A01=Ezster Spat
ancient ethnicity
Author_Ezster Spat
caste system
Category=JBSL
Christian motifs
collective villages
culture
devil-worshippers
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=0
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
eradication attempts
ethnic identity
forced resettlement
geographic isolation
Gnosticism
Gulf War
heretics
history
indigenous beliefs
inner strife
Jewish influence
Kurdish people
Middle East
modernisation
Peacock Angel
persecution
political fallout
religion
religious fusion
resilience
Saddam Hussein
Satan
shifting power
Sufism
Sunni Kurds
Zoroastrianism
Product details
- ISBN 9780863565939
- Weight: 229g
- Dimensions: 160 x 230mm
- Publication Date: 28 Sep 2005
- Publisher: Saqi Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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The Yezidis, an ancient enigmatic Kurdish mountain people, are considered one of the oldest ethnicities in the Middle East, and often derided as 'devil-worshippers'. Distinct from the majority Sunni Kurds, Yezidis' religion evolved through a fusion of Sufism with earlier religious beliefs indigenous to the region, including Zoroastrian, Jewish, Gnostic and Christian motifs. They attribute a prominent place to their protector, the Peacock Angel, traditionally identified with Satan by Muslims. Historically labelled as heretics and mercilessly persecuted, the Yezidis developed a unique culture and caste system. More recently, under Saddam Hussein, Yezidi culture underwent radical changes, with the forced resettlement into collective villages and geographic isolation reinforced by the political fallout from the Second Gulf War. Along with her enquiry into the meaning and manner of their practices, Spat takes note of the increasing demands of modernisation and the shifting balance of power in the region, and also observes the stirrings of inner strife in an otherwise tough, resilient community that has endured continuous attempts at eradication over centuries.
Eszter Spat is a research fellow in the Department of Medieval Studies at the Central European University, where she earned her PhD. She has extensively researched Yezidi history and culture, and her other publications include 'Late Antique Motifs in Yezidi Oral Tradition'. Author location: Budapest, Hungary
