Baba Sheikh

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baba Sheikh ( Arabic بابا شيخ, DMG Bābā Shaykh  , father Sheikh ', Kurmanji BAVE Şêx ) is the title of the spiritual leader of the Yazidis . He heads the Yezidi class of sheikhs and is responsible for protecting the sanctuary of Sheikh ʿAdī ibn Musāfir in Lalish . That is why he is also called Echtiyārē Mergehē ("The Old Man of the Sanctuary") in Kurdish . Some Yazidis also refer to him as the "Yazidi Pope". His traditional residence is in Ain Sifni (Shekhan) in Northern Iraq.

Selection and identification

Only men from the Fachr-ad-dīn branch of the Yezidi Shemsānī family can be appointed Baba Sheikh. Fachr ad-Dīn was a brother of Shams ad-Dīn, one of the companions of Sheikh ʿAdī. His grave is near the main shrine in Lalisch. The office of Baba Sheikh usually passes from father to son. The Baba Sheikh must, however, have a profound knowledge of the religion and be able to memorize all Yazidi stories. The official installation in his office is carried out by the Mīr, who is considered to be the secular and spiritual head of the Yazidis. The current official is Khurto Hajji Ismail (Keto).

The Baba Sheikh wears special clothing that distinguishes him from others: a white turban , a black cloth belt and gloves when holding ceremonies. His insignia also includes a prayer rug that Sheikh ʿAdī is said to have used to pray. This carpet is shown to the Yazidis during the festivities in the sanctuary of Lalisch. He and his family live on the donations that his murids make for him when he holds baptism, marriage and funeral ceremonies. Although the traditional residence of Baba Sheikh is Ain Sifni, he is buried in a special cemetery in Bozan village.

Cultic tasks

The Baba Sheikh must lead an ascetic life. He is not allowed to drink alcohol and has the duty to fast a certain time during the daylight in summer and winter. During the summer fast, which he performs in imitation of a similar fast by Sheikh ʿAdī, he is accompanied by the so-called Kocheks, servants at the shrine in Lalisch. The end of the fast is celebrated by the Yazidis with the feast of Sheikh ʿAdī or the Feast of Forty Days, which lasts from July 31st to August 3rd. The Baba Sheikh is also responsible for looking after and instructing the Kocheks. He must hold at least ten meetings a year for them to discuss religious matters with them and instruct them in their duties.

Although the Baba Sheikh is the supreme guardian of the Lalish sanctuary, he is supported in this by Baba Chavush, who himself lives in the sanctuary. During the festive season, the Baba Sheikh resides in a small pavilion in the forecourt of the Lalisch shrine. The Yazidi believers take this opportunity to pay their respects to him and bring him donations. When they say hello, they first kiss the carpet and then his hand. The Baba Sheikh opens all important prayers and ceremonies during the festival. His presence at these ceremonies is a prerequisite for their validity. He is assisted by the Pesch Imam and the Baba Gawan in carrying out the ceremonies.

Community visits

Once or twice a year the Baba Sheikh visits the Yazidi villages with the Baba Gawan. Usually he stays for one day in each village. He maintained this custom even after the Yazidis were resettled to Yazidi gathering villages in the 1970s and 1980s as part of the Iraqi Arabization policy. In order to meet his traditional duty to visit, the Baba Sheikh stayed in these collecting villages for several days, changing from one village community to the next every day. Receiving the Baba Sheikh as a guest is a great honor for the head of the household, but also a financial burden, as all visitors from the village who want to meet the dignitary must be entertained. The Baba Sheikh not only performs ceremonies during his visit, but also mediates disputes and tribal feuds. When the Kurdish Autonomous Region was established after the Kurdish uprising in 1991 and the Saddam regime forbade Iraqis from entering the autonomous region, the Baba Sheikh was one of the few religious dignitaries who the regime exempted from this ban so that he could attend the celebrations could be present in Lalisch and carry out his visits to the Yazidi communities.

literature

  • Birgül Açıkyıldız: The Yezidis. The History of Community, Culture and Religion. Tauris, London, 2010. pp. 93-97.
  • John S. Guest: The Yezidis. A Study in Survival . KPI, London & New York, 1987. pp. 32-37.
  • Ilhan Kizilhan : The Yazidis. An anthropological and social psychological study of the Kurdish community. Medico, Frankfurt, 1997. p. 109.
  • Philip G. Kreyenbroek: Yezidism. Its Background, Observances and and Textual Tradition. Mellen, Lewiston, et al. a., 1995. p. 127.
  • Philip G. Kreyenbroek; Khalil Jindy Rashow: God and Sheikh Adi are perfect: sacred poems and religious narratives from the Yezidi tradition . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2005. p. 10.
  • Eszter Spät: The Yezidis. Saqi Books, London, 2005. pp. 59-63.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Spät: The Yezidis. 2005, p. 59.
  2. ↑ See Guest: The Yezidis. 1987, p. 32.
  3. ↑ See Kreyenbroek / Rashow: God and Sheikh Adi are perfect . 2005, p. 10.
  4. ↑ Cf. Açıkyıldız: The Yezidis. 2010, p. 93.
  5. ↑ Cf. Kizilhan: The Yezidis. 1997, p. 109.
  6. ↑ Cf. Açıkyıldız: The Yezidis. 2010, p. 93.
  7. ↑ See Kreyenbroek / Rashow: God and Sheikh Adi are perfect . 2005, p. 10.
  8. ↑ See Guest: The Yezidis. 1987, p. 36f.
  9. ↑ Cf. Kizilhan: The Yezidis. 1997, p. 113.
  10. ↑ Cf. Açıkyıldız: The Yezidis. 2010, p. 93.
  11. ↑ See Spät: The Yezidis. 2005, p. 24.
  12. ↑ Cf. Kizilhan: The Yezidis. 1997, p. 109.
  13. ↑ See Kreyenbroek: Yezidism. 1995, p. 127.
  14. ↑ Cf. Açıkyıldız: The Yezidis. 2010, p. 93.
  15. ↑ Cf. Açıkyıldız: The Yezidis. 2010, p. 94.
  16. ↑ See Spät: The Yezidis. 2005, p. 60f.
  17. ↑ See Spät: The Yezidis. 2005, p. 24.