Re-creating Religious Tradition in Northern Iraq
The Scripturalization of Yezidi Religion
My research studies the transformation of Yezidi oral religious tradition into a bookish religion in Northern Iraq, triggered by the introduction of general school-education, the changing socio-economic and cultural environment and a sizeable Yezidi diaspora in the West. This process of scripturalization affects not just the medium of transmission but also the very content of religious tradition, Yezidis’ attitude toward it and the traditional religio-social hierarchy.