Page 235 - Neglected Arabia Vol 1 (3)_Neat

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NEGLECTED ARABIA 7

cast to Sheikhan, north of Mosul. The Yezidis are commonly known
as “devil-worshippers’*; their religion is probably a survival of primitive
heathenism, with accretions from the various conquering races that have
swept over this country. So far as the basis of their cult goes, it is this:
God is all-powerful and very merciful; He has committed this present
dispensation into the hands of Satan, who will report, on it at the close
of his term of office; whoever has succeeded in passing his span of life
here without offending the present incumbent will be favorably reported
to the Almighty, and whoever has incurred his displeasure is sure to
suffer for it. Satan is considered a name of reproach, and must never
be spoken; they call him Malak Tauz, and symbolize him by the pea­
cock. This general scheme is easily grasped; but the actual substance
of their religion is a confused maze of folk lore, magic, and tabu, with
pilgrimages to the shrines of the saints and worship of the brazen image
of the peacock the chief features of formal observance. A tabu that :•
has worked them great injury is the prohibition of literacy; it has left them
defenseless in the courts against the many unscrupulous Moslems and
"Christians’* who consider the devil-worshippers as fair game.
The Moslem Kurds (Sunni) form by far the largest portion of the
population of Kurdistan. No one knows how uiany there arc; in ull of *j
Kurdistan there arc probably not less than three milium, with the larger
number in Turkey and Persia and the smaller in Iraq, Most of them
live in villages and make their living from their crops and their flocks.
Many of them are expert agriculturists; by careful fertilizing, they raise
two crops a year from the'terraced fields that can be brought under irri­
gation. Grapes are cultivated extensively and fruit in lesser quantities.
Most of the Kurds seem quite content with the simple manner of life
that their ancestors followed and I add my voice in praise of many
features of it—but those who have left it and have ‘‘gotten in the swim”
have proved themselves quite able to compete with any of the other
peoples of this part of the world. As a whole, the Kurds are still a
simple, rough, primitive people. If the word Kurd means anything to
you, it probably brings to your mind the picture of a bloodthirsty vaga­
bond, such as the Kurds have been painted by most writers. And I can­
not deny that they have done the things that have won for them this
unenviable reputation. But to judge them by this alone is not fair. I
doubt if the three million Kurds commit any more murders than the
three million people of Chicago—probably less; but there are many peo­
ple in Chicago who would rightly object to being branded as criminals
because of the deeds of their fellow-citizens. Of course, there is some­
thing to say on the other side: many citizens of Chicago have done great
and notable things, while the Kurds, other than the notable bandits, <
have spent their time working their fields and herding their sheep and
bringing up their families and saying their prayers. Again I find a
good deal to say in favor of the Kurdish mode of life. In my four years
in Kurdistan, I have found the Kurds simple, not bad. The outrages
they commit are the result of the lack of the inhibitions of civilization
rather than of a nature more depraved than that of other peoples.
Do not Imagine that because I use the word civilisation I am here
for the purpose of bringing that to them. I use it simply as a means
of comparison with other peoples. There is no Christian country on earth,