Regarding the Peacock icons and two that are missing. Are these very old relics and hold historical significance? If so, does the author know approximately how old they are? The icons are old, but only historically relevant to the Yezidi. They claim that they are several thousand years old, but no one knows for sure. [...]
1996-2000 Adapting to Change In the years 1996-2000, Servant Group staff and volunteers learned to adapt, a great quality to possess in any cross-cultural service. In Nashville, that meant a new approach to interfacing with the existing Kurdish community and a new platform for welcoming thousands of those newly arrived. Internationally, that meant responding to [...]
Yezidi Mythology Some Yezidi mythology has been translated into English and other languages. So far there are two parts roughly translated — The Revelation and The Black Book. The Revelation mainly consists of God speaking to the Yezidi about who he is and who they are in relation to him. However, The Black Book contains [...]
If you have kept up with the previous blog posts you may have noticed that Yezidi culture is very complex. In this installment, we’re going to be exploring the layers of society (the Yezidi castes) and the influences from other cultures around them. Yezidi Castes and Culture The caste system in Yezidi culture is very [...]
Yezidi - Sacred Holidays and Pilgrimages Now that we’ve covered some of the basic beliefs, scriptures, and rituals of Yezidi, let's get into the really exciting stuff — Yezidi holidays and pilgrimages. Stick with me! This could get complicated. When we previously discussed the practices of Yezidi faith, you may have noticed that there [...]
From one of our short-term team members, Brian Haney, Maryland: One of the highlights of the trip was getting to play soccer with the boys for most of the day one day. As a former soccer player, I was floored to do this. Soccer itself is the universal sport and language. Just seeing the excitement [...]
Yezidi - Mystery Religions in the Middle East The Yezidi (or Yazidi) religious minority has been lifted from obscurity for the very worst reason. They have been brought to the attention of the international world because of the cruelty and slaughter that came upon them in the form of the [...]
Adnan's Story Adnan has lived in Athens for about a year now. Like many others floating in the ancient Greek city, he's from Syria. But that Syria doesn't exist anymore. He's been able to work some for the last few months helping medical personnel and teaching about mental health issues relating to trauma. He's a [...]
Back to the Islands The refugee crisis in Greece is often portrayed as connected to the war in Syria. And while Syrians do represent the majority of refugees in Europe, our team spent last week on a small Greek island in a camp that is incredibly diverse. We met refugees from as far east as Bangladesh, as far [...]
There are thousands of years of history poking out at you from every corner of the Middle East. The world's three largest religions all began in this part of the world, and have been in contention over it for most of modern memory. But the big three are not the only religious groups trying to [...]
