Devil Worship: The Sacred Books and Traditions of the Yezidiz

by Isya Joseph

DEVIL WORSHIP
THE SACRED BOOKS AND
TRADITIONS OF THE
YEZIDIZ

BY
ISYA JOSEPH, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

BOSTON
RICHARD G. BADGER
THE GORHAM PRESS

Copyright, 1919, by Richard G. Badger
All rights reserved

The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.
Made in the United States of America.

TO MY TEACHERS IN UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,
COLUMBIA, AND HARVARD UNIVERSITIES, THIS
BOOK IS INSCRIBED WITH GRATITUDE
AND ESTEEM

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CONTENTS

Chapter			Page
	Introduction—The Origin of the Manuscript		[11]
	Notes on the Introduction		[22]
	[PART I]. THE TRANSLATION OF THE ARABIC TEXT
	Preface, in the Name of the Most Compassionate God		[29]
	I.	Al-Jilwah—The Revelation	[30]
	II.	Mashaf Res—The Black Book	[36]
	III.	Appendix to Part I.	[53]
	IV.	The Poem in Praise of Šeiḫ ‘Adi	[70]
	V.	The Principal Prayer of the Yezidis	[73]
	VI.	Seven Classes of Yezidis	[75]
	VII.	The Articles of Faith	[77]
	Notes on Part I.		[83]
	[PART II]. THE CRITICAL DISCUSSION OF YEZIDISM
I.	The Religious Origin of the Yezidis		[89]
	I.	The Yezidi Myth	[89]
	II.	The Christian Tradition	[96]
	III.	The Speculative Theories of Western Orientalists	[103]
	IV.	The Dogmatic View of Mohammedan Scholarsand the Writer’s Own Explanation	[118]
	Notes on Part I.		138
II.	The Essential Elements in Yezidism		[145]
	I.	The Yezidi View of God	[145]
	II.	The Deity of the Second Degree	[147]
		1. Melek Ṭâ´ûs	[147]
		2. Šeiḫ ‘Adî	[158]
		3. Yezid	[166]
	Notes on Chapter II.		[167]
III.	Other Deities and Festivals		[169]
	I.	The So-Called Seven Divinities	[169]
	II.	The Day of Sarsal or New Year	[174]
	Notes on Chapter III.		[177]
IV.	Sacraments,Religious Observances and Sacerdotal System		[178]
	I.	Sacraments	[178]
	II.	Some Other Religious Practices	[180]
	III.	The Sacerdotal Orders	[182]
	Notes on Chapter IV.		[185]
V.	Their Customs		[186]
	I.	Marriage	[186]
	II.	Funerals	[192]
	III.	Nationality	[194]
	IV.	Locality	[195]
	V.	Dwellings	[197]
	VI.	The Language	[198]
	VII.	Occupation	[198]
	Notes on Chapter V.		[200]
VI.	List of the Yezidi Tribes		[201]
	The Tribes Across the River from Mosul		[201]
	The Tribes at Sinjar and Jezireh		[202]
	The Tribes of Midyat Region		[203]
VII.	Persecution		[205]
	Notes on Chapter VII.		[210]
Bibliography			[213]
Index			[219]