Lalisch

Lalisch

Location of the Lalisch valley in Iraq

Sheikh Adi's tomb

Entrance of the temple ( Kurmanji have been installed around 1865 with a variety of handmade religious symbols destroyed after renovation work or at various points again: Deriye Şixadi).

Lalish (also Lalişa Nurani , Kurmanji : lalis ; Arabic لالش, DMG Lāliš ) is a valley in the north of Iraq ( Ezidikhan ) on the border of today's autonomous region of Kurdistan , approx. 60 km north of the city of Mosul , in which the central sanctuary of the Yazidis is located. The wooded valley is over 1000 m high and is surrounded by the three mountains Hizrat, Misat and Arafat. An access in the east connects the valley with the small town of Ain Sifni , which is 14 km away. The Yazidis consider Lalisch to be the holiest place and center of creation . Since 2003, the place has been one of the disputed areas of Northern Iraq .

Description of the sanctuary

The most important shrine in Lalisch is the tomb of Sheikh ʿAdī ibn Musāfir , the most important saint of the Yazidis. A large dome ( qubba ) rises above it , which can be seen from afar. To the right of the dome is the holy grave of Sheikh Hassan and to the left of the dome is the somewhat smaller dome of Sheikh Muz (Kurd. Şexmuz ). In front of the Sheikh Adis shrine is the so-called "Market of Knowledge" ( Sûqa Meʿrifetê ), a large place where pilgrims hang out and celebrate during the festivals.

In addition, there are two sacred springs in Lalisch, the "White Spring " ( Kanîya Sipî ) and the "Zemzem Spring " ( Kanîya Zemzem ), which is said to be connected to the Zamzam Spring in Mecca . Both springs arise in two independent locations and flow together behind the Sheikh Adis grave, more precisely at the Gay kuje . The mouth of the two springs, called Merzet Behre (Kurd. Sea), can be seen through small fountains. There is a grave next to this well. According to Yazidis belief, it is said to be Adam's tomb . Yazidi children are baptized in the White Spring . Those who do not have the opportunity to come to Lalisch themselves can be baptized with the help of bottles containing water from the White Spring.

At the lower end of the Lalisch Valley is the Silat Bridge ( Pira Silat ). It separates the sacred from the profane . The sacred area may only be entered barefoot. Above the Lalisch valley is the mountain Arafat with the holy stone Felek ("luck"). Most pilgrims who come to Lalisch consider it a duty to climb this mountain. The fact that there is a source of Zamzam and an ʿArafāt mountain here, as in Mecca , is explained by the Yazidis with the fact that Sheikh ʿAdī moved them to Lalish during his lifetime.

Role in the Yazidi festival calendar

The Yazidis visit Lalisch primarily as part of the annual Yezidi festival Jezhna Jemaʿīye (Kurd. "Festival of Coming ") from October 6th to 13th, but also at other times, such as the New Year's festival in April (Kurd. Carşema Sor / Ida sere Sale ) and on the festival in honor of God in December (kurd. Ida Ezi ). The New Year festival always takes place on the third Wednesday in April. Wednesday is a holiday for the Yazidis, as the holy angel Melek Taus is said to have brought the earth to life on a Wednesday. The feast in honor of God, on the other hand, takes place on the third Friday in December, which in turn means that the date changes annually.

The brightly colored cloths with which the graves inside the Lalisch sanctuary are covered.

The Yazidis bring consecrated earth with them from Lalisch, which is formed into solid spheres with the holy water of the Kanîya Sipî spring. They are considered "holy stones" (sing. Advice ) and play an important role in many religious ceremonies. Conversely, the pilgrims also bring materials such as cotton, sunflower oil and cattle as alms . The fabrics are used to cover the sacred graves. Here the pilgrims knot the fabrics and make a wish. For example, Day Kaban (kurd. Day = mother; kaban = house / hut) wraps the cotton into small wicks (kurd. Fitil ). These wicks are used to illuminate the Lali valley.

The servants of Lalisch

The Yazidis from the twin villages of Baschiqa and Bahzani are primarily responsible for maintaining the Lalisch sanctuary . They are considered to be the servants ( xizmetkar ) of Lalisch. Every evening an unmarried youth from the house of the so-called fakir (also known as Feqir) illuminates 231 marked spots with the wicks and the oil brought by the pilgrims. These lights, which burn until dawn, are symbols for the holy apostles , ancestors, angels etc. This fire cult comes from the old Yezidi belief, in which the Yazidis believed in fire as an overpowering force on earth.

Lalisch in literature

In Karl May's novel Durchs Wilde Kurdistan , the valley of “Sheik Adi” ( pars pro toto for Lalisch) is the scene of a battle between the Yazidis (near May “Dschesidi”) and Ottoman troops .

literature

• Birgül Açikyildiz: The Sanctuary of Shaykh ʿAdī at Lalish. Center of Pilgrimage of the Yezidis . In: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies . Vol. 72 (2009), Issue 2, ISSN  0041-977X , pp. 301-333.
• Irene Dulz: The Yazidis in Iraq. Between “model village” and escape (= studies on the contemporary history of the Middle East and North Africa. Vol. 8). LIT-Verlag, Münster 2001, ISBN 3-8258-5704-2 , pp. 34-36 (plus master's thesis, University of Hamburg 2008).
• Cecil J. Edmonds: A pilgrimage to Lalish (= Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Prize publication fund series. Vol. 21). Luzac Press, London 1967, OCLC 30268349 .
• Şemo Feqir Heci: The Qewl of Sheikh Adi and the holy men. In: Jibo parastin u pesveririna Ezidiyatiye. 8/9 (2001), 76-78 (Denge Ezidiyan Oldenburg, Oldenburg).
• Bedel Feqir Heci: Baweri u Mitologiya Ezidiyan, Cendeha Tekist u Vekolin . Verlag Capxana Hawar, Duhok-Oldenburg 2002, pp. 12-57, 268-280.
• Philip G. Kreyenbroek: Yezidism. Its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition (= Texts and Studies in religion. Vol. 62). Mellen, Lewiston, New York, NY 1995, ISBN 0-7734-9004-3 , pp. 77-83.
• Khalil Jindy Rashow: Lāliš from a mythological, linguistic, sacred and historical perspective. In: Christine Allison, Anke Joisten-Pruschke , Antje Wendtland (eds.): From Daēnā to Dîn. Religion, culture and language in the Iranian world (= Festschrift for Philip Kreyenbroek on his 60th birthday ). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-447-05917-6 , pp. 357-377.
• Eszter Spät: The Yezidis. Saqi Books, London 2005, ISBN 0-86356-593-X , pp. 52-60.

Web links

Commons : Lalisch  - collection of images, videos and audio files

supporting documents

1. ↑ Birgül Açikyildiz, 2009, pp. 307, 321
2. ↑ See Spät: The Yezidis. 2005, p. 55.
3. ↑ See Spät: The Yezidis. 2005, p. 56.
4. ↑ See Spät: The Yezidis. 2005, pp. 21, 60.

Coordinates: 36 ° 47 '  N , 43 ° 19'  E