Relics of Saint Shekubaker.
Rzgan Amoyan, born in 1963. He is Sheikh of the village of Charchakis. He looks after the relics of Saint Shekubaker (the Saint who protects from fears) within the “Sacred Place”, a hideout which he can only access. The relics are stones and objects that he uses to heal and reassure
the Nirids (the lower caste). In exchange for the healings, the rites he of ciates (baptisms, weddings, funerals) and the pledging sacri ces, he receives donations.
Rashid Rzgoyan.
He was born in 1966. He lives in
a rented house in the village of Shenik in the district of Armavir. The village has a school but there are not enough children to be able to form
a Yazidi class in order to teach them the religion and the traditions, which are then handed down orally from family to family. Until a few years ago the percentage of the population Yazidi on the whole village was
50% but today many Yazidi have emigrated to Russia for work, and only 150 out of 800 inhabitants are Yazidi. Rashid is considered the most educated in the village, he studied in Russia and he is the person in charge for the local cultural association
to preserve the Yazidi tradition in Yerevan. He’d like to move to Russia.
Azo Ayibyan.
He was born in 1985. He got married when he was 19 and he has always lived in the village of Lukashin in
the district of Armavir. He deals with agriculture and sheep-farming. The whole family spends 4 months in spring-summer on the mountains with livestock living in a mobile home. In the bedroom, as a Yazidi tradition, there is a holy place,
which houses the patron saint of the House. It is about a stack of mattresses used for the guests as a sign of respect.
The partisan ag of the PKK.
As a matter of fact,Yazidis is a population of Kurdish origin, but
for the majority of the Armenian Yazidis, the Kurds are the betrayers and murders converted to Islam who committed the genocide alongside the Turks in 1915. For this reason most people do not identify with the Kurdish ethnicity.
Village of Shenik.
The village has a school but there are not enough children to be able to form a Yazidi class in order to teach them the religion and the traditions, which are then handed down orally from family to family. Until a few years ago the percentage of the population Yazidi on the whole village was 50% but today many Yazidi have emigrated to Russia for work, and only 150 out of 800 inhabitants are Yazidi.
Khamo Aliyan.
He was born in 1954. He is Piers
of the village of Yamshlan. It is a spiritual guide and a memory of tradition for his village, especially for young people. His son works
in Russia and he does not want to take responsibility for being his successor, so Khamo will probably choose his nephew as his successor. In his house he guards the relics
of the Saint Pirè Drbes in the room dedicated to the sacred Place.
Temple of Aknalich.
The Yazidis believe in one only
God who has created seven Angels to whom he has given the task of shaping the world and all that it contains. The most powerful angel is Malaki Taus: it is represented in the form of peacock and it created the Sun and human beings. Malaki Taus is invoked every morning by all the Yazidis, who turn to the Sun, thank for the New day and touch their face twice with their hands.
Temple of Aknalich.
The temple was nanced in full
by Mirza Choloi Sloyan, a Yazidi Armenian emigrated to Russia where he made fortune by creating television stations. It will be the largest Yazidi temple in the world. Its construction begun in 2012 and it will be completed within September 2018. The marbles employed in the building arrive from Iran and are worked on site. Within the complex there is a large Yazidi cemetery.
The peacock is the main symbol of this religion, and it represents the Angel Malaki Taus, the one who created the Sun and the men.
Sacred Place,LukashinVillage.
The Yazidis believe in one only
God who has created seven Angels to whom he has given the task of shaping the world and all that it contains. The most powerful angel is Malaki Taus: it is represented in the form of peacock and it created the Sun and human beings.
All the other angels must also be revered and worshipped.
Sacri ces and propitiatory prayers are dedicated to them.
Every worshipper must set up an altar in the house so that the spirits are favorable to them. The altar is called Sacred Place, and consists
of a pile of mattresses and blankets on which spirits can rest and bring blessing to the house.