The Yezidi hymn of Danūnē Miṣrī (Dhu ‘l-Nūn al-Miṣrī)

Abstract

Early Sufi saints are highly revered in Yezidism. Yezidi sacred hymns (qawls) and oral traditions, which are an important source for understanding the Yezidi religion, are dedicated to them: first and foremost, al-Ḥallāj, Rābi‘a and Dhu ‘l-Nūn al-Miṣrī. In the article we publish and analyze the Yezidi sacred hymn, “Qawlē Danūnē Misrī”, in Kurmanji, with an accompanying translation into Russian. This is the first publication of the full version of this qawl, with translation into another language (in this case - Russian) and commentary. Danūnē Misrī is the Yazidi version of the name of the famous Sufi saint Dhu‘l-Nūn al-Miṣrī. In the oral tradition of the Yezidis, the vesting of Dhu‘l-Nūn in the robe of the main Yezidi saint Sheikh ‘Adī, that is, his entry into Yezidism, is achieved through his refusal of love for the girl Khazal, who appears in the qawl as a righteous woman. The article demonstrates the Sufi aspects of the mystical love for God in the Yezidi religion. Despite the fact that the religious worldview of the Yezidis was formed gradually, largely taking into account historical circumstances in the conditions of mutual enmity with Muslims and distancing from them, the qawl presented here reveals elements that confirm the assumption that in the early period Yezidism was hardly distinguishable from Sufism.