik as their guide for life. Finally there is the hereditary Murid caste who are the “commoners” and who do not partake in the priest hood. The Yazidi also have two official positions based on caste and heredity. The “Mir” is the prince of the Yazidi. He is the temporal and religious head of the Yazidi people and speaks on their behalf on the national and international level. The Mir is the head of the Yazidi theocratic state, it is a hereditary position and members come from specific Sheikh families called “Col Families”. After the Mir is the Baba Sheikh, styled the “Pope” of Yazdinism. Baba means “father” and the Baba Sheikh is the spiritual head of the Yazidi community, however the Sheikh is subservient to the Mir in all matters temporal and spiritual. There are many differences between the Yazidi caste system and the Hindu varna system. While the Yazidi caste system is purely hereditary, the Hindu varna system is based upon personal merits and occupation, anyone born into any family can be a Brahmin priest or Sudra worker. While there are three strict castes in the Yazidi system, there are four fluid varnas in the Hindu system. Unlike Yazdinism, Hindus have no universal prince or pope who speaks for all Hindus. Finally, the Yazidi caste system is described using Arabic or Sufist terms, not Sanskrit.
Yazidi Holidays Closely Resemble Other Abrahamic Holidays, But Not Hindu Holidays
The Yazidi New Year closely resembles Christian Easter. It is celebrated on a particular Wednesday in April (Easter is always in March or April) and commemorates the time when Tawsi Melek descended to earth to calm the earth’s quacking and spread his peacock colors. On this day, Yazidi color eggs (just like Christians during Easter). There is also a banquet held in graveyards to honor the dead (Easter is a feast to commemorate Jesus’ return form the dead). The Parade of Sanjaks is a festival which parades the Yazidi sacred peacock idol through the Yazidi villages (it is normally housed in the residence of the Mir). The peacock is said to have been brought from India by the Yazidi diaspora there. The Yazidi connection with Hinduism is minor and extremely superficial, the vast majority of practices and ideals are Abrahamic in nature. The Fast of the Sacrifice is a 40 day fast observed by holy men in Lalish in mid-February. The fast commemorates the day when the biblical Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son Ishmael (in the bible it was Isaac who was to be sacrificed) but instead sacrificed a sheep. The Seven Day Feast is held in early October and is a time when Yazidi make a pilgrimage to their holy Shrine in Lalish. At the festival a Bull is chased and when captured it is slaughtered and cooked. The meat is distributed among the festival attendees. A similar ritual is found within the Jewish religion called Korban. The Three Day Fast of December resembles the Islamic Holiday of Ramadan. During this time Yazidi fast for the entire day and feast at night (similar to the practice of Islamic Ramadan). The Yazidi are instructed to pray 5 times a day (similar to Islam). The prayer instructions were given to the biblical Adam by Tawsi Melek. It is significant that the Yazidi are instructed not to perform their prayers in the presence of outsiders. Saturday is viewed as a day of rest (similar to Jewish Sabbath). While Yazidi holidays feature Abrahamic myths and closely resemble festivals found in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, none of their holidays correlate to anything found in Hinduism.
Death and Reincarnation
Yazidi bodies are buried (Abrahamic tradition), not cremated like Hindus. Upon death, it is believed that departed souls meet Sheik Adi (Sufist reformer of the religion) who questions them on their past sexual practices. Sex with non-Yazidi or with people of other castes could bar a Yazidi from entering paradise. Some Yazidi believe in hell, some believe hellfire was extinguished by the tears of Tawsi Melek. Yazidi have kept their belief in reincarnation since their time in India. Yazidi believe they are reincarnated until they achieve a level of purity which allows them to ascend to heaven for eternity (similar ideas do appear in Hinduism). Impure Yazidi are punished with reincarnation into the body of a non-Yazidi, the worst punishment possible; the Yazidi religion will prove to be extremely xenophobic. Of all Yazidi beliefs, reincarnation is the closest thing we can find to Hinduism, but this is a very small part of the belief system. However, being judged by a leader-like figure before entering paradise more resembles Christianity and Islam
Christianity and Yazdinism
Yazidi consider Christians to be their closest friends. The Yazidi sheltered Christians during the Armenian Genocide and Christians helped the Yazidi flee to Europe and America during the reign of Sadam Hussien in Irag. Jesus is recognized as a great prophet of Tawsi Melek and Jesus’ name is repeated in Yazidi prayers. It is claimed that a Yazidi carpenter named Yosef Nagar (Jesus’ adopted father’s name was Joseph and he was a carpenter) lived in Jerusalem when Jesus was a boy and taught the future “prophet” the healing practices and art of herbalism. Yazidi holy books claim that Tawsi Melek was a guide and helper to Jesus. The Yazidi god is said to have sent Tawsi Melek to move the stone that blocked Jesus’ tomb and was a protective angel who stayed nearby. Sheike Adi (last reformer of the Yazidi and a Sufist) was supposedly a lover of Jesus. Sheike Adi was influenced by Sufi al-Hasan al-Barsi who proclaimed that there is no messiah “madhi” but Jesus. While the Yazidi claim they are closest in friendship with Christians, and Jesus plays a major role in their religion, never did they mention that Hindus are their friends and there are no Hindu gods of heroes mentioned in their legends.
To Be Continued
So what have we learned from this first overview of the Yazidi? Yazidi theology closely resembles that found in the bible and quran, relying on the same myths (garden of eden) and characters (Adam and Eve). Very little in Yazidi theology seems to come from the Vedas. The Yazidi caste system is inherently hereditary, is described in Arabic/Sufist terms, and contains positions of universal prince and “pope”, none of which is found in the Hindu varna system. Yazidi holidays mention Abrahamic figures (Abraham and Ishmael) and closely resemble the holidays of Christians, Muslims and Jews, while any linkage to Hinduism in Yazidi holidays seems to be very superficial. Finally, while Christians are spoken of as friends and Jesus plays a role in the Yazidi religion, never are Hindus called “friends of the Yazidi” and no Hindu deities or heroes are mentioned in Yazidi literature.
The Unraveling Of The Yazidi Deception Is Far From Over
SOURCE: http://www.yeziditruth.org/yezidi_religious_tradition
- Yazidi creation theology closely resembles biblical/quranic accounts
The Yazidi religion professes belief in a singular “supreme” god [similar to the biblical god] who manifests in the form of “Seven Great Angels”, the leader of which is a peacock named Tawsi Melek. The peacock king Tawsi Melek descended to earth to breathe life into the biblical Adam in the Garden of Eden. Afterward, the biblical Eve was created. The Yazidi believe that Adam was able to produce progeny spontaneously without Eve. Adam had a son through spontaneous generation named Shehid bin Jer who became the progenitor of the Yazidi race. All other peoples are believed to be the descendants of the mating of Adam and Eve, while the Yazidi are the descendants of Adam alone. According to legend, the peacock angel Tawsi Melek transferred his knowledge to Adam’s son Shehid bin Jer which became the foundation of the Yazidi religion of his progeny. Yazidi creation theology has no basis in Hinduism, which states that the world was created by an ultimately unknowable force, but is obviously a derivative of Abrahamism and closely resembles the creation myths found in the Bible and Quran.
The Yazidi come from Iraq, Not India
- The Yazidi claim Northern Iraq to be their place of origin, not India
The Yazidi believe that the biblical Garden of Eden was a golden age of wisdom and prosperity. Moral decline began to set in, and so 6,000 years ago the Yazidi god sent a flood to cleanse the earth. This is nearly identical to the flood of Noah story found in the bible. After the flood, it is said the Yazidi dispersed to India, Afghanistan and Northern Africa. 4,000 years ago, per legend, the Yazidi began to return to Northern Iraq. In the 11th Century CE, the Yazidi culture was reformed by a sufist named Sheikh Adi who crystalized Yazidi scriptures and culture. Shekh Adi also formulated the modern Yazidi caste system. While some have claimed that the Yazidi are originally from India, the Yazidi claim Northern Iraq to be their homeland and state that some of their diaspora at one time immigrated to India due to natural disasters.
Yazidi Caste System Does Not Resemble The Hindu Varna System
- The Yazidi Caste System is strictly hereditary and uses Arabic/Sufist terminology
The Yazidi claim they picked up their caste system from their diaspora in India, however it was modified by their last reformer, the Sufist Sheikh Adi. Whatever the origins of the Yazidi caste system, it no longer resembles the Varna System of Hinduism. There are three main castes of the Yazidi and they are strictly hereditary. Sheiks are the highest caste, Sheik being an Arabic word that means “leader”. The Sheiks are further divided into sub-castes: Faqirs, Qewels and Kochecks. Faqirs (another word for Sufi) are the highest of the Sheiks, they are priests who are often supported by the other castes through a tithing system. Qewels are bards or singers who attend ceremonies, a position which is also hereditary. Kochecks (female Fagras) are seers and psychics who serve at the holy sites in Lalish, they can come from any caste. The second highest caste are the Pir, a hereditary group who are said to be the descendants of a holy man named Peer Alae. The Pir are believed to have mystical powers. The Pir are present at and assist the Sheik with all marriage, burial and birth ceremonies. Pir are also viewed as advisors. Every Yazidi of every caste are required to take one Pir and one Sheik as their guide for life. Finally there is the hereditary Murid caste who are the “commoners” and who do not partake in the priest hood. The Yazidi also have two official positions based on caste and heredity. The “Mir” is the prince of the Yazidi. He is the temporal and religious head of the Yazidi people and speaks on their behalf on the national and international level. The Mir is the head of the Yazidi theocratic state, it is a hereditary position and members come from specific Sheikh families called “Col Families”. After the Mir is the Baba Sheikh, styled the “Pope” of Yazdinism. Baba means “father” and the Baba Sheikh is the spiritual head of the Yazidi community, however the Sheikh is subservient to the Mir in all matters temporal and spiritual. There are many differences between the Yazidi caste system and the Hindu varna system. While the Yazidi caste system is purely hereditary, the Hindu varna system is based upon personal merits and occupation, anyone born into any family can be a Brahmin priest or Sudra worker. While there are three strict castes in the Yazidi system, there are four fluid varnas in the Hindu system. Unlike Yazdinism, Hindus have no universal prince or pope who speaks for all Hindus. Finally, the Yazidi caste system is described using Arabic or Sufist terms, not Sanskrit.
Yazidi Holidays Closely Resemble Other Abrahamic Holidays, But Not Hindu Holidays
- Yazidi holidays feature Abrahamic myths, but nothing from Hinduism
The Yazidi New Year closely resembles Christian Easter. It is celebrated on a particular Wednesday in April (Easter is always in March or April) and commemorates the time when Tawsi Melek descended to earth to calm the earth’s quacking and spread his peacock colors. On this day, Yazidi color eggs (just like Christians during Easter). There is also a banquet held in graveyards to honor the dead (Easter is a feast to commemorate Jesus’ return form the dead). The Parade of Sanjaks is a festival which parades the Yazidi sacred peacock idol through the Yazidi villages (it is normally housed in the residence of the Mir). The peacock is said to have been brought from India by the Yazidi diaspora there. The Yazidi connection with Hinduism is minor and extremely superficial, the vast majority of practices and ideals are Abrahamic in nature. The Fast of the Sacrifice is a 40 day fast observed by holy men in Lalish in mid-February. The fast commemorates the day when the biblical Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son Ishmael (in the bible it was Isaac who was to be sacrificed) but instead sacrificed a sheep. The Seven Day Feast is held in early October and is a time when Yazidi make a pilgrimage to their holy Shrine in Lalish. At the festival a Bull is chased and when captured it is slaughtered and cooked. The meat is distributed among the festival attendees. A similar ritual is found within the Jewish religion called Korban. The Three Day Fast of December resembles the Islamic Holiday of Ramadan. During this time Yazidi fast for the entire day and feast at night (similar to the practice of Islamic Ramadan). The Yazidi are instructed to pray 5 times a day (similar to Islam). The prayer instructions were given to the biblical Adam by Tawsi Melek. It is significant that the Yazidi are instructed not to perform their prayers in the presence of outsiders. Saturday is viewed as a day of rest (similar to Jewish Sabbath). While Yazidi holidays feature Abrahamic myths and closely resemble festivals found in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, none of their holidays correlate to anything found in Hinduism.
Death and Reincarnation
- Of all Yazidi beliefs, reincarnation most resembles Hinduism, but this is a very small part of Yazidi theology
Yazidi bodies are buried (Abrahamic tradition), not cremated like Hindus. Upon death, it is believed that departed souls meet Sheik Adi (Sufist reformer of the religion) who questions them on their past sexual practices. Sex with non-Yazidi or with people of other castes could bar a Yazidi from entering paradise. Some Yazidi believe in hell, some believe hellfire was extinguished by the tears of Tawsi Melek. Yazidi have kept their belief in reincarnation since their time in India. Yazidi believe they are reincarnated until they achieve a level of purity which allows them to ascend to heaven for eternity (similar ideas do appear in Hinduism). Impure Yazidi are punished with reincarnation into the body of a non-Yazidi, the worst punishment possible; the Yazidi religion will prove to be extremely xenophobic. Of all Yazidi beliefs, reincarnation is the closest thing we can find to Hinduism, but this is a very small part of the belief system. However, being judged by a leader-like figure before entering paradise more resembles Christianity and Islam
Christianity and Yazdinism
- Jesus plays a prominent role in Yazdinism, but no Hindu deities
Yazidi consider Christians to be their closest friends. The Yazidi sheltered Christians during the Armenian Genocide and Christians helped the Yazidi flee to Europe and America during the reign of Sadam Hussien in Irag. Jesus is recognized as a great prophet of Tawsi Melek and Jesus’ name is repeated in Yazidi prayers. It is claimed that a Yazidi carpenter named Yosef Nagar (Jesus’ adopted father’s name was Joseph and he was a carpenter) lived in Jerusalem when Jesus was a boy and taught the future “prophet” the healing practices and art of herbalism. Yazidi holy books claim that Tawsi Melek was a guide and helper to Jesus. The Yazidi god is said to have sent Tawsi Melek to move the stone that blocked Jesus’ tomb and was a protective angel who stayed nearby. Sheike Adi (last reformer of the Yazidi and a Sufist) was supposedly a lover of Jesus. Sheike Adi was influenced by Sufi al-Hasan al-Barsi who proclaimed that there is no messiah “madhi” but Jesus. While the Yazidi claim they are closest in friendship with Christians, and Jesus plays a major role in their religion, never did they mention that Hindus are their friends and there are no Hindu gods of heroes mentioned in their legends.
To Be Continued
So what have we learned from this first overview of the Yazidi? Yazidi theology closely resembles that found in the bible and quran, relying on the same myths (garden of eden) and characters (Adam and Eve). Very little in Yazidi theology seems to come from the Vedas. The Yazidi caste system is inherently hereditary, is described in Arabic/Sufist terms, and contains positions of universal prince and “pope”, none of which is found in the Hindu varna system. Yazidi holidays mention Abrahamic figures (Abraham and Ishmael) and closely resemble the holidays of Christians, Muslims and Jews, while any linkage to Hinduism in Yazidi holidays seems to be very superficial. Finally, while Christians are spoken of as friends and Jesus plays a role in the Yazidi religion, never are Hindus called “friends of the Yazidi” and no Hindu deities or heroes are mentioned in Yazidi literature.
The Unraveling Of The Yazidi Deception Is Far From Over
SOURCE: http://www.yeziditruth.org/yezidi_religious_tradition
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