Jema‘iye (or Cemayî, ‘gathering’), the great communal festival of the Yezidis. The feast is

 also called Aydā Mazin (Great Feast), and is celebrated at the main sanctuary of Yezidism

 at Lalish, 62 km north east of Mosul / Iraqi Kurdistan. It lasts for seven days, from

 September 23^rd to October 1^st according to the Eastern calendar (which is thirteen days

behind the Gregorian one).  It is thus an autumn festival, most of whose rituals (e.g. the

 bull, simāt, the ‘tree stump’, Samā‘, Barē Šibākē, etc.) are directly connected with Yezidi

 mythology, especially with the cosmogony. The range of customs and rituals performed

 at Jema‘iye make this one of the richest Yezidi observances. Special rites that are

 conducted in the course of the festival include:

1  Samā‘. Each evening there is a sacred dance known by this name is performed in the

court of the sanctuary of Sheikh ‘Adī, to the accompaniment of the sacred music of

 tambourine (daf) and flute (šibāb) and by the singing of religious hymns called Qawl (q.v.)

and Bayt by members of a hereditary group of ‘reciters’ (Qawwāl). Representatives of all

 three Yezidi castes (Sheykhs, Pīrs, and Mirīds or laymen) take part in this observance.

2  Qapāg2. This rite is carried out on a Wednesday under the supervision of the Yezidi

 prince (Mīr). During the rite, members of the Qā‘yīdī, Māmūsī and Tirk tribes take a male

 calf or young bull from the shrine of Sheykh ‘Adī to that of Sheykh Shams, while many

 pilgrims are watching along the route. At the shrine of Sheykh Shams the animal is

 sacrificed in the name of the Lord of the Sun (Khudānē Rojē). Sacred food, known as

 simāt, is prepared from the meat of the sacrificial animal and ground wheat. It is divided

 among the believers.

3   Barē Šibākē, is an observance centering around a bier which is said to have been that

of Sheykh ‘Adī, and which is also called ‘Aršē Ēzī (Throne of Ēzī) or Tak2tē Šēk2ādî

(Throne of Sheykh ‘Adī). On the Thursday after Qapāg2 the bier is carried on the

 shoulders of prominent Yezīdīs from the shrine of Sheykh ‘Adī to a spring called Āvā

Kālokē (water of Kālokē) and is immersed in it. After that the bier is restored too its original

 place inside the shrine.

4   Parī siwārkirin (the carrying of the fabric). On the Friday a piece of colored fabric (which

 may not be blue), called parī is carried on the head of a Yezidi and is ‘baptized’ in the

 Kānīyā Spī (White Spring). After that it is brought to the shrine of Sheikh ‘Adī to the

 accompaniment of a sacred flute (šibāb), and is put on the coffin of Sheykh ‘Adī or Sheykh Hasan.

5  Simāt. During the seven days of the festival, the Custodian of Lalish and those of the

 other shrines in the Valley of Lalish prepare the sacred food known as simāt.

6    Mor kirin (lit. ‘sealing’, i.e., approximately ‘baptism’). During the feast all Yezidis, adults

and children, males and females, should undergo the rite of mor kirin in the water of either

 the Kānīyā Spī or the Zimzim spring. For those undergoing this rite for the first time it is

 regarded as their initiation (q.v.) into the religion.

7   Qurmē dārē (‘tree stump’). On September 23^rd a tree stump is put into the water of the

   Kānīyā Spī. It is taken out again on October 1^st, which is the day of the actual feast.

8    Zīyāretībūn (‘pilgrimage’). As this is a festival of ‘gathering’ and mutual contact, Yezidis

 go to the various holy places and shrines in the Valley of Lalish to make pilgrimage.

Throughout the feast of Jema‘iye the participants dance and make merry with great

enthusiasm, as this is a central part of Yezidi religious life.

During the festival a Yezidi’s soul feels close to God, Tāwusī Malak and other sacred

 Beings,  while on the social side, all Yezidis gather together, interact and  reaffirm their

 religious identity.

 Khalil Jindy Rashow

bibliography

C.J. Edmonds, A Pilgrimage to Lalish, London, 1967. G. Furlani, ‘Le Feste dei Yezidi’,

 WZKM 45, 1937, pp. 65-97.

J.S. Guest, The Yezidis: a Study in Survival, London and New York, 1987.

P.G. Kreyenbroek, Yezidism, its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition,

 Lewiston, N.Y., 1995.

Kh. J. Rashow,  An Approach to the Essence of Yezidis Religion, Stockholm, Sweden

 1998, in  Arabic language ,,Nah2wa Ma‘rifat H2aqīqat al-Dīyana al-Ēzīdīya,,