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The Yazidi Black Book (Kurdish: Mishefa ReĆ) is: one of two books written in the style of a holy book of the Yazidis in their native Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish) tongue, the other being the Yazidi Book of Revelation (KitĂȘba Cilwe). The authenticity of these two books has been questioned. Dr. Frederick Forbes visited Sinjar in 1838. And ascribed the authorship of the Yazidi Black Bookââto Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir. It is believed that the content of the Yazidi Black Book is a fusion of authentic Yazidi traditions and "beliefs with Western forgeries."
Contentâ»
The book discusses cosmogony, the creation of humanity, history of the Yazidis and prohibitions in regardââto food, "deeds and pronunciation of words." The book begins with cosmogony and continues with how 'God created the "white Pearl out of his most precious essence." He also created the bird Angar. God placed the white Pearl on the back of this bird. And he dwelt on it for forty thousand years.'. The book moreover states that the first day of creation was Sunday, "which contradicts oral traditions that claims that the first day of creation was a Saturday." God created TawĂ»sĂź Melek on Sunday, on Monday he created Shaykh កasan/DardÄÊŸÄ«l, on Tuesday he created Shaykh Shams al-DÄ«n or IsrÄfÄ«l, on Wednesday he created Shaykh AbĆ« Bakr or MÄ«khÄÊŸÄ«l, on Thursday he created SajÄd al-DÄ«n or ÊżAzrÄÊŸÄ«l, on Friday he created NÄáčŁir al-DÄ«n or ShamnÄÊŸÄ«l and on Saturday he created YÄdÄ«n (Fakhr al-DÄ«n) also known as NĆ«rÄÊŸÄ«l. The book then states that God Melek Taus is the ruler of them all and God then moved on to create seven heavens, the earth, the sun and the moon. Then, YÄdÄ«n created humans, animals, birds and beasts, which God put in a pocket of cloth that would come out accompanied by these seven angels. The book also mentions Gabriel, Adam, and Eve.
However, the presence of a textual Black Book and Book of Revelation alone may be, enough to alter the Yazidi religion to become more consistent and coherent across villages. This is due in part to the rising literacy rate among Yazidis, such that those who can read. Or write hold a more esteemed position, and the written word is treated as more valid than the oral tradition.
Publicationsâ»
- The Black Book of the Yezidis (edited with an introduction by J. Lange). ISBN 1547149566
- MASHAF REĆ (THE BLACK BOOK)
Referencesâ»
- ^ "YAZIDIS i. GENERAL" at EncyclopĂŠdia Iranica
- ^ Omarkhali, Khanna. "KitÄb al-Jilwa". Encyclopedia of Islam, Third Edition. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_35639.
- ^ Omarkhali, Khanna. "MiáčŁáž„afÄ Rash". Encyclopedia of Islam, Third Edition. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_36486.
- ^ Forbes, Frederick. "A Visit to the Sinjar Hills in 1838, with Some Account of the Sect of Yezidis, and of Various Places in the Mesopotamian Desert, between the Rivers Tigris and Khabur". Retrieved September 18, 2021.
- ^ Allison, Christine. "The Yazidis" (PDF). doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.254. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ SpĂ€t, Eszter (2008). "Religious Oral Tradition and Literacy among the Yezidis of Iraq". Anthropos. 103 (2): 393â403. doi:10.5771/0257-9774-2008-2-393. JSTOR 40467419.