Baba Yadgar: The Beloved Yarsani Saint and His Mountain Shrine
- Dala Sarkis
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Introduction
Baba Yadgar (Baba Yadegar) is one of the most beloved holy figures of the Yarsani faith, and his shrine in the mountains of western Iran is, alongside the tomb of Sultan Sahak, one of the two great sanctuaries of the Ahl-e Haqq. To this day pilgrims climb to his remote shrine to make vows and seek his blessing.
Baba Yadgar belongs to the foundational age of Yarsanism, the time of Sultan Sahak, when the faith took its lasting shape. He is honoured both as a holy being and as the patron of one of the spiritual houses into which Yarsani society is organised, and his memory remains a living focus of devotion.
Contents
Who Is Baba Yadgar?
Baba Yadgar is a revered Yarsani holy figure from the foundational period of the faith. He is counted among the holy persons appointed in the age of Sultan Sahak to guide the community, and he gives his name to one of the original Yarsani spiritual houses, or khandans. His mountain shrine near Dohab in Kermanshah is among the holiest places in Yarsanism.
Key Takeaways
Baba Yadgar is one of the most revered holy figures of the Yarsani (Ahl-e Haqq) faith.
He belongs to the foundational age of Sultan Sahak, the founder of Yarsanism.
He is the patron of one of the original Yarsani khandans, the spiritual houses of the faith.
His shrine in the Dalahu mountains is one of the two great Yarsani sanctuaries.
It remains a major site of pilgrimage, vows and devotion for the Ahl-e Haqq.
Quick Facts
Name: Baba Yadgar (Baba Yadegar)
Tradition: Yarsanism (Ahl-e Haqq / Kaka'i)
Role: One of the most revered Yarsani holy figures; patron of the Baba Yadgar khandan
Era: The foundational age of Sultan Sahak (around the 14th-15th century)
Counted among: The Haftawana, holy persons charged with the affairs of the outer world
Shrine: In the Dalahu mountains near Dohab (Sarpol-e Zahab), Kermanshah, Iran
Significance: One of the two great Yarsani sanctuaries, with Sultan Sahak's tomb at Perdiwar
Pilgrimage: A major site of Yarsani pilgrimage, vows and devotion
Honoured in: The Gorani kalams, the sacred hymns of the faith
Attestation: A holy figure of Yarsani sacred tradition (Oral to Written)
A Holy Figure of the Foundational Age
Baba Yadgar lived in the formative age of the Yarsani faith, the time of Sultan Sahak, who gathered the community at Perdiwar and gave it its enduring shape. According to Yarsani tradition, Sultan Sahak appointed a group of holy persons, sometimes called the Haftawana, to take charge of the affairs of the visible world and to guide the believers. Baba Yadgar is remembered among these foundational figures.
Like other Yarsani holy figures, Baba Yadgar is seen through the eyes of faith rather than detailed history. His life is preserved in sacred tradition and song rather than chronicle, and what endures is his standing as a beloved holy being and the devotion that gathers at his shrine.
The Khandan System
Baba Yadgar's name lives on above all in the khandan that bears it. Yarsani society is organised into spiritual houses called khandans, of which seven were founded in the time of Sultan Sahak and four added later, eleven in all. Each is associated with a founding holy figure, and the Khandan of Baba Yadgar is one of the original seven.
Every Yarsani belongs to a khandan, led by a hereditary spiritual leader, a sayyed, to whom the members owe loyalty and who guides them in the faith. In this way Baba Yadgar is not only a saint of the past but the living spiritual ancestor of a whole branch of the Yarsani community.
The Shrine of Baba Yadgar
The shrine of Baba Yadgar lies deep in the Dalahu mountains, around forty kilometres from Sarpol-e Zahab in the Kermanshah province of western Iran, in the heart of the Guran country that is the Yarsani homeland. Set amid dramatic peaks and fed by mountain springs, it is one of the two principal sanctuaries of the Ahl-e Haqq, the other being the tomb of Sultan Sahak at Perdiwar.
The journey to the shrine, high into the mountains, is itself part of its sanctity. For Yarsanis, pilgrimage to such holy places is held to be more fitting than the distant journey to Mecca, and Baba Yadgar's shrine draws the faithful from across the Guran region and beyond.
Pilgrimage and Devotion
At the shrine, pilgrims pray, make vows and seek Baba Yadgar's intercession in times of need, for healing, for children, for safe passage through trouble. Offerings of consecrated food, the niyaz, are shared, and the kalams, the sacred hymns of the faith, are sung. Many tie pieces of cloth at the site as a sign of a wish or a vow.
These gatherings are more than visits to a grave. They renew the bonds of the community and its connection to the holy figures of the foundational age, keeping the presence of Baba Yadgar alive among the living.
Symbolism and Legacy
Baba Yadgar embodies a pattern central to Yarsanism: the holy figure whose blessing, once given, continues to flow through a lineage and a place. As patron of a khandan and lord of a mountain shrine, he binds together the people of his spiritual house and the sacred geography of the Guran highlands.
His shrine, remote and beautiful, is a reminder of how closely Yarsani faith is tied to the mountains of Kurdistan, where the holy and the landscape are inseparable. In honouring Baba Yadgar, Yarsanis honour the whole foundational age from which their faith descends.
Debates and Misconceptions
How much do we know of Baba Yadgar's life? Relatively little in historical terms. Like many Yarsani holy figures, he is known through sacred tradition, the kalams and the devotion of his khandan rather than through documentary history. His significance is religious and communal rather than biographical.
Are Yarsani shrines and saints a form of Islam? Outsiders sometimes assume so, and Yarsanis have even been mislabelled with names they reject. But the khandan system, the holy figures of the foundational age, and the distinctive Yarsani understanding of the divine mark this out as a religion in its own right, even where it shares the wider region's language of saints and shrines.
Related Topics
Sultan Sahak: the founder of Yarsanism, in whose age Baba Yadgar lived
The Haft Tan: the Seven Beings of Yarsani belief
The khandans: the spiritual houses of the Ahl-e Haqq
The tanbur: the sacred lute played in Yarsani worship
The Kalam-e Saranjam: the sacred scripture of the faith
Perdiwar: the shrine of Sultan Sahak and the other great Yarsani sanctuary
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Baba Yadgar?
Baba Yadgar is one of the most revered holy figures of the Yarsani (Ahl-e Haqq) faith, from the foundational age of Sultan Sahak. He is patron of one of the original Yarsani spiritual houses, and his mountain shrine is a great place of pilgrimage.
Where is the shrine of Baba Yadgar?
It lies in the Dalahu mountains, about forty kilometres from Sarpol-e Zahab in Kermanshah province, western Iran, in the Guran region that is the Yarsani heartland.
Why is Baba Yadgar important to Yarsanis?
He is a beloved holy figure of the foundational age and the patron of the Baba Yadgar khandan, one of the spiritual houses to which Yarsanis belong. His shrine is one of the two main Yarsani sanctuaries.
What is a khandan?
A khandan is a Yarsani spiritual house or lineage. Seven were founded in the time of Sultan Sahak and four later, and every Yarsani belongs to one, led by a hereditary spiritual leader called a sayyed.
How does Baba Yadgar's shrine compare to Sultan Sahak's?
They are the two principal sanctuaries of the Ahl-e Haqq. Sultan Sahak's tomb is at Perdiwar on the Sirwan river, while Baba Yadgar's shrine is in the Dalahu mountains near Dohab. Both are major pilgrimage sites.
References and Further Reading
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