Batizmi (Feast of Pir Ali) · Batizmî

Culture of origin: Yezidi · Cultural

Holiday sources: Yezidism

Batizmi is kept by the Yezidis of Tur Abdin in south-eastern Turkey, the Çelka, for many of whom it is the most important feast of the year. It honours the saint Pir Ali, who tradition says came to their villages and worked miracles. It lasts eight days at the turn of the year, from the last Sunday of the old year to the first Sunday of the new, though the dates vary from village to village. On the Sunday the house is cleaned and the washing done; Monday and Tuesday are for the dead, and some fast; on Wednesday a sheep is sacrificed and seven pieces of its meat are laid out with seven candle wicks and seven handfuls of raisins; on Thursday night the young celebrate until sunrise. Sinjar's Yezidis keep a similar feast as Mel Melav, and Sheikhan's as Belinda Pîra.