The Tawusgeran: The Parading of the Peacock
- Sherko Sabir
- 8 minutes ago
- 12 min read
Introduction
Among the most ancient and most cherished of the institutions of the Yazidi faith is the Tawusgeran, the Parading of the Peacock, the sacred procession in which the holy images of Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel, are carried from village to village across the Yazidi lands. In this venerable rite, the sinjaq, the sacred bronze effigies of the peacock, are borne by the Qewwals, the sacred singers, in stately procession through the Yazidi communities, who receive them with reverence and joy.
For a faith whose communities have long been scattered across mountains and plains, often far from the holy centre at Lalish, the Tawusgeran has been an institution of the greatest importance: the means by which the sacred presence of the Peacock Angel is brought to the villages, by which the teachings of the faith are spread, and by which the scattered community is bound together and to its spiritual heart. It is one of the central rites by which the Yazidi religion has been sustained across the centuries.
To understand the Tawusgeran is to understand how a faith without scripture, transmitted by word and rite rather than by book, has maintained its unity and its devotion across a dispersed and often persecuted community. In the journey of the sacred peacock from village to village, in the veneration it receives and the teaching that accompanies it, the Yazidi faith renews its bonds and carries its sacred presence to all its people. It is among the most beautiful and most vital of the institutions of one of the most ancient religions of the Kurdish world.
Contents
What Is the Tawusgeran?
The Tawusgeran, a name understood to mean the carrying or parading of the peacock, is a Yazidi religious institution and ceremony in which the sinjaq, the sacred images of a peacock symbolising Tawuse Melek, are carried in procession through the Yazidi villages. During the Tawusgeran, the Qewwals and other religious dignitaries visit the communities bearing the holy peacock images, which are venerated by the faithful; sermons are preached, sacred hymns sung, offerings collected, and holy water and berat, small sacred stones from Lalish, distributed. It is one of the most important institutions of the faith, the means by which the sacred presence of the Peacock Angel is brought to the scattered communities.
The Sacred Sinjaq
At the heart of the Tawusgeran are the sinjaq, also called sanjaq, the sacred bronze images of a peacock that represent Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel, and that are among the most precious and most holy of all the sacred objects of the Yazidi faith. These are figures of a peacock, often surmounting a lamp-like base, cast in metal and revered as embodiments of the presence of the Peacock Angel. In the tradition, the sinjaq were given to the Yazidis by Tawuse Melek himself, and they are treated with the deepest reverence.
In the tradition there were originally seven sinjaq, one for each of the Seven Holy Beings, corresponding also to the seven regions of the Yazidi world. Over the troubled history of the community some were lost, and fewer remain today. The greatest and most sacred of them is the one known as the Sheikhani, the sinjaq directly associated with Tawuse Melek himself. The sinjaq are normally kept in the holy valley of Lalish or in the residence of the Yazidi prince, and it is from there that they are taken out, baptised in the holy waters, and borne forth on the sacred procession of the Tawusgeran to be brought among the people.
Key Takeaways
The Tawusgeran is the Yazidi Parading of the Peacock.
The sacred sinjaq, bronze peacock-images of Tawuse Melek, are carried in procession.
The Qewwals, the sacred singers, bear them from village to village.
The faithful venerate them with offerings, incense and reverence.
Sermons, hymns, holy water and sacred berat stones are given.
It binds the scattered community to the holy centre at Lalish.
Quick Facts
Name: Tawusgeran (the Parading of the Peacock)
Faith: Yazidism
Sacred object: The sinjaq (sanjaq), bronze peacock-images
Represents: Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel
Original number: Seven sinjaq, one per Holy Being and region
Greatest sinjaq: The Sheikhani, associated with Tawuse Melek
Bearers: The Qewwals, the sacred singers
Kept at: Lalish or the residence of the Yazidi Mir
Given to villages: Sermons, hymns, holy water, berat stones
Purpose: Bringing the sacred presence to scattered communities
The Procession of the Peacock
The Tawusgeran is, in its essence, a sacred journey. At regular intervals the sinjaq are taken from their home at Lalish or the residence of the prince and conducted in stately procession from one Yazidi village to another, each sinjaq traditionally touring its own appointed region. In preparation, the sacred images and the cloths that shelter them are baptised in the holy waters, and then the procession sets forth, bearing the presence of the Peacock Angel out among the communities of the faithful.
When the sacred peacock arrives at a village, it is received with great reverence and joy. The community comes out to welcome the holy image, often with incense, music and song, the faithful in their traditional dress greeting the Peacock Angel's presence among them. The sinjaq is installed in the house of a chosen host, and the faithful come to pay homage to it, to venerate it, and to make their offerings. Through the day and into the evening the villagers come before the sacred image in devotion, and the holy presence of the Peacock Angel dwells for a time among them, before the procession moves on to the next village in its sacred circuit. In this journey from community to community, the Tawusgeran carries the heart of the faith out to all the people.
The Role of the Qewwals
The bearers of the sacred peacock and the leaders of the Tawusgeran are the Qewwals, the sacred singers and reciters of the Yazidi faith, who in the tradition reside in the twin villages of Beshiqe and Behzani. As the trained keepers and performers of the sacred qewls, the holy hymns of the religion, the Qewwals are uniquely fitted to carry the sacred images among the people and to perform the rites and recitations that accompany them.
During the Tawusgeran, the Qewwals and the other dignitaries who accompany the sacred peacock perform the sacred music and song, reciting the hymns and praises of the Peacock Angel, and preach the sermons and discourses that instruct the faithful. They watch over the sacred image, attend to its veneration with incense and offerings, and bless the people with holy water. In whatever village they reside for the night, they assume the role of teachers and keepers of the faith, the bearers of the sacred presence and the sacred knowledge. The Tawusgeran is thus inseparable from the Qewwals, whose journeys with the sacred peacock are among the most important of all their sacred duties, carrying both the holy image and the holy word out to the scattered communities of the faith.
Teaching and the Bonds of Community
The Tawusgeran has a profound importance for the Yazidi faith that goes beyond the veneration of the sacred images, for it is one of the chief means by which the teachings of the religion are spread and the community held together. The Yazidi faith is an oral religion, without a single central scripture, its sacred lore transmitted by word and song rather than by book, and chiefly preserved by the trained Qewwals. For the ordinary faithful in the villages, the coming of the Tawusgeran is one of the few occasions on which they receive direct teaching about their faith, through the sermons and the sacred hymns of the visiting singers.
Just as importantly, the Tawusgeran binds the scattered Yazidi community together and to its spiritual centre. For a people dispersed across many villages and regions, often remote from the holy valley of Lalish and from one another, the regular journey of the sacred peacock through the communities is a powerful unifying force, carrying the presence of the centre out to the periphery and reminding every village of its place within the one faith and the one people. Through the Tawusgeran, the dispersed communities are knit into a single religious body, sharing in the one sacred presence and the one sacred teaching. In this, the Parading of the Peacock has been one of the great sustaining institutions of the Yazidi faith across the centuries of its scattered and often persecuted existence.
The Sinjaq and the Mir
The Tawusgeran is also closely bound up with the authority of the Mir, the prince of the Yazidis, the supreme temporal head of the community, who in the tradition is the keeper of the sinjaq and the representative of the Peacock Angel on earth. The sacred images are kept in the prince's possession, and the offerings made to the sinjaq during the Parading of the Peacock belong to him, forming an important part of the resources of the princely house.
Beyond the material support, the Tawusgeran strengthens the spiritual authority and the unifying role of the Mir. The ceremonies that accompany the sacred peacock in the villages emphasise the prince's links with the supernatural power of the Peacock Angel, affirming his standing as the Angel's representative and the head of the community. The tours also gave the prince and his house a means of remaining connected to the life of the Yazidi communities far from the centre, through the Qewwals and other dignitaries who carried the sacred peacock on his behalf. In this way the Tawusgeran served not only the devotion of the faithful and the unity of the community but also the cohesion of the whole Yazidi order, with the Mir at its head as keeper of the sacred peacock and representative of Tawuse Melek.
Symbolism and Meaning
The Tawusgeran embodies some of the deepest features of the Yazidi faith: the centrality of Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel, whose sacred presence is carried among the people; the oral and communal character of a religion transmitted by word, song and rite; and the unity of a scattered people bound together by their shared devotion. In the journey of the sacred peacock from village to village, the faith reaches out to all its people, carrying the holy presence and the holy teaching to every community.
Above all, the Parading of the Peacock symbolises the way the Yazidi faith has sustained itself across the centuries: not through written scripture or grand central institutions alone, but through the living bonds of devotion, teaching and community renewed in the sacred journeys of the peacock. For a dispersed and often persecuted people, the regular coming of the sacred presence to the villages, the teaching that accompanied it, and the unity it affirmed were vital to the survival of the faith. To contemplate the Tawusgeran is to contemplate the resilience and the spiritual richness of the Yazidis, and the beautiful institution by which they have carried the presence of the Peacock Angel into the heart of every community, binding their scattered world into one people of one ancient faith.
The Tawusgeran and the Kurds
The Tawusgeran is a cherished part of the heritage of the Kurdish world, for the Yazidis are among the most ancient communities of that world, a Kurdish-speaking people whose sacred institutions are among the most remarkable of the region. Carried through the Yazidi villages of the Kurdish lands, from the heartland of Lalish and Sheikhan out to the dispersed communities, the Parading of the Peacock is part of the rich and distinctive spiritual heritage that the Yazidis have preserved within the Kurdish world.
In our own time, after the terrible sufferings the Yazidis have endured, the revival and continuation of the Tawusgeran, the Tawus Tour as it is also known, has taken on a special significance, fortifying the social bonds among the Yazidi Kurds and rekindling the rich tapestry of their cultural and religious heritage. The procession of the sacred peacock, welcomed in the villages with incense, music and traditional dress, is a living affirmation of the endurance of the faith and the people. To honour the Tawusgeran is to honour the resilience and the spiritual depth of the Yazidis, and to recognise the Parading of the Peacock as one of the living treasures of the religious heritage of the Kurdish world.
Debates and Misconceptions
Does the veneration of the sinjaq mean the Yazidis worship idols or a sinister power? No; this is a misunderstanding of the kind that has long fed the slanders against the Yazidi faith. The Yazidis are monotheists who worship the one God, Xwede, and the sinjaq are sacred images of Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel, the chief of the holy beings through whom God governs the world, an entirely benevolent and exalted figure of light and divine grace. The veneration of the sacred peacock is the honouring of this holy being and the divine presence he represents, within a faith that is firmly monotheistic, and it has nothing whatever to do with any sinister or evil power. Such slanders are rooted in ignorance and hostility, not in the reality of the Yazidi religion.
Is the Tawusgeran the same as the Yazidi New Year? They are connected but not the same. The Parading of the Peacock is especially associated with the season of the Yazidi New Year, Carsema Sor, and the spring, when in the tradition the sacred images are baptised and the procession sets forth. But the Tawusgeran is properly an institution in its own right, a recurring ceremony of carrying the sacred peacock through the villages, rather than simply a part of the New Year festival. It is best understood as a distinct and continuing institution of the faith, closely bound up with the sacred calendar but with its own character and importance.
Is the Tawusgeran practised today? The tradition has faced great difficulties through the troubled history of the Yazidis, including the loss of several of the sacred sinjaq and the terrible disruptions of persecution and displacement in modern times. Yet the Parading of the Peacock has endured and, in recent years, has been revived and continued, the sacred peacock once again carried through the Yazidi villages and welcomed by the faithful. Its survival and revival are a testament to the resilience of the Yazidi faith and the determination of the community to preserve its most ancient and most cherished traditions.
Related Topics
Tawuse Melek: the Peacock Angel, whose sacred images are carried in the procession
The Qewwals: the sacred singers who bear the sinjaq
Lalish: the holy valley where the sinjaq are kept
The Mir: the prince, keeper of the sinjaq and representative of the Peacock Angel
The Seven Holy Beings: the Heptad, to whom the seven sinjaq corresponded
The qewls: the sacred hymns recited during the procession
Carsema Sor: the Yazidi New Year, the season of the parade
Yazidism: the ancient faith whose institution this is
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Tawusgeran?
The Tawusgeran, the Parading of the Peacock, is a Yazidi religious institution and ceremony in which the sinjaq, sacred bronze images of a peacock symbolising Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel, are carried in procession through the Yazidi villages. The Qewwals and other religious dignitaries bear the holy images among the communities, where they are venerated, sermons are preached, hymns sung, offerings collected, and holy water and sacred berat stones distributed.
What is the sinjaq?
The sinjaq, also called sanjaq, are sacred bronze images of a peacock that represent Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel, and are among the most precious and holy objects of the Yazidi faith. In the tradition there were originally seven, one for each of the Seven Holy Beings and the seven Yazidi regions, though some were lost over the troubled history of the community. The greatest is the Sheikhani sinjaq, associated with Tawuse Melek himself.
Who carries the sacred peacock in the procession?
The sacred peacock images are carried by the Qewwals, the trained sacred singers and reciters of the Yazidi faith, who in the tradition reside in the twin villages of Beshiqe and Behzani, accompanied by other religious dignitaries. As the keepers and performers of the sacred qewls, the holy hymns, the Qewwals are uniquely fitted to bear the sacred images and to perform the rites, recitations and sermons that accompany the Parading of the Peacock.
Why is the Tawusgeran important to the Yazidi faith?
The Tawusgeran carries the sacred presence of the Peacock Angel out to the scattered Yazidi communities and is one of the few occasions on which the ordinary faithful in the villages receive direct teaching about their oral faith, through the sermons and hymns of the visiting singers. It also binds the dispersed community together and to its spiritual centre at Lalish, knitting the scattered villages into one people of one faith, and it has been a vital sustaining institution across the centuries.
Where are the sinjaq kept?
The sacred sinjaq are normally kept in the holy valley of Lalish or in the residence of the Yazidi Mir, the prince, who is their keeper and the representative of the Peacock Angel on earth. From there they are taken out, baptised in the holy waters, and borne on the procession of the Tawusgeran through the villages, each sinjaq traditionally touring its own appointed region, before being returned to their sacred home.
Is the veneration of the sinjaq a form of idol worship?
No. The Yazidis are monotheists who worship the one God, Xwede, and the sinjaq are sacred images of Tawuse Melek, the Peacock Angel, the wholly benevolent chief of the holy beings through whom God governs the world. The veneration of the sacred peacock is the honouring of this exalted holy being and the divine presence he represents, within a firmly monotheistic faith, and it has nothing to do with idolatry or with any sinister power, contrary to the slanders long directed at the faith.
References and Further Reading
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