Melek Taus
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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.
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[edit] Religious significance
The Yazidis consider Melek Taus to be a benevolent angel who 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 7,000 years, his tears filling seven jars, which then quenched the fires of hell.
Melek Taus is sometimes transliterated Malak Ta'us, Malak Tawus, or Malik Taws. In Semitic languages, malik/melech 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 led 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.
[edit] Outside views
Some Christians, Muslims and others identify Melek Taus as Lucifer or Shaytān (Satan). 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] 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 Islam.
Melek Taus is also a central figure in many sects of the Feri tradition of modern witchcraft, where he is seen as the embodiment of the "higher self" of collective humanity; i.e. "the God of this world".[2]
[edit] References in popular media
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 that 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.
"Melek Taus" is the title and subject of a song by the Swedish symphonic metal band Therion, from their 2003 album Sirius B.
