The bulk of the Yazidi population lives in Iraq, where they make up an important minority community. Estimates of the size of these communities vary significantly, between 70,000 and 500,000. They are particularly concentrated in the Nineveh Province. The two biggest communities are in Shekhan, northeast of Mosul, and in Sinjar, at the Syrian border 80 kilometers west of Mosul. The demographic profile has probably changed considerably since the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003 and the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. According to the Human Rights Watch, Yazidis were under Arabization process of Saddam Hussein between 1970 and 2003. In 2014 Daesh invaded the region and Yazidis were forced to flee to Mount Sinjar in the Iraqi north-west region or face slaughter by an encircling group of Islamic State (Isis) jihadists. The UN has said that roughly 40,000 people – many women and children – have taken refuge in nine locations on the mountain. A historically misunderstood group, the Yazidis have kept alive their syncretic religion for centuries, despite many years of oppression and threatened extermination. Yazidi in their entire history faced a total of 74 genocides.
At least once in their lifetime, Yazidis are expected to make a six-day pilgrimage to Lalish to visit the tomb of Şêx Adî and other sacred places. These other sacred places are shrines dedicated to other holy beings. There are two sacred springs called Zamzam and Kāniyā. The holy temple Lalish is located in a small mountain valley village situated in the Shekhan District of Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq, near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan. It contains the holiest temple in the Yezidi faith. The temple belongs to ancient times wherein many archaeologists agree that the temple was a part of Sumerian and other ancient Mesopotamian civilizations.
Tradition wants Yazidi to wear white clothes since they believe that their heart must be white and reflects purity.
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