Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/856

* YEZD. 724 YIDDISH. sinil there is a consiuerable trade in opium and sugar. Population, estimated at 50,000. Yezd is the leading centre of Zoroastrianism in Persia. TEZDEGEBD, yez'de-jerd. The name of three Persian kings of the Sassanidie (q.v.) dynasty. YEZIDIS, yez'e-dez. The name given to a sect known as 'Devil-Worshipers' found in Kur- distan. Armenia, and the Caucasus. They speak of themselves rather as Da.sni, after the name of certain tribes in the vicinity of SIosul. The term Yezidi itself is of uncertain derivation. The Mohammedans associate it with the name of Yezid, the second Ommiad Caliph (a.d. 720- 724), but the religion is undoubtedly older. Some have sought to connect it with the city of Yezd in Persia. Others again derive it from the Kurdish and Persian Yazddn, God, for the Yezidis unquestionably believe in a god, de- spite their veneration of the devil. The sym- bol of their faith is a peacock, which they call Malik Tans, the term by which they designate the devil. The devil is a creative agent of the supreme god and he is the author of evil. He was a fallen angel, but God reinstated him to heavenly rank and forbade the angels to scorn him. For this reason mankind should not ven- ture to treat the power of evil with contempt. The Yezidis never use the name of Satan and they shrink from any mention of the devil. It is largely this that gives the idea that they are devil-worshipers, although It is possible, owing to their geographical position, that the Yezidis may actually ^^how some surviving traces of the old devil-worship in ilazanderan anathematized by Zoroaster (q.v.). In numbers the Yezidis are not large, although there are said to be some 12,- 000 in the Caucasus region alone. Throughout history they have suffered much from persecu- tion. The religion shows traces of old Iranian and Assyrian beliefs, such as dualistic traits and regard for the fire, the sun, and the elements, combined with some Mohajnmedan traits and influenced likewise by Manichaeism and Nestorian Christianity. They recognize ilohammed as a prophet beside Abraham and the Patriarchs ; and they consider that Christ was an angel in human form. The belief in a future life forms part of their faith. The rites of baptism and general- ly of circumcision are practiced among them, and there are special offices connected with marriage and death. Polygamy is not common among them. Their chief book of divine revelation is entitled Al-Yali-nh, and its great interpreter was Shaikh Adi, who lived about a.d. 1200. For the main points of their religion, consult : Layard, Nineveh and Its Remains (London, 1850) ; Me- nant, Les Y^-zidis (Paris, 1892). YEZO, yii'zo. The most northerly of the large islands of .Japan, forming with its twelve adjacent islands and the Kurile Islands (q.v.) a division of the .Japanese Empire known as the Hokkaido, or 'North Sea Circuit.' It is separated from the main island of .Tapan on the south by the deep strait of Tsugaru. 10 miles wide, and is included within the meridians of 139° 11' and 140° 7' E., and the parallels of 41° 21' and 45° 30' N. .Vrea, 30.143 square miles; population, in 1900, 922.0.58, including 17,000 aborigines, known as Aino (q.v.). The surface is nmcli broken by two great intersecting mountain systems, one volcanic, from the Kurile Islands, and the other of granite and old schists from Saghalien, culminating in Tokachi-dake (8200 feet), latitude 43° 48' N. and longitude 143° 10' E. 'I'he volcanic peaks are niniierous, the best known being Komaga-take (4000 feet). still active. The chief rivers are the Ishikari, 407 miles long, the seat of a great salmon-fishing and canning industry, and the To- kachi. There is comparatively little level land that is suitable for cultivation, and the principal industries, besides farming, arc hunting, fishing, and mining — chiefly gold and coal, ilineral oil is found near Hakodate (the principal seaport) and elsewhere, and is being developed by foreign companies. Brewing is carried on at Sapporo, the capital of Ishikari Province (43° 4' N., and 144° 43' E.), and glass works for bottle-making and several paper mills are in operation. The chief exportable commodities are canned salmon, fish-manure, fish-oil, dried fish-roe, seaweed, salt, and sulphur. In 1900, 328 miles of railway were in operation. The forests are dense, and many wild animals, including deer and bear, abound. The climate is severe, and for nearly si.x months the country is covered with a deep mantle of snow and ice. (See the article .Japan, section Climate.) Besides Sapporo and Hako- date, already mentioned, the chief towns are Okkashi, Xemnro, Jlororan, a naval station on Volcano Bay. and Fukuyama or ilatsumai ( for- merly the chief town of the island). From 1600 to 1868 the southwestern portion of the island was the possession of a Daimio named Matsumai, and Hakodate belonged to the Shogun. In 1871, fearing Russian aggression, active colonization was begun, a new department — the Kaitdkiixl}!. or Colonization Department — was established, and much development work was done under foreign superintendence. This was abolished in 1881, and the country was divided into prefectures as in .Japan proper. It is still regarded as a colony, however, and electoral privileges have not as yet been extended to its inhabitants. YGGDRASIL, ig'dra-sil (Icel. ijgtjdra syll, sill (if Yggr. a name of Odin). The name given in Scandinavian mythology to a tree which was conceived as binding together heaven, earth, and hell. It is an ash, whose branches spread over all the world, and reach above the heavens. It sends out three roots in three different direc- tions: one to the .lilsir in heaven, another to the frost-giants, the third to the under-world, or, according to other accounts, to the world of mankind. Under each root springs a wonderful foinitain, endowed with marvelous virtues. From the tree itself drops honey. In it dwell an eagle, between whose eyes the hawk Vethrfolnir or Vethrlanfnir sits, and a squirrel, named Pata- toskr, while at its roots gnaws the serpent Nithhoggr. Between the eagle and the serpent the squirrel continually tries to breed dissen- sion. The mytludogical basis of the tree Yggdrasil is uncertain, but from certain features it seems probable that Christian ideas have been blended with the original Scandinavian concepts. YIDDISH ( .Tudaeo-Ger.. .Tewish, from Ger. jiidisch, Jewish). The language spoken by the Jews in Eastern Europe, the most widely spread dialect of the Jews. .Uhough Ihc .Jews after the Dispersion spoke (he language of the land in whiih they dwelt, it was inevitable