e-Makalat Mezhep Araştırmaları Dergisi

Abstract

The communication and interactions of the Midyat Yazidis, who are open to the influence of different religions and cultures and are predominantly guided by oral tradition, with other communities in the region with different religions and beliefs, are subjects in need of elucidation. In this context, the “Circumcision Ceremony and Spiritual Brotherhood” practices developed by the Yazidis living in Midyat district and villages, with other Muslim groups, have been examined using observation and interview techniques. The interviews were conducted with Yazidis who had lived in European countries for a period and returned, now residing in the villages they had built. These individuals are permanent residents in their settlements, over a certain age, and members who have not change Yazidi belief. The circumcision considered an important religious practice in Yazidi society, has been transformed into a significant tool for interaction with other groups. So much so that among the Yazidis living in the Midyat region, it has been concluded that circumcision, considered sacred, and the institution of spiritual brotherhood it brings with it, serve not only to establish friendly relations between families but also have two other important functions. The effective factors here have been the effort of Yazidis to prevent marriages with other groups based on the principle that a Yazidi can only marry another Yazidi and the connection of death with religion. Thus, spiritual brotherhood has been used both as a shield for strategic alliances and as an alternative way to fulfill the responsibility of burying the deceased in the land where they were born, which is a religious ritual.