Yarsanism
| Yarsanism یارسان | |
|---|---|
Kurdish languages; Gorani language | |
| Founder | Sultan Sahak |
| Origin | late 14th century Western Iran |
| Members | c. 500,000[1] to 1,000,000 (in Iran)[2] |
| Other name(s) | Ahl-e Haqq, Kaka'i[3] |
 |
Yarsanism (Kurdish: یارسان, romanized: Yarsan), Ahl-e Haqq (ئەهلی حەق, Ehl-e Heq;[4][5] Persian: اهل حق), or Kaka'i,[3] is an inherited, syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran.[6] The total number of followers of Yarsanism is estimated to be over half a million[1] to one million in Iran.[7] The numbers in Iraq are unknown. Followers are mostly Kurds from the Guran, Sanjâbi, Kalhor, Zangana and Jalalvand tribes.[1] Turkic-speaking Yarsan enclaves also exist in Iran.[1]
Some Yarsanis in Iraq are called Kaka'i.[3] Yarsanis say that some people call them disparagingly as "Ali Allahi" or "worshipers of Ali", labels which Yarsanis deny. Many Yarsanis hide their religion due to the pressure of Iran's Islamic system, and there are no exact statistics of their population.[8]
The Yarsanis have a distinct religious literature primarily written in the Gorani language. However, few modern Yarsani can read or write Gorani, as their mother tongue is Southern Kurdish or Sorani.[9]
Their central religious book is called the Kalâm-e Saranjâm, written in the 15th century and based on the teachings of Sultan Sahak.
Geography
The majority of Yarsan followers live in
The main urban centers of the religion are Sahneh, Kerend-e Gharb and Gahvareh, and other important cities include Kermanshah, Sarpol-e Zahab and Qasr-e Shirin.[1]
Other areas in Iran with a significant Yarsan population include Hashtgerd and Varamin near Tehran and Maragheh, and Tabriz in Iranian Azerbaijan,[1] where important Turkic-speaking Yarsan communities live and use Turkic for many of their religious texts. The Yarsani tradition claims that all early communities used Gorani as their religious language, but that over time, some groups were forced to adopt a Turkic language closely akin to Azeri for all purposes, including religion.[11]
In Iraq, Yarsan followers mainly live in Iraqi Kurdistan, around Mosul, Kirkuk, Kalar, Khanaqin, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Halabja.[1][12]
Beliefs
The Yarsani follow the mystical teachings of
Among other important pillars of their belief system are that the Divine Essence has successive manifestations in human form (mazhariyyat) and the belief in
The Yarsani faith's features include
Divine manifestations
The Yarsani are
The primary mazhariyyat of the First Epoch was the Divine Essence known as Khawandagar, who created the world.
The primary mazhariyyat of the Second Epoch was
The primary mazhariyyat of the Third Epoch was Shah Khoshin.[15]
In the Fourth Epoch, the primary mazhariyyat is held to be
Haft Tan or seven persons
Each Epoch in Yarsani belief saw the appearance of the seven secondary divine manifestations or Haft Tan. In the First Epoch they appeared in their true angelic form, while in subsequent Epochs they appeared in human incarnations. The Haft Tan are charged with responsibility for the affairs of the internal realm.
The secondary mazhariyyats of the First Epoch include the archangels Gabriel, Michael, Israfil and Azrael, and a female angelic being.
The mazhariyyats of the Second Epoch include Salman, Qanbar,
The mazhariyyats of the Third Epoch include Shah Fazlullah Veli, Baba Sarhang Dudani and Baba Naous.
In the Fourth Epoch, the Haft Tan or 'seven persons' charged by Sultan Sahak with responsibility for the affairs of the inner realm consist of the following:[19]
The "Haft Tan" (The Seven
- Pir Benjamin, considered the incarnation of the archangel Gabriel; he has the preceptor title to all Yarsanis (Monday)
- Pir Musi, the incarnation of the archangel Michael and known as the Recording angel (Tuesday)
- Mustafā Dawan, the incarnation of archangel Azrael (Wednesday)
- Sultan Sahak, the incarnation of Divine Essence (Thursday)
- Baba Yadegar, also known as "Ahmad" and "Reza" (Friday)
- Khatun-e Razbar (Saturday)
- Dawud Koswar (David), also informally called Dawu; he is known as "Dalil" (in Kurdish) to all Yarsanis (Sunday)
These seven persons are known as "Haft tan" which means literally "The Seven Persons"
Holy texts
The traditions of the Yarsani are preserved in poetry known as
The sayings attributed to Sultan Sahak are written in
The older texts are called the Perdiwari texts, which date back to around the 15th or 16th centuries. The texts are called Perdiwari since
- Dowre-ye Bābā Khoshin
- Dowre-ye Bābā Nā’us
- Dowre-ye Bohlul
- Dowre-ye Bābā Jalil
- Bābā Sarhang
- Dowre-ye Soltān Sahāk
- Kalām-e Ābedin
- Kalām-e Ahmad
- Daftar-e Dāmyāri
- Šandarwi maramo (Kelim wa Duš)
- Bārgah Bārgah
- Dowre-ye Cheltan
- Kamākanān
- Zolāl Zolāl
Widely known non-Perdiwari texts are:[23]
- Daftar-e Sheykh Amir
- Daftar-e Khān Almās
- Daftar-e Ābedin Jāf
- Daftar-e Ilbegi
- Daftar of Qushchioghli
- Daftars of other members of the group of ‘Twenty-Four Poets’, in Turkic (Azerbaijani)
- Daftar-e Zu’l-Feqār
- Daftar of the Thirty-Six Poets of the Period of Sayyed Brāke
Sacred sites
Two important sanctuaries of the Yarsani are the tomb of Bābā Yādgār, about 40 km away from
Organisation
Khandans or spiritual houses
Yarsanism is organised into spiritual houses or Khandans, seven of which were established at the time of Sultan Sahak, and four afterwards, making eleven Khandans in all. The Khandans were established when, along with the Haft Tan, Sultan Sahak also formed the Haft Tawane, a group of seven holy persons charged with the affairs of the outer world.[19] They were Say-yed Mohammad, Say-yed Abu'l Wafa, Haji Babusi, Mir Sur, Say-yed Mostafa, Sheykh Shahab al-Din and Sheykh Habib Shah. Each of the Haft Tawane was charged with responsibility for the guidance of a number of followers, and these followers formed the original seven Khandans, namely Shah Ebrahim, Baba Yadegar, Ali Qalandar, Khamush, Mir Sur, Sey-yed Mosaffa and Hajji Babu Isa. After Sultan Sahak's time another four khandans were established, namely Atesh Bag, Baba Heydar, Zolnour and Shah Hayas.[28]
Every Yarsani therefore belongs to one specific khandan, which is led by a spiritual leader called a say-yed, to whom each member must swear obedience. The say-yed is the spiritual leader of the community and is normally present during the ceremonies attended by the followers. Say-yeds are the only ones allowed to have full access to the religious texts of Yarsanism, and have traditionally competed with each other to have the largest number of followers. The position of Say-yed is hereditary, being passed down through the generations from the original founders. As the say-yed are considered spiritual 'parents', it is the tradition for them not to marry their followers.
Relationship with other religious groups
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An excerpt from the French Review of the Muslim World
First of all, we must clear up the confusion resulting from the variety of names given to the sect of "Ahlé-Haqq", which are liable to be misunderstood. Like any religion, the one we are dealing with considers itself to be the only true and orthodox one, and it is natural that its adherents give themselves the name of "People of Truth" (Ahlé-Haqq or Ahlé-Haqîqat). This term lacks precision, as other sects, for example the
Noséïri" belongs to that well-defined Syrian religion, which, despite some resemblances with the doctrines of the Ahlé-Haqq (the worship of Ali, the communion, etc.), appears to present a complex of quite different old beliefs.
Relations with Islam
Ahl-e Haqq view Islam as a product of a cycle of divine essence, which was made manifest in Ali, and established the stage of shai'at (Islamic law). This was followed by the cycle of tariqat (Sufi teachings), then ma'rifat (Sufi gnosis), and finally the current cycle of haqiqat (Ultimate Truth), which was made manifest in Sultan Sahak. The final stage supersedes the previous ones, which frees Ahl-e Haqq from observing the shari'a rules incumbent on Muslims. Ahl-i Haqq class other Muslims as either Ahl-i Tashayyu (followers of Shi'ism) or Ahl-i Tasannun (followers of Sunnism). The Ahl-i Haqq neither observe Muslim rites, such as daily prayers and fasting during the month of Ramadan, nor share Islamic theology and sacred space, such as belief in the day of resurrection and sanctity of the mosque.[30]
Extremist Sunni Islamic groups, such as the
See also
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References
- ^ a b c d e f g Hamzeh'ee (1990), p. 39.
- ^ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2004) p. 82
- ^ a b c "'If we stay a secret, there will be a genocide'". BBC News.
- ISBN 90-04-10861-0.
- ISBN 3-922968-83-X. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol.55, No.3, pp.565–566.
- ISBN 0-7126-0200-3.
- ^ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2004) p. 82
- ^ "نگاهی به آئین یارسان یا اهل حق". BBC News فارسی. November 27, 2011.
- ^ C. J. Edmonds (1957). Kurds, Turks and Arabs, Politics, Travel and Research in North-Eastern Iraq, 1919-1925. Oxford University Press. p. 195.
- ^ Hamzeh'ee (1990), p. 38–39.
- OCLC 1228902659.
- ^ "Kaka'is - The men with big moustaches ". www.pukmedia.com.
- ^ Shiloah, Amnon (2001). "Kurdish music". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. xiv (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 40.
- ^ Hamzeh'ee (1990), p. 36.
- ^ Hamzeh'ee (1990), p. 99.
- ^ Nebez, Jamal (1997-09-19). "The Kurds: History and Culture" (PDF). Western Kurdistan Association. p. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
- ISBN 9781604944495.
- ISBN 9780815624110.
- ^ a b "Faith Ritual and Culture Among Ahle-Haqq" – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Z. Mir-Hosseini (1994). "Inner Truth and Outer History: The Two Worlds of the Ahl-e Haqq of Kurdistan", International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol.26, pp.267–269.
- ^ a b electricpulp.com. "AHL-E ḤAQQ – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org.
- ^ Leezenberg, Michiel. "Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish: Substratum or Prestige Borrowing?". Archived from the original (RTF) on 2011-02-23. Retrieved 2006-04-27.
- ^ OCLC 1158495389.
- ^ "Website offline – ICT & Media". offline.hum.uu.nl.
- ^ "Dukkan-e Daud – Livius". www.livius.org.
- ^ "Ahl-e Haqq – Formation of the Order". www.ahle-haqq.com.
- ^ Robert, L K. "The Cults of the Angels: The Indigenous Religions of Kurdistan".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Ahl-e Haqq – Rituals and Traditions". www.ahle-haqq.com.
- ^ Minorsky, Vladimir (1920). "Notes sur la sect des Ahlé-Haqq". Revue du Monde Musulman (in French). 40–41: 20. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ Z. Mir-Hosseini, "Inner Truth and Outer History: The Two Worlds of the Ahl-e Haqq of Kurdistan", International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol.26, 1994, p.267–268
- ^ Rikar Hussein (26 June 2018). "IS Terror Group Surges in Iraq's Disputed Territories". Voice of America. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- ^ Dilshad Anwar (26 June 2018). "IS Attacks Drive Members of Iraqi Kakai Minority From Their Villages". Voice of America. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
Bibliography
- Hamzeh'ee, M. Reza (1990). The Yaresan: a sociological, historical, and religio-historical study of a Kurdish community. Berlin: K. Schwarz. OCLC 23438701.
- OCLC 1158495389.
Collections of Yarsani texts published in Iran and Iraq:
- Ṣafizāde, Ṣ. (1375/1996), Nāme-ye Saranjāmor the Kalām of the Treasury], Tehran.
- Ḥosseyni, Sayyed M. (1382/2003), Dīwān-e Gewre [The Great Diwan], Kermanshah.
- Ṭāheri, Ṭ. (2007, 2009), Saranjām, 2 Vols., Erbil.
- Anonymous (copied 1387/2008), Daftar-e Diwān-e Gewre-ye Perdiwari [The Book of the Great Collection of Perdiwari (Kalāms)], copied by Kāki ‘Azizpanāhi Tutšāmi, n.pl.
External links
- Jalali-Moqaddam, Masoud; Safvat, Dariush; Qasemi, Jawad (2008). "Ahl-i Ḥaqq". In ISSN 1875-9831.
- van Bruinessen, Martin (2009). "Ahl-i Ḥaqq". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830.
- Razbar Ensemble – sacred music of Ahl-e Haqq.
- Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish: Substratum or Prestige Borrowing? Archived 2019-07-12 at the Wayback Machine Leezenberg, Michiel: ILLC – Department of Philosophy, University of Amsterdam
- The Shabak and the Kakais in Northern Iraq, Syncretistic religious communities in the Near East: collected papers of the International Symposium "Alevism in Turkey and comparable sycretistic religious communities in the Near East in the past and present" Berlin, 14–17 April 1995, Krisztina Kehl-Bodrogi, Barbara Kellner-Heinkele, Anke Otter-Beaujean, Krisztina Kehl-Bodrogi, Barbara.
- Leezenberg, Michiel: ILLC – Department of Humanities Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, University of Amsterdam
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