Yezidi Shamiram Festival #1
Shamiram, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia
I’ve literally just got back from Shamiram, a predominently (99 percent) Yezidi village in the Aragatsotn region of Armenia, where every year on 25th September, a special festival is held. Last year I wrote an article on the Yezidi in Armenia based around Shamiram and this year, I’ll be writing an update on the division within the community as to their ethnic origin. Most academics and Yezidi consider themselves to be ethnic Kurds but in Armenia, the community is split on the issue.
Until then, I will say that the festival was a lot smaller than last year and there were no representatives from either the Armenian Government or Kongra-Gel/PKK in attendance. There were however, two academics, a radio journalist, and photographer from Germany, as well as a film crew from Belgium accompanied by a girl from the Kurdish Institute in Brussels. There are also some black and white photographs from last year’s Shamiram festival here.
