Manifestation of the Yezidi Identity

Abstract

This article aims to examine the relationship between cemeteries and Yezidi identity by focusing on the Goristana Hesen Begê (Hesen Beg Cemetery), which belongs to the villages of Geliyê Sora (Güneli), Mezre (Çilesiz), Xanik/Berhokê (Mağaracık), and Efşe (Kaleli), and is located in Nusaybin in southeastern Turkey. It will analyse the tombstones’ architectural features and symbols and question how the Yezidi identity reconstructs and transforms itself in modern monumental funerary architecture in southeastern Turkey. Ritual practices in the Goristana Hesen Begê indicate that death rituals can be employed to strengthen and integrate the social boundaries of the community. Thus, it will discuss the meaning of places of memory and mortuary practices for the exiled Yezidis and their roles as identity markers in the reproduction of social relations within the Yezidi community.