Yes, I see this as partly related to the media image of the Kurds. It really demonstrates the need to search out information to verify what we read in the news.
But on the other hand, the more I think about it, I'm not sure that I think there is a big difference between whitewashing vs. not having all the info. Not being informed is to some extent a choice. For instance, when you and I read the news story, we looked further; maybe some people didn't do that, because the "snippet" version fits their pre-assumed image of the Yezidi as the compassionate and oppressed people.
And even if this had never come up in the news, have any of us bothered to learn enough about Yezidi society to know that honor killings were a part of their culture? (Or enough to be able to say that this was an anomaly and not a common practice?) If anybody did, I have never heard about it. For that matter, I can't recall anybody mentioning research about the Yezidi apart from two pieces: the Peacock angel myth, and that old book about the Yezidi that somebody posted a link to a couple of years ago. I'm not picking on people here, I am just as uninformed as anyone. Because the Yezidi-derived lore isn't very prominent in my practice, I never felt a great compulsion to research the culture in depth.
Maybe I'm taking too critical of a stance here, I know I tend to do that sometimes. It just seems to me that if somebody is going to incorporate a Yezidi deity and myth into their spiritual practice, it's their responsibility to go learn as much as possible about the actual culture it comes from, not just its mythology. If info on the Yezidi is hard to find, which I'm sure it is, it at least seems like one should go learn as much as possible about the Kurds. And it just seems to me that people in the Feri community must not have done this work, because if they had, I would think there would be less of a whitewashed image of Yezidi culture being represented.
Or, I could be just not hearing about it, of course.
Yes, we should learn about cultures and I think you've actually said or implied this elsewhere: the culture ain't gonna be perfect. It is what I've said to people who try to blame monotheism for the world's ills: "Pagans were conquering assholes, too!"
But I know that I, and at least a couple other Feris I know, have researched the Yezidis. Malik is very important to me, so I thought the study needed to happen. One clear, simple, and easy to read book that has a lot about their culture is "The Yezidis" by Eszter Spat who is a Hungarian scholar. She was a Ph.d student at the time she wrote the book and spent a year in Iraq studying the Yezidi, and I've seen her name on Kurdish Studies conferences etc, so I think she's pretty reliable. I got it from Field's. It's from a British publisher of Arabic culture books: http://www.saqibooks.com/
I've other, denser and more complex books that I use more for reference, but the Spat book is better for lazy scholars like myself and here is a site I send people to often: http://www.lalish.de/english/ The English can be a little hinky cuz it is translated from German and/or Arabic depending on the article. But it is a site run by Kurds in Germany, where there is a huge population of Kurds and Yezidis.
One other aspect of this current debacle is that for Yezidis, marrying outside their own caste (they have 3) is problematic, let alone marrying outside of the religion.
Hee! Wow, you weren't kidding about hinky English. I like this little poll they had posted on the sidebar:
"As you find our Internet side ?
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Anyway, it doesn't surprise me that you do your homework. So what do you think--is an honor killing like this a regular practice in Yezidi society, as it is in many Arab tribes? Is there any precedent for something like this happening? Was it a part of Yezidi/Kurdish culture you were aware of before? I'm curious because as I said, it's not something I've heard about before.
Aargh. I'm spending way too much time online today!
Honor killings in Iraq and Kurdistan are pretty common, culturally. How the Yezidi themselves play into it, I am not sure. It seems to be trans-religious. I believe Kurdistan recently passed a ruling against honor killings.
There's been a lot of violence in the last month between Yezidis and Sunnis over various issues. It doesn't help that things have grown worse with the US threatening to build Sunni ghettos - though I guess that has been called off this week.
But on the other hand, the more I think about it, I'm not sure that I think there is a big difference between whitewashing vs. not having all the info. Not being informed is to some extent a choice. For instance, when you and I read the news story, we looked further; maybe some people didn't do that, because the "snippet" version fits their pre-assumed image of the Yezidi as the compassionate and oppressed people.
And even if this had never come up in the news, have any of us bothered to learn enough about Yezidi society to know that honor killings were a part of their culture? (Or enough to be able to say that this was an anomaly and not a common practice?) If anybody did, I have never heard about it. For that matter, I can't recall anybody mentioning research about the Yezidi apart from two pieces: the Peacock angel myth, and that old book about the Yezidi that somebody posted a link to a couple of years ago. I'm not picking on people here, I am just as uninformed as anyone. Because the Yezidi-derived lore isn't very prominent in my practice, I never felt a great compulsion to research the culture in depth.
Maybe I'm taking too critical of a stance here, I know I tend to do that sometimes. It just seems to me that if somebody is going to incorporate a Yezidi deity and myth into their spiritual practice, it's their responsibility to go learn as much as possible about the actual culture it comes from, not just its mythology. If info on the Yezidi is hard to find, which I'm sure it is, it at least seems like one should go learn as much as possible about the Kurds. And it just seems to me that people in the Feri community must not have done this work, because if they had, I would think there would be less of a whitewashed image of Yezidi culture being represented.
Or, I could be just not hearing about it, of course.
Reply
But I know that I, and at least a couple other Feris I know, have researched the Yezidis. Malik is very important to me, so I thought the study needed to happen. One clear, simple, and easy to read book that has a lot about their culture is "The Yezidis" by Eszter Spat who is a Hungarian scholar. She was a Ph.d student at the time she wrote the book and spent a year in Iraq studying the Yezidi, and I've seen her name on Kurdish Studies conferences etc, so I think she's pretty reliable. I got it from Field's. It's from a British publisher of Arabic culture books: http://www.saqibooks.com/
I've other, denser and more complex books that I use more for reference, but the Spat book is better for lazy scholars like myself and here is a site I send people to often:
http://www.lalish.de/english/
The English can be a little hinky cuz it is translated from German and/or Arabic depending on the article. But it is a site run by Kurds in Germany, where there is a huge population of Kurds and Yezidis.
One other aspect of this current debacle is that for Yezidis, marrying outside their own caste (they have 3) is problematic, let alone marrying outside of the religion.
Reply
"As you find our Internet side ?
Very much property
Well
Treatment needy
No Komentar"
Anyway, it doesn't surprise me that you do your homework. So what do you think--is an honor killing like this a regular practice in Yezidi society, as it is in many Arab tribes? Is there any precedent for something like this happening? Was it a part of Yezidi/Kurdish culture you were aware of before? I'm curious because as I said, it's not something I've heard about before.
Reply
Honor killings in Iraq and Kurdistan are pretty common, culturally. How the Yezidi themselves play into it, I am not sure. It seems to be trans-religious. I believe Kurdistan recently passed a ruling against honor killings.
There's been a lot of violence in the last month between Yezidis and Sunnis over various issues. It doesn't help that things have grown worse with the US threatening to build Sunni ghettos - though I guess that has been called off this week.
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