When sent from village to village of its respective district, a sanjaḳ is put in a hagibah[143] (saddle-bag) and carried on a horse that belongs to a pir (religious teacher). On nearing a certain place, a messenger is sent to announce in Kurdish “Sanjaḳ hat,” “the Sanjaḳ has come.” Then all the people don their fineries and go out to welcome it with tambourines. As the representative of Melek Ṭâ´ûs reaches the town, the pir cries out in Kurdish language, “Sanjaḳ mevan ki sawa?” (literally: “Whose guest shall the sanjaḳ be?”). On hearing this, each person makes a bid for the privilege of entertaining it. Finally he who bids the highest receives the image. At that moment the accompanying pir takes the hagibah off the horse’s back and hangs it on the neck of the person who is to keep the symbol of the devil over night. The Yezidis say, that in spite of the frequent wars and massacres to which the sect has been exposed, and the plunder and murder of the priests during their journeys, no Melek Ṭâ´ûs has ever fallen into the hands of the Mohammedans. When a ḳawwal sees danger ahead of him, he buries the Melek Ṭâ´ûs and afterwards comes himself, or sends some one to dig up the brazen peacock, and carries it forward in safety. Besides revering the devil by adoring his symbol, the Yezidis venerate him by speaking with great respect of his name. They refer to him as Melek Ṭâ´ûs, King Peacock, or Melek al-ḳawwat, the Mighty King. They never mention his name; and any allusion to it by others so irritates and vexes them that they put to death persons who have intentionally outraged their feelings by its use. They carefully avoid every expression that resembles in sound the name of Satan. In speaking of shatt (river) they use the common Kurdish word Ave, or the Arabic ma (water). In speaking of the Euphrates, they call it Ave ‘Azim, or ma al-kabir, _i. e._, the great river, or simply al-Frat. 2. Šeiḫ ‘Adî Next to the devil in rank comes Šeiḫ ‘Adi. But he is not the historical person whose biography is given by the Mohammedan authors. He is identified with deity and looked upon as a second person in a divine trinity. He is sent by Melek Ṭâ´ûs to teach and to warn his chosen people lest they go astray. He is conceived to be everywhere, to be greater than Christ; and, like Melek-Ṣedek, has neither father nor mother. He has not died and will never die. In verse ten of the poems in his praise, he is distinctly said to be the only God. His name is associated with all the myth that human imagination can possibly create about a deity. To express the Yezidi dogma in terms of Christian formula, Šeiḫ ‘Adi is the Holy Spirit, who dwells in their prophets, who are called kochaks. He also reveals to them truth and the mysteries of heaven.