The inhabitants of the Sinjar were soon afterwards subdued by Muhammed Rashid Pasha, and a second time by Hafiz Pasha. On both occasions there was a massacre, and the population was reduced by three-fourths. The Izedis took refuge in caves, where they were either suffocated by fires lighted at the mouth, or destroyed by discharges of cannon.

Since the establishment of a British vice-consulate at Mosul, several opportunities have presented themselves to Mr. Rassam of protecting these poor people. When Kiritli Oglu, Muhammed Pasha, was in power, the Izedis were among the objects of his cupidity and tyranny. He seized by treachery, as he supposed, their head or high priest; but Sheikh Nasr had time to escape the plot against him, and to substitute in his place the second in authority, who was carried a prisoner to the town. Such is the attachment shown by the Izedis to their chief, that the deceit was not revealed, and the substitute bore with resignation the tortures and imprisonment inflicted upon him. Mr. Rassam having been applied to, obtained his release by advancing a considerable sum of money, which the inhabitants of the district of Sheikh Khan undertook to repay, in course of time, out of the produce of their fields. They punctually fulfilled the engagement thus entered into, and have ever since looked to the British consul as their protector.

The villages of the Izedis are generally distinguished by their tombs, which are built in the form of a fluted cone or pyramid, standing upon a quadrangular basis, which rises in distinct steps or terraces. This form has been said to have been adopted to propitiate the Evil Spirit, and the obelisk, as elsewhere, to represent a flame of fire; but the basis appears to be a relic of the well known Assyrian and Chaldsan archi­tecture,-the counterpart, on a small scale, of the temples, remains of which are still scattered over the country, and which at the Birs-i-Nimrud consisted of seven stages, devoted to the seven planets. These sepulchral monuments are generally neatly whitewashed, and, being placed on an eminence or in the centre of dark olive groves, they present a very picturesque appearance.

The mausoleum of Sheikh Rumi in Sinjar, a place of pil­grimage like Sheikh Adi, is said by Forbes to be prettily situated in a grove of, bay trees. Another, on the crest of the hill going from Mirkhan to the Shomal, is also described as being in a grove of trees. The walls were also hung with the horns of sheep, slain in sacrifice by occasional pilgrims. A similar practice was observed by Layard at the tomb of the Kawal Hussain, also in Sinjar.

Certain springs are also objects of veneration and the scene of sacrifices among the Izedis. Such are the springs of Baasheikha, at the foot of the line of hills which front the Jebel Maklub, and Ain u Safra, or " the yellow spring," at the foot of the latter range. The Izedis make pilgrimages to these springs at certain times, several thousands together, including men, women, and children, upon which occasions they offer sacrifices and play at martial games.

At Sheikh Adi there is a spring of water which falls into a basin, and which is used as their chief baptismal font. Niebuhr relates that they were in the habit of throwing into it gold and silver in honour of the Sheikh; but this practice being dis­covered by a Nestorian in the neighbourhood, he contrived one night to enter the enclosure in pursuit of these treasures. The daughter of the keeper, having accidentally gone thither to draw water, while the thief was searching in the reservoir, conceived it could be no other than Sheikh Adi himself come to inspect the offerings, and hastened away to tell the extra­ordinary news. The guardians of the sanctuary were enchanted with the honour done them by their saint, while the Nestorian took care to keep his secret and the money.

There is said to be a similar basin in Sinjar, probably the same as that described by Forbes as situated at the foot of the precipice which is surmounted by the village of Kolgha, and which was applied to the same uses. This is said to have come to the ears of the celebrated Sulaiman, Pasha of Baghdad, who, thinking he could turn the Sheikh's treasure to account, visited the place with a powerful force. But though he succeeded in dispersing the Sinjarlis, and put many to the torture of the bastinado, he failed in discovering the treasure.

This holy character with which certain springs are invested appears to be of Assyrian origin. The whole of the ravine of Bavian, near Sheikh Adi, is supposed by Layard {Discoveries, p. 215) to have been a sacred spot, devoted by the Assyrians of old to religious ceremonies and to national sacrifices. Here, among other monuments of bygone times, there exist a series of basins cut in the rock, and descending in steps to the river Gomel. The water had been originally led from one to the other through small conduits, the lowest of which was orna­mented at its mouth with two rampant lions in relief. A drawing of this holy well of the Assyrians accompanies Mr. Layard's descriptions. The outlets were choked up, but they were cleared, and, by pouring water into the upper basin, the fountain was restored as it had been in the time of the Assyrians.

At the entrance of one of the deep ravines which runs into the Jebel Maklub, a clear spring gushes from a grotto in the hill side. Tradition assigns to this grotto, with those at Ephesus and Tarsus, as well as elsewhere, the privilege of being the cave of the Seven Sleepers, and the Izedis have also made the spot a place of pilgrimage.

Mr. Rich says, " From what I have seen and heard of the Yezids, they seem lively, brave, hospitable, and good-humoured. Under the British government much might be made of them." Mr. Eraser adds that they are well made and comely. Kinneir also describes them as possessed of noble and generous prin­ciples. Dr. Grant speaks of them as " friendly towards the professors of Christianity."

The writer's impressions were of the same favourable de­scription. (Travels and Researches, vol. ii, p. 189.) As a race of men, they are tall, slim, and well made ; their bones large, and features spare, but marked with much earnestness and decision. The brows advance over the eye, the forehead is high but retreating, the nose prominent, the lips moderate.

Forbes speaks of the Izedis as being in their domestic manners and their customs very simple. Both men and women, he says, are of middle size, and have a clear complexion, with regular features, and black eyes and hair; their limbs being spare, muscular, and well proportioned.

The same traveller also remarks of them that their character is rather superior to that of their neighbours of Mesopotamia. They are brave, hospitable, and sober, faithful to their promises, and much attached to their native soil: but, he adds, they are at the same time cruel and vindictive, considering their proper means of support to be robbery and theft; and they treat with great ferocity any unfortunate Mohammedans who fall into their power, especially Persians. That, however, we have before observed, was a mere matter of reprisals, the natural result of years of oppression and persecution.

The Izedis are, by one of their religious laws, forbidden to wear the common Eastern shirt open in front, and this article of apparel is always closed up to the neck. This is a distinctive mark of the sect, by which its members may be recognized at a glance.

Layard describes the Izedis of Sinjar as having a dark complexion, black and piercing eyes, and frequently a fierce and forbidding countenance. The men being of small stature, but well proportioned limbs, strongly knit together, and mus­cular, active, and capable of bearing great fatigue.

Their dress consists of a shirt, loose trousers, and cloak, all white, and a black turban, from beneath which their hair falls in ringlets. Their long rifles are rarely out of their hands, and they carry pistols in their girdles, a sword at their sides, and a row of cartouche cases, generally made of cut reeds, in their breasts. These additions to their costume, and their swarthy features, give them a peculiar warlike appearance.

Haxthausen describes the Russian Izedis as well formed, large, and muscular, with finely-arched eyebrows, black eyes, aquiline noses, and a rather broad countenance.

Nothing can be more Assyrian than the above descriptions. The manly forms, aquiline noses, arched eyebrows, and ring­leted hair are to be seen on most of the Assyrian monuments.

The language in use amongst the Izedis is a Kurdish dialect, and very few, except the Sheikhs and Kawals, are acquainted with Arabic. The chants and hymns, the only form of prayer which it appears they possess, are, however, in Arabic. They have, it is said, notwithstanding the assertions of the Muham­medans to the contrary, a sacred volume, which contains their traditions, their hymns, directions for the performance of their rites, and other matters connected with their religion. It is said to be preserved either at Baazani or Baasheikha, but is regarded with so much superstitious reverence that Mr. Layard, who enjoyed the friendship and esteem of the Izedis in so great a degree, failed to obtain a perusal or even a sight of it. Dr. Forbes previously noticed the existence of this sacred book, which, he says, is called " Aswad," or " the Black;" but, he adds, as the book has never been seen by any one, it is probable that they have invented the statement for the honour of their religion, since one cause of the great contempt in which they are held by the Muhammedans is their want of any written law.

The year after Mr. Layard's first visit to Sheikh Adi, a poem of the Izedis was shown through Mr. Christian Rassam to the Rev. Mr. Badger; and the same MS. was also shewn to Mr. Layard on the occasion of that gentleman's second visit to Sheikh Adi. This poem is a metrical rhapsody on the merits and attributes of Sheikh Adi, who is at one time iden­tified with the Deity himself, at another as his prophet or vicegerent. We have now two versions of this poem, one by the Rev. Mr. Badger, in his work on The Nestorians and their Rituals ; the other by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, in Layard's Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, p. 89. It is called the recitation or poem of Sheikh Adi.

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W. Francis Ainsworth, 1861

Primitive Christian Worship