The Yezidis
The Sinjar range of hills stretching in a westerly direction from Mosul is the only upland of importance in the Mesopotamian valley. The largest compact mass of Yezidis are domiciled in this hilly country. A minor group occupies the Samaan mountains in Syria.[255]
The appellation of devil-worshipers which generally accompanies the name of Yezidi conveys a totally erroneous impression regarding their beliefs. They recognize, in fact, a benign deity, the Khode-Qanj, who reigns supreme over creation but with whom is associated an inferior divine essence, the Malik-i-Tawus, or Peacock King, who is lord of all evil and whom they consider necessary to propitiate in order to avert misfortune. But the ceremonies and sacrifices performed in honor of the subordinate deity do not interfere with the primary worship with which the God of Good is revered.[256] This interpretation of divinity bears deep analogy to the Iranian cult which revolves around the central figures of Ormuzd and Ahriman, respectively the good and the evil principle. The language of the Yezidis, which is akin to Kurdish, brings added evidence of the eastern derivation of their culture.
According to their own traditions the Yezidis came originally from the districts of the lower Euphrates. Certain Sabean features of their religion indicate intimate contact with Semitic populations. Little is known about their curious religious celebrations, to which strangers are never admitted. Their practice of bowing before the rising sun is a clear relic of Zoroastrian influence. They also perform rites which have analogy to Christian commemorations. In a land overrun in all directions no simple feature of the views they hold can account for their origin. The religion of the moment was imposed by the dominant element over all the peoples of Asiatic Turkey. Hence a given group merely shows successive strata of religious invasions.
The sturdily-built Yezidi is active and hardy. His energy sets him apart from the lithe-limbed and easy-going Arabs. His vigor and fighting blood saved him from the frightful persecutions for which the particularly obnoxious feature of his dual deity was responsible. Byzantine bishops and Arabian mollahs in turn reserved the wildest thunder of their intolerance for the Yezidi, whom they execrated beyond all others among heretics and unbelievers. This hatred of the presumed worshiper of the devil has not yet been outlived, and a devout Mohammedan will today spit upon the ground and mutter a curse whenever the abhorred name crosses his lips.
The Yezidis enjoy fame as agriculturists who know how to exact good yield from their mountain farms. They live a retired life and rarely allow strangers to travel through the Sinjar range. The modern armament of Turkish expeditions has cowed the present generation into a submission which their fathers would have scorned. But they still remain unwilling tax payers who rely on the natural disinclination of Turkish tax collectors to mountain-climbing.