Yezidis in ancient India, or Indians in ancient Mesopotamia?: Re-imagining Ancient Yezidi Origins


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Authors

  • Mija A Sanders University of Arizona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/255

Keywords:

Yezidis, Kurdish diasporas, USA, RSS

Abstract

Members and leaders of the Kurdish speaking Yezidi diaspora in Phoenix, Arizona—and transnationally—are in dialogue with members of the Indian diaspora about their common historical connections. “Are Yezidis from ancient India, or are Indians from ancient Mesopotamia?” Both of these claims and hypotheses situate Yezidis on the outside of a historical Muslim world, and have material effects. They add validity to non-Muslim traditions, by imagining a historical cultural root structure between India and Mesopotamia. They also help both Hindu nationalists and Yezidis to displace historical Muslim culture and dominance to somewhere else while reinforcing tropes of Islam synonymous with the “war on terror.” By de-historicising Islam and its presence in the Middle East and in India, Hindu and Yezidi community leaders co-imagine a pan-polytheism with roots in ancient Persian (Kurdish) Yezidi culture and language. The symbols that can be recognized today that span both traditions— the peacock, the peacock statue (sanjak), and the use of fire in places of worship—give testament to that imagined past. The contradictions of that historical narrative point to the limits of this historical work in the two communities, and find limits in modern identity articulations of Yezidi identity and Hindu identity alike. Material effects of the historical narrative include Indian imagery on the wall of Lalish, online circulating images and articles equating Yezidis to Hindus, and common activism, fundraising, and humanitarianism between Yezidi and Hindu communities in Phoenix, India, and in the Middle East.

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Author Biography

Mija A Sanders, University of Arizona

Mija Sanders is a current PhD student in the School of Middle Eastern & North African Studies at the University of Arizona. She is interested in gender studies, Turkish Studies, Yezidis, and migration.

Her current Fulbright-Hays funded project is on migration history in Izmir.

She earned her M.A. in Near Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona in 2012.

She earned her B.A. from Portland State University in International Studies focused on the Middle East, with a Minor in Turkish language, and a Turkish Studies Certificate.

Mija Sanders' work with Syrian refugees in Turkey examines the ways in which they make meaning of their newfound life worlds in Turkish society, including the gendered nuances of Syrian experiences with Turkish medical institutions and international aid organizations, and life in Turkish neighborhoods. These reflect Syrian anxieties about medical discourses and metaphors of violence used to interpret discriminatory practices on various social levels.

She speaks Turkish, Arabic and Kurdish, and volunteers mentoring refugee youth.

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Published

2019-08-16

How to Cite

Sanders, M. A. (2019). Yezidis in ancient India, or Indians in ancient Mesopotamia?: Re-imagining Ancient Yezidi Origins. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 6(2), 68–82. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/255
Received 2019-06-10
Accepted 2019-07-13
Published 2019-08-16