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A Yezidi Manuscript:—Mišūr of P’īr Sīnī Bahrī/P’īr Sīnī Dārānī, Its Study and Critical Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Dimitri Pirbari ,
Nodar Mossaki  and
Mirza Sileman Yezdin
Dimitri Pirbari
Affiliation:
G. Tsereteli Institute of Oriental Studies at Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Nodar Mossaki
Affiliation:
Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Mirza Sileman Yezdin
Affiliation:
Iraq
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Abstract

Yezidi mišūrs are one of the rarest written sources on the history and religion of the Yezidis. The special value of mišūrs is that Yezidism is characterized mainly by the oral transmission of religious tradition. The article provides an overview and a description of the four versions of Mišūr of P’īr Sīnī Bahrī/P’īr Sīnī Dārānī (Mişûr of Pîr Sînî Behrî/Pîr Sînî Daranî), one of which is thought to be produced in 604/1207 or 1208, making it one of the earliest sources of Yezidi history and religion. A collaborative version of the document is presented based on these four versions. Yezidi mišūrs belong to certain lineages of P’īrs and represent certificates of recognition of those lineages and those Yezidi tribes that were attributed to them as Murids. The manuscript that is examined here is rich in historical data related to the establishment of the Yezidi community. The document also lists the tribes that today are not Yezidi. Furthermore, the mišūr identifies a number of previously unknown followers and associates of Sheikh ‘Adi. This data will be instrumental in identifying various features of Yezidism in its formative age.

Keywords

YezidisMišūrsMišūr of P’īr Sīnī BahrīSufiSheikh ‘Adi
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 53 , Issue 1-2: Special Section: Medicine and Public Health in Modern Iran: Historical and Sociological Perspectives , March 2020 , pp. 223 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © Association For Iranian Studies, Inc 2020

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