Sheikh Hasan (Şêx Hesen), Master of the Pen
Sheikh Hasan, in Kurmanji Şêx Hesen and often contracted to Şêxsin, unites a historical and a divine identity. Historically he is Hasan ibn Adi, a descendant of Sheikh Adi's family who led the community at Lalish in the thirteenth century until he was executed by Badr al-Din Luʾluʾ, the ruler of Mosul, in 1246; his death precipitated a devastating campaign against the Yezidis in which Sheikh Adi's bones were exhumed and burned. In Yezidi sacred tradition he is venerated as the earthly incarnation of Melek Şêxsin, one of the seven Holy Beings of the Heptad, and bears the title Xudanê Qelemê, 'Master of the Pen'. As such he is the patron of writing and sacred books, and his descendants, the Adanî sheikhs, were by custom the only lineage in Yezidi society permitted to acquire the arts of reading and writing, making them the guardians of the community's textual learning.
Domains
- writing and sacred books
Powers
- to preside over writing, the pen and sacred books
Epithets
- Xudanê QelemêChristine Allison, 'Yazidis i. General', Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2004. (secondary)
Relations
- subordinate to: Tawûsî Melek, the Peacock AngelAs the incarnation of Melek Şêxsin, a member of the Heptad, he serves under its chief, the Peacock Angel.Philip G. Kreyenbroek, 'Yezidism: Its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition', Edwin Mellen Press, 1995. (secondary)
Sources
- Sheikh Hasan (Şêx Hesen), the historical Hasan ibn Adi who led the Lalish community until his execution in 1246, is venerated in Yezidism as the incarnation of the Heptad member Melek Şêxsin, the Master of the Pen and patriarch of the Adanî sheikhs.: Christine Allison, 'Yazidis i. General', Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2004. (secondary); Philip G. Kreyenbroek, 'Yezidism: Its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition', Edwin Mellen Press, 1995. (secondary)