Stories of Thread & Ink: Preserving Yazidi Cultural Heritage

Explore inter-generational workshops between Yazidi artisans and women survivors of the 2014 genocide in Iraq perpetrated by Da’esh

By the United Nations

A Healing Arts story in collaboration with Yazda, Community Jameel and CULTURUNNERS

Survivors Photographing a Traditional Yazidi Bracelet Maker (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations

In brave defiance of the 2014 genocide perpetrated by Da'esh, Yazidi women of different generations have come together to reclaim and revive at-risk cultural practices to preserve their heritage.

The deliberate destruction of cultural heritage is a war crime according to international law.

Survivors Photographing the Deq Tattooing Process (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations

Sustaining traditional cultural practices is important to survivors, and those who remain displaced and living in camps, as a pillar of the cultural identity and link to their lives before the genocide.

The Survivors

The creators of this exhibition are passionate about preserving and protecting Yazidi Cultural traditions, especially those passed on from mother to daughter across generations.

Portrait of Renas, Yazda, 2021, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Portrait of Aamira, Yazda, 2021, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Portrait of Kamira, Yazda, 2021, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Yazidi Survivors / Creators of the 'Stories of Thread & Ink' Exhibition (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations

Following a course of photography workshops, the participants embarked on a series of field trips to record the at-risk cultural traditions practiced by the elder women in the community.

Clockwise from top left: Elham, Suham, Zina and Enas.

Survivors Photographing a Traditional Yazidi Bracelet Maker (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations

Dazik (Bracelet) Making

Dazik, Yazidi traditional handmade bracelets, are a combination of spinning two strings of sheep’s wool, each separately, dyeing one of them in white, and the other in red; then spinning them together with the use of Tashi to get a single string of white and red combined. Yazidis wear Dazik around the neck or wrist.

“When we returned from captivity we wanted to protect our culture. Da'esh tried to exterminate our religion, our traditions and our customs. In response, we will keep preserving our culture, and show it to a new generation, so it will not be lost.”

Traditional Yazdi Bracelet Threads, Saadia Saeed, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Yazidi Bracelet Making, Elham Dakheel, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Puting a Traditional Yazidi Bracelet on the hand of a Da'esh Survivor, Enas Qasso, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Traditional Yazidi Bracelets on the hands of Da'esh survivors, Renas Elias, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Deq Tattoo on an Traditional Yazidi Tattoist (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations

Deq Tattoos

Traditionally, Yazidi women would tattoo designs – most often dots – on their faces and hands. These unique markings are sometimes known as 'Deq' Tattoos.

Within a philosophy grounded in nature, Deq tattoos were believed to relieve pain and inflammation and were especially common in Sinjar, the homeland of the Yazidi people.

Traditional Yazidi Deq Tattooing (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations

My name is Na’am Qasim Khalaf...

“I used to love making tattoos. I started making tattoos when I was 15 years old. After Da'esh besieged Sinjar in 2014, my family fled to the Khanki IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp in Kurdistan and I stopped making tattoos.”

Drawing of Deq Tattoo Symbols, Fryal Saeed, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Common tattoo symbols among Yazidis include the Moon (both full or crescent), the cross, a wool comb (used to symbolize beauty), a gazelle, an animal called daqqayeh, a sandgrouse foot, a doll, a spindle, an inverted 'v' called res daqq, a dimlich (figure which looks like a bag with two strings) and combinations of dots. A single dot is said to draw pain away from injuries and a dot on the end of a woman’s nose is said to help with fertility. 

Deq Tattoo Ink (21th Century) by Kamira Mahmoodthe United Nations

Deq Tattooing Process

Deq Tattoo ink is traditionally made from a mixture of ash, milk and water.

Colecting Ash for Making Deq Tattoo Ink, Aamira Hussain, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Deq Tattoo Ink, Suham Sulaiman, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Crescent Moon Symbol for a Deq Tattoo, Saadia Saeed, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Deq Tattooing Process, Zina Ibrahim, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Deq Tattooing Process, Renas Elias, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Deq Tattooing Process, Elham Dakheel, 21th Century, From the collection of: the United Nations
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Sarab, A Yazidi Survivor (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations

Sarab's Story

“That summer night in August 2014 changed my life, and the life of my region and its children forever. Da'esh attacked us and I was one of the thousands of Yazidi women and girls at their hands. I stayed for five years in captivity in Syria and found hope when I saw a butterfly flying. When I look at our names together now, I feel that she is close to me and it makes me strong."

Butterfly Tattoo (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations

"When God gave me the grace to return to my family, I decided to tattoo a butterfly on my hand. I love that free butterfly that did not harm any creature.”

Hala, a Yazidi Survivor (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations

Hala's Story

"Ten years ago, I had a best friend named Manal and we decided one day to tattoo each other’s names on our hands as a memory. One day Manal disappeared and I have not found any information where she is. Only our tattoos remain."

Commemorative Tattoo (21th Century) by Yazdathe United Nations


"When I look at our names together now, I feel that she is close to me and it makes me strong."

"My sister has a tattoo of her husband’s name. When in captivity, Da'esh forced her to remove it. She told her captor that while they could remove him from her skin, they could not remove him from her heart.”

Haider Elias, Co-Founder & President, Yazda by Yazdathe United Nations

Haider Elias, Co-Founder & President, Yazda

"Our culture is our identity; preserving it is crucial to our hearts and souls as a community.  This digital archive created by the survivors serves as moral support for those of us who have been traumatized and experienced a deep panic of losing our roots and culture."

Nils Fietje, Technical Officer, WHO European Region (2022-01-01) by WHOthe United Nations

Nils Fietje, Technical Officer, WHO European Region

"Research shows that both active and passive engagement with the arts can support the mental well-being of people who have been forcibly displaced. That’s because arts activities can improve self-confidence, promote social inclusion, and help to preserve personal identity."

Credits: Story

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Stories of Thread & Ink is a 'Yazidi Cultural Archive' story created by Saadia Saeed Talal, Renas Elias Hussein, Kamira Mahmood Hussien, Aamira Hussien Ali, Suham Sulaiman Hussien, Elham Dakheel Ali, Enas Qasso and Zina Ibrahim Murad. It is presented by Healing Arts under the auspices of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and produced by CULTURUNNERS and Community Jameel in collaboration with Yazda, Open Mind Project, Blessed Foundation and the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology.


An evaluation of the impact of the archives on the psychological wellbeing of participants is being support from Arts + Health @ NYU and the WHO Arts and Health program.

Special thanks to Nobody's Listening.

All images courtesy of the artists and Yazda.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.