Yazidi in Georgia

People Name:	Yazidi
Country:	Georgia
10/40 Window:	No
Population:	12,000
World Population:	797,300
Primary Language:	Kurdish, Northern
Primary Religion:	Ethnic Religions
Christian Adherents:	0.00 %
Evangelicals:	0.00 %
Scripture:	Complete Bible
Online Audio NT:	Yes
Jesus Film:	Yes
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	Kurd
Affinity Bloc:	Persian-Median
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The Yazidi are a Kurdish people who follow an old religion related to Zoroastrianism, but which has elements of Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Those who live in Georgia were fleeing from the Ottoman Empire in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They constructed a Yazidi temple that opened outside Tbilisi in 2013. Three years later they added the Yezidi Academy of Theology where classes were taught in Kurdish, Arabic or Russian. They had a ritual in 2012 of “reconversion” from Orthodox Christianity back to the Yazidi religion.

What Are Their Lives Like?

They are a closed community which avoids prolonged contact with non-Yazidis, accepts no converts and might even kill those who marry outside the religion. They are mostly monogamous, though chiefs may take more than one wife. In Georgia they are very poor.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Yazidis believe God created the world and then created 7 archangels to rule it. One of them, the Peacock Angel, passed a test by God in which he would not bow down and worship Adam. As a result he was made the "god of this world." This story is similar in Islam regarding Satan. However, the Muslim belief is that Satan was punished for not bowing down. The Peacock Angel is "Melek Taus" or "Shaytan". The latter is the name in the Koran for Satan. Yazidis are forbidden to speak the name "Shaytan." They are often misunderstood by Muslims for this reason.

Their world view revolves around angels. Besides praying toward the sun, they will fast for certain angels who control the affairs of this world. They aren't supposed to wear the color blue or eat lettuce. Their holy day is Wednesday and they aren't supposed to take showers on that day. They celebrate New Year's Day as the first Wednesday in the month of Nisan. This is the day they believe the Peacock Angel comes to the Earth as God's representative.

During their pilgrimage to the valley shrine at Lalish, 55 km east of Duhok in Northern Iraq, they will kiss the sacred stone black snake and enter the temple. There they baptize their children, tie colorful cloth to the tomb of the 12th century Sufi mystic who reformed the Yazidi religion, hug pillars, light fires and perform other rituals. If possible, they will carry dirt from Lalish with them and conceal it behind a veil in their home.

Yazidis believe that they are descendants of Adam, but not of Eve. Instead, they have descended separate from others through Adam's other wife, Jar or Jer.

What Are Their Needs?

They believe Christ is the light of God but are more focused on angels and pleasing them. Any of them who embraced Christ with all their heart would be considered a cultural traitor. They need to hear the gospel and see the lives of true believers.

Prayer Points

Pray for the light of Christ to shine upon the Yazidi people in Georgia drawing them to Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Pray for Georgian believers to reach out to them, disciple them and teach them to disciple others.
Pray for Yazidi elders to have dreams of the risen Christ.