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About Yezidis

The Yezidis (self-name: Êzdî) are one of the ancient peoples of the Middle East. According to data that still require clarification, the Yezidi population reaches up to 1 million people. They mainly live in their historical homeland—Êzîdxan (Northern Iraq: the regions of Sheikhan, Alqosh, the surroundings of Duhok, and Sinjar). There are also communities in Syria (the al-Hasakah Governorate, Qamishli, Afrin). Only a small number of Yezidis remain in Turkey (the surroundings of Siirt, Mardin, Nusaybin, and Viranşehir). One of the largest Yezidi communities existed in the USSR (Armenia and Georgia); after its collapse, some of them resettled in Russia, Ukraine, and EU countries. Large Yezidi communities are also found in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The native language of the Yezidis is Yezidi “Êzdîkî” (scientifically classified as Kurmanji, belonging to the western branch of the Iranian language group). A rich body of religious poetry—sacred texts (qewls and beits)—exists in this language and serves as a primary source for the study of the religion. Despite the fact that Yezidis and a significant part of Kurds speak the same language, Yezidis and Kurds have, over the centuries, formed into distinct ethnic groups. Yezidis developed a particular behavioral stereotype and became a closed community with a caste-theocratic structure, which was historically shaped by the persecution of followers of Yezidism by radical representatives of the dominant religion in the region. In the 20th century, representatives of the Yezidi intelligentsia increasingly began to identify themselves as Kurdish Yezidis, due to policies of ethnic unification and linguistic commonality, without taking into account the identity of the majority of Yezidis. Today, a significant part of the Yezidis identify themselves as an independent ethnic group, which is confirmed by the results of population censuses in Georgia, Armenia, Russia, and Belarus.

Yezidis in Georgia mainly live in the capital city, with a small number in Rustavi, in the Kakheti region (Telavi, Tsnori), Batumi, and Ozurgeti. The total number of Yezidis in Georgia reaches up to 14,000 people (according to official data, up to 12,000).

It is known that individual Yezidi tribes appeared on the territory of Georgia as early as the 16th century, but it is reliably confirmed that in 1777 correspondence took place between the Georgian King Erekle II and Choban Agha, one of the Yezidi leaders from the Kok-Agha lineage. According to preserved documents, the Georgian king sought to create an anti-Ottoman coalition and for this purpose involved Yezidi and Assyrian leaders. After the annexation of Transcaucasia to the Russian Empire, several stages of Yezidi resettlement to the territory of Georgia were recorded, caused by oppression and persecution of Yezidis in the Ottoman Empire. The most massive and final resettlement occurred in 1918, when Yezidis expelled from the Van Vilayet and the Bayazid Sanjak were forced to move to Armenia and Georgia. The majority of Yezidis settled in Tbilisi, in the old districts of the city, with a small part settling in Kakheti.

In 1918, Georgia became an independent republic and attempted to defend its sovereignty, which it ultimately lost in 1921. Some of the Yezidi refugees, having arrived in Tiflis, found themselves already in independent Georgia. The refugees were in a dire situation: many lost relatives on the way, and famine raged in Tiflis. In order to provide the refugees with bread, Yezidi leaders decided to consolidate, and in 1919 the National Council of Yezidis was established in Tiflis. It assumed responsibility for the fate of the Yezidi people, which is a landmark event not only in the history of Yezidis in Georgia, as it was the world’s first officially registered Yezidi organization.

During the Soviet period, favorable conditions were created in Georgia for the development of the Yezidis: centers of culture were established and national literature was created. However, religious life, due to the atheistic ideology dominant in the USSR, receded into the background. In the 1930s, due to the shared language with Kurds and within the framework of policies of ethnic unification, Yezidis began to be classified as Kurds, although officially they continued to be listed as Yezidis in the nationality field. Throughout the Soviet period, the culture created by Yezidis was presented as Kurdish.

After the collapse of the USSR, due to the difficult social, economic, and political situation, Yezidis began to leave the country and moved to Russia and Western European countries. Cultural and social activities began to decline. There were attempts by individual public figures to revive cultural centers, and organizations were created that periodically replaced one another.

In 2010, a group of representatives of the clergy emerged, on whose initiative the public organization House of Yezidis of Georgia and the religious organization Spiritual Council of Yezidis in Georgia (SCYG) were established. Together, they launched intensive activities aimed at reviving and developing the Yezidi community. Under the auspices of the SCYG, tremendous work was carried out, culminating in the opening of a Yezidi temple and cultural center in Tbilisi.