respectively of the works of God and his abode (p.3); the creation of Adam and Eve (p. 8); the wonderful deeds of the god Yezid (p. 16); the Yezidi saints (p. 27); the New-Year (p. 32); marriage customs (p. 46); death and burial (p. 53); the pilgrimage to Šeih 'Adî's shrine (p. 67); the festivals and assemblies at Šeih 'Adî (p. 80); and the Yezidi kings (p. 87).
Apart from the Kitâb al-Jilwah, Priest Isaac's work is clearly the source from which is derived most of the material in the Syriac and Arabic manuscripts that have hitherto come to light.
Beside the Arabic manuscript from Dâud as-Sâîg which is translated below, I have in my possession two others, which were sent me by the Rev. A. N. Andrus. The first of these written by Sammas Eremia Šamir (designated in the notes hereafter as SS), seems to be a duplicate of that from which Browne's translation was made. They agree in contents and arrangement, and in certain readings in which they differ from the other texts. At the close of SS the writer says that he compiled it (chiefly from Al-Jilwah) for the benefit of some of his friends who wished to acquaint themselves with the Yezidi religion.
The origin of the Yezidi sect has been the subject of much discussion, but no satisfactory solution of the problem has as yet been reached. There are those who assert that the Yezidis are the remains of the ancient Manichaeans;5 others entertain the view that the Yezidis were originally Christians, whom progressive ignorance has brought into their present con-
