Jema is the oldest and most
sacred Yezidi festival.
As in previous years, the Yezidis celebrated the Feast of Jema and held their religious ceremonies at the Lalish temple in Shingal.
The Yezidis, who are Kurds by origin, have had their religious practices and rights legally recognised in the Kurdistan Region. During the festival, the Regional Government also announced an official holiday for Yezidi employees, allowing them to take part in the festival’s religious ceremonies.
During the Feast of Jema, the Yezidis pitch tents at Lalish and remain there for seven days. Every evening, the lamps of the holy shrines are lit, and the “Sema” ceremony (a religious dance) is performed, accompanied by the recitation of religious qawls and bayts. Every Yezidi who visits Lalish must cross the Bridge of Sirat and wash their hands and face with water from the “White Spring” (Kaniya Spî), which is considered sacred and purifying.
In the presence of the Prince of the Yezidis, Baba Sheikh, and the Spiritual Council, the ceremonies begin with the recitation of the “Evening Bayt” and the performance of the “Sema.”
On the first day of the festival, the Prince of the Yezidis, Baba Sheikh, and the Spiritual Council begin the ceremonies by reciting the “Evening Bayt” and performing the “Sema.”
On the second day, the “Qantar” ceremony is held, consisting of circling the holy shrines within Lalish.
On the remaining days, ordinary religious ceremonies are held. On the seventh and final day of the festival, a sacred throne is prepared, drawn from a special water source, and placed in a designated spot within Lalish as a sign of the festival’s successful conclusion. The holding of this festival depends on a prior decision by the Yezidi Spiritual Council. If the situation of the Yezidis is bad, the festival is not held. For example, after the ISIS attacks on Shingal in 2014, the Spiritual Council decided to suspend the festival, and no ceremonies were held for four years, until 2018, when they resumed.
Although many Yezidi Kurds still live in displacement and as refugees after the ISIS catastrophe, and the Iraqi government has still not been willing to implement the Shingal Agreement to normalise the situation in Shingal, the festival ceremonies were held with great enthusiasm.