Melek Taus
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| Mesopotamian mythology | |
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Melek Taus "The Peacock Angel" (in Arabic script ملك طاووس) is the Yazidis' name for the central figure of their faith.
[edit] Religious significance
The Yazidis consider Melek Taus to be a benevolent angel that has redeemed himself from his fall, and has become a demiurge who created the cosmos from the Cosmic Egg. After he repented, he cried for 7000 years, his tears filling 7 jars, which then quenched the fires of hell.
Melek Taus is sometimes transliterated Malak Ta'us or Malik Taws. In Semitic languages, malik variably means "king" or "angel". Taus is uncontroversially translated "peacock"; however, it is important to note that peacocks are not, at least currently, native to the lands where Melek Taus is worshipped. This has lead some to speculate that the worship of Melek Taus was imported from India, though it is more likely the peacock iconography is a development from earlier representations depicting the god as a native fowl, such as a bustard. The Yazidi believe that the founder of their religion, Sheikh Adi Ibn Mustafa, was an avatar of Melek Taus. In art and sculpture Melek Taus is depicted as peacock. The Yazidi are thought to be unique in their depiction of their primary god as a bird.
[edit] Outside views
Some Christians, Muslims and others identify Melek Taus as Lucifer or Shaytān (Satan). The fact that the Yazidis have stated that their God is the "evil one" of other religions hardly clarifies the matter. The Yazidis' cultural prohibition against uttering the word – saying God's name is blasphemy – does not make the situation easier. According to the Kurdish linguist Jamal Nebez, the word Taus is most probably derived from the Greek and is related to the words Zeus and Theos, alluding to the meaning of God. Accordingly, Melek Taus is "God's Angel", and this is how Yazidis themselves see Melek Taus or Taus-e Malak ([1], page 21). Because the Yazidis are a minority religion, they have suffered great persecutions, with some pogroms against them nearly wiping out their religion. This has caused them to disguise their religion in the trappings of mainstream Islām. It is exceedingly difficult to determine precisely what Melek Taus represents to the Yazidi.
[edit] Fiction
In Alan Moore's graphic novel series Top 10, the character of King Peacock is a worshipper of Melek Taus, and it is from this worship King Peacock claims to receive his matter-control abilities. The antagonist of John Case's novel The Eighth Day is an unscrupulous businessman attempting to set himself up as the incarnation of Melek Taus to gain control over Yazidi holdings. In S.M. Stirling's novel The Peshawar Lancers, a corrupted version of the Peacock Angel is the deity of a savage, cannibalistic post-apocalyptic Russian religion. The Swedish symphonic metal band Therion has made a song about Melek Taus. It can be found on their album Sirius B, released in the year 2003.
