Erbil, Jan.7 (AKnews)- The Ezidis of Kurdistan Region celebrate the religious Belinda Eid here Friday.
The religious group, chiefly residing in Nineveh and Dohuk province in northern Iraq, performed the religious ceremonies of their festival, apparently without encountering any security threats or attacks. However, the Christians, another religious minority in Iraq, seem to live under terror after a serious of deadly attacks on the group by militant organizations.
The Ezidi Belinda holy day is marked on the second Friday of winter. Jaafar Simo, the media secretary for Lalish Temple told AKnews there are a number of ceremonials the worshipers perform in the religious event.
Lalish temple (45 km north of Mosul (Nineveh provincial capital) is the only temple for the Ezidi followers worldwide. The Ezidis believe in God as creator of the world, which he placed under the care of seven holy beings or angels, the chief of whom is Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel.
Ezidi families will not visit each other during the one-day event. They stay home and share a sheerrmal bread with one single raisin in it. The family cuts the bread into pieces and the lucky member who obtains the slice with the single raisin will be respected by the whole family for “he or she will be responsible for the substance of the family in the coming year.”
Instead of visiting each other, the Ezidi adherents turn to cemeteries for they “feel their dead have missed them.”
The other tradition in the festival reflects a pastoral perception. In the old established tradition the cows should cross over fire, to signal the end of seeds scattering season. Cows, yoke on neck, were used to cultivate the land in the past.
Nigella plant will be set on fire during the holy day. The readily flammable plant grows in summer but is alive till winter. For Ezidis fire is symbolic and holy. It is fire that rescues mankind from cold and tears through the darkness.
According to some United Nations organizations the number of Ezidi adherents across the world amounts to 800,000 people. Some 550,000 worshipers, Kurdish by descent, live in Iraq and the rest have spread mainly in Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Jorjia and Germany. The religious group has nine religious festivals.
Reported by Ayad Naqib
Lh/AKnews
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