Reviving Yazidi Rituals in the Ruins of Syria's Afrin

Reviving Yazidi Rituals in the Ruins of Syria's Afrin

Suad Hiso approached the rubble of a shrine in her village. The red-tinted stone was darkened by olive oil, and half-melted candles were left beside its niche, offerings from Yazidi worshippers who had come before her. Tiny stones balanced in the wall’s crevices, and ribbons adorned a bush nearby — each stone and knotted bow holding someone’s wish. The Yazidi shrine is one of 19 nestled in the Afrin mountains of northern Syria — where locals say…