against health problems and illnesses Daily prayers Prayers connected with the nature, i.e. the moon, stars, sun, etc. Purity and taboos Many Yazidis consider pork to be prohibited. However, many Yazidis living in Germany began to view this taboo as a foreign belief from Judaism or Islam and not part of Yazidism, and therefore abandoned this rule. Furthermore, in a BBC interview in April 2010, Baba Sheikh, the spiritual leader of all Yazidis, stated that ordinary Yazidis may eat what they want, but the religious clergy refrain from certain vegetables (including cabbage) because "they cause gases". Some Yazidis in Armenia and Georgia who converted to Christianity, still identify as Yazidis even after converting, but are not accepted by the other Yazidis as Yazidis. Customs Children are baptised at birth and circumcision is not required, but is practised by some due to regional customs. The Yazidi baptism is called (literally: 'to seal'). Traditionally, Yazidi children are baptised at birth with water from the ('White Spring') at Lalish. It involves pouring holy water from the spring on the child's head three times. Religious organisation The Yazidis are strictly endogamous; members of the three Yazidi castes, the murids, sheikhs, and pirs, marry only within their group. There are several religious duties that are performed by several dignitaries, such as the Mir Hejj (Prince of the Pilgrimage), Sheikh el-Wazir (who oversees the sanctuary of Sheikh Shems at Lalish), Pire Esbiya (treasurer of the sanctuary of Sheikh Shems at Lalish), Mijewir (local shrine custodian), Baba Chawush (guardian of the sanctuary of Sheikh Adi), and others. See also List of Yazidi holy places List of Yazidi saints List of Yazidi settlements Mandaeism Persecution of Yazidis by Muslims Yazdânism References Bibliography Rodziewicz Artur (2022). Hosseini S. Behnaz (ed.) "The Mystery of Essence and the Essence of Mystery: Yezidi and Yaresan Cosmogonies in the Light of the Kitab al-Tawasin", Yari Religion in Iran: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6444-1_6 Asian ethnic religion Iranian religions Mesopotamian religion Monotheistic religions Religion in Armenia Religion in Georgia (country) Religion in Iraq Religion in Kurdistan Religion in Syria Religion in Turkey Yazidi culture Yazidi mythology Ethnic religion Kurdish words and phrases