Devil worship : $b The sacred books and traditions of the YezidizJoseph, Isya
Religion
Devil worship : $b The sacred books and traditions of the Yezidiz
Joseph, Isya
Yezidis
Married women are dressed entirely in white, and their shirt is of
the same cut as the man’s, with a white kerchief under their chin,
and another over their heads, held by the ‘agal or woollen cord of
the Bedouins. The girls wear white skirts and drawers, and over them
colored zabouns, long dresses open in front and confined at the
waist by a girdle ornamented with pieces of silver. They bind fancy
kerchiefs around their heads and adorn themselves with coins as well
as with glass and amber beads.
The men wear shirts closed up to the neck, and their religious law
forbids them to wear the common eastern shirts open in front. Their
shirt is the distinctive mark by which the Yezidi sect is recognized
at once. They are clothed besides with loose trousers and cloaks, both
of white, and with a black turban, from beneath which their hair falls
in ringlets. They usually carry long rifles in their hands, pistols in
their girdles, and a sword at their side.
In their physical characteristics they are like the Kurds, wild, rough,
uncultured. They are muscular, active, and capable of bearing great
hardship. In general, they are a fine, manly race: tall or of medium
stature, with large chest; strong deep voice, audible afar; clear, keen
eye; frank and confident, or fierce and angry; nose of moderate length,
and fairly small head. Their legs are rather short, but the soles of
their feet are large. Their complexion is usually dark and their eyes
are black. But there are different types. The predominant type is tall,
with black hair, fine regular nose, and bluish brown eyes. The rest
are of shorter stature, with longer features; light, bright eyes; and
large, irregular nose. The Yezidis sometime shave the hair off their
head, leaving only a long, thin forelock.
II
FUNERALS
If a young or well-known man dies, they make in his likeness a wooden
form and clothe it in the dead man’s clothes. Then the musicians play
mourning tunes, while the relatives stand round the model. After
wailing for a while, they walk in procession in a circle around the
form, and now and then kneel down to receive a blessing from it. Those
who come to the scene, according to their custom, ask the parents of
the dead man, “What have you?” They reply, “We have the wedding of our
son.” They continue wailing for three days. Afterward they distribute
food on behalf of the dead. For a year they give a plate of food with
a loaf of bread daily to some person, thinking that thereby they are
feeding their own dead. On the seventh and fortieth day from the time
of death, they visit the grave to mourn over their lost one. Now, if
the dead be a common man, he is not honored with such a ceremony. He is
usually buried an hour or two after his death.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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