The Real Sheikhs — They Trace Their Descent From Heaven

1926

CATTLE MEN REAL SHEIKS

MEMBERS OF YAZIDIES TRIBE CLAIM THEY CAN TRACE THEIR DESCENT FROM HEAVEN

Aleppo, Syria.—Taous Malak, the "fallen angel" whom God expelled from heaven, is the patron saint of the sheikhs — not those whose handsome profiles thrown against the American screen have made flappers' hearts flutter.

The tribe of the Yazidies, worshippers of Satan, from which the original sheikhs sprang, are nomads living from cattle raising. They number about 12,000 and their habitat is north of Aleppo near the Djebel Soumann. Another branch is to be found at Khaltar, a small town in the vicinity of Diarkebir.

Trace Ancestry From Heaven

Sheikhs claim they can trace their ancestry from heaven, being direct descendents of Sheik Charaf-Eddin or "the moon." Another early sheikh was Amadin, which means "pillar supporting heaven," while a third one was directly related to the sun.

Some of the present day sheikhs claim to have the power of miracle in rendering inoffensive the bites of snakes and scorpions.

Why Devil Is Worshiped

"Why do you worship the devil," asked an American who had been bitten by a poisonous insect, and desirous of ascertaining the miraculous power of the sheikhs, had sent for one.

"Satan is the source of all evil and if we ignore him we cannot avoid his wrath. God on the contrary is the essence of kindness and therefore we have nothing to fear from him," was the way the reply was translated.

No Divorce Among Sheikhs

There is no divorce among the real sheikhs, in which they differ somewhat from the American species.

Sheikhs marry only the daughters of other sheikhs. The marriage ceremony is very simple. It is a question of mutual consent between the bride and the bridegroom, expressed before one of the older sheikhs. Both newlyweds are then branded with red ink on the shoulders and forehead.

The sheikh performing the ceremony then takes a branch of a tree and breaking it in two, says: "Remain united until death parts you as force has broken this branch."

—Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, Aug. 12, 1926, p. 4.