Yezidi Wedding Ritual

The Yezidi people are one of the oldest nations in the world with unique traditions and customs. The Yezidi wedding ceremony is one of them. The Yezidi wedding ritual is traditional and has been preserved to this day. It includes regular ceremonies, mutual visits and observance of customs. When an agreement is made, the boy’s parents, according to the order, go to the girl’s house to ask her parents for the girl’s hand in marriage. There is also another custom, when a “beshkert” (engagement) is performed at a young age with the consent of the parents of both parties. Although it rarely happens, it is believed that when the younger ones become adults, they should marry. The boy’s parents bring various ornaments for the girl when asking for her hand in marriage. Having reached an agreement, the boy’s parents and their relatives go to the girl’s parents after a few weeks, again taking jewelry and gifts. That ceremony is called “shirani” (at one time, “ghalim” was required on a girl’s head, which has now disappeared among Yezidis living in Armenia, because some young people from poor families could not get married because of it). After some time, they go to get the girl as a bride. An oath ceremony takes place when the fathers or close relatives swear by pressing their thumbs together in the presence of a sheikh or pir that they will preserve the unity of the family at all costs. It is an oath of loyalty and unbreakable alliance that Yezidis hold sacred. Apple is important at weddings, as a symbol of fertility.