Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/179

Rh According to the theology of the Yezeedees, Melek Taoos, of which the Senjak is a type, is the principle or power from whom all evil proceeds, and their religious services seem to partake much more of a propitiatory than of an eucharistic character. In this respect, their system is in accordance with the natural feelings of man in his fallen state, which lead him rather to dread punishment for his misdeeds, than to be thankful for benefits received. The Yezeedees, therefore, revere the evil principle, not out of love, but from fear, and this reverence they manifest not only by such religious rites as thesethose [sic] already described, but by scrupulously avoiding all mention of Satan, and the use of any word implying execration. Thus, they will never pronounce the word "Sheitan," the Arabic for Devil, nor "Shat," a river, because of its resemblance to the former. Neither will they use any part of the verb "laan," to curse, nor "naal, naalbend," a horse-shoe, a farrier, because the two latter have nearly the same sound, and all express the much dreaded attribute of Melek Taoos. Their use of the scarlet anemone as a propitiatory charm or offering, has already been mentioned, and if this flower is chosen for its colour, we may see in it, as well as in the ochre with which the heathen in India daub their idols, a symbol of blood and sacrifice.

What the particular rites are wherewith the Yezeedees testify their veneration for the evil principle in their secret assemblies, I am unable to state from personal observation; but I received the following account from one who has frequently been an eyewitness of them. It appears, there are in all seven brazen cocks, which are constantly being carried about in some or other of the Yezeedee districts. These are under the absolute control of Sheikh Nâsir, who directs their line of march, and in