Çilxane

General Information

Also Known As

Çilxane shrine, Çilxane, Chilkhane shrine, Chilkhane Shrine, Jil Khanah shrine

Type

Ziyareta

Nahiya (Subdistrict)

Efrîn

Village or Nearby Villages

Qîbar

Religious Affiliation

Yezidi, Muslim

Çilxane is a cave shrine of Qîbar. The name also appears as Chilkhane, and the shrine lies in the Lêlun Mountain (Çiyayê Lêlun) region south of Erş Qîbar.1

Map and Location

Coordinates: 36.51218, 36.910533

Source: https://akmckeever.substack.com/

Physical & Landscape Features

The shrine is a natural cave carved into a cliff face in a deep rocky valley. Its internal dimensions average 4 meters in length, 2.5 meters in width, and 2 meters in height. The floor has natural hollows where water dripping from small stalactites collects. At the cave's entrance stands a juniper tree decorated with hundreds of colorful fabric scraps hung by visitors who hope their wishes will be fulfilled. A few graves lie next to the entrance, probably belonging to worshippers who died there and were buried nearby.2

Dedicated Figure & Historical Roots

The name Çilxane is composed of the Kurdish words çil ("forty") and xane ("house" or "place"), meaning "the house or place of the forty-day fast." Yezidis describe it as a retreat for asceticism, worship, and the forty-day fast. An unconfirmed story says Sheikh Adi (Şêx Adî kurê Misafir) observed one of his forty-day fasts there.3

General Background Info

In his discussion of Qîbar, Dr. Sebastian Maisel, author of Yezidis in Syria, describes the area around the village as rich in archaeological remains and caves, with three important Yezidi shrines nearby: the cave of Cilmera, the shrine of Melekadi, and the shrine of Hecerka Sheikh Huseyn.4

Ritual Practices & Beliefs

Yezidis, Muslim Kurds, and Arabs all visited Çilxane. On Tuesday an announcement was made, and on Wednesday visitors slaughtered lambs and celebrated. The gathering was remembered as a wedding-like feast, and the Çilxane festival was very important to the people who attended it.5

In one remembered visit, a visitor believed to be an Arab from a sheikh's family was brought to Çilxane. Water from the shrine was rubbed on an older woman's head and body. One week later the visitors returned with clothes and wood and said that milk had been restored to the woman.6

Another story concerns Hesen, a maternal uncle of the storyteller's father, who later became known as Hesen Çolaq. While tending livestock, Hesen saw people praying inside Çilxane, with drums and lights around them. He then saw figures in black and white clothing emerge, followed by forty honored men. They went toward the Melek Adî shrine, became sunlight, and turned east. The last figure addressed Hesen. Fear then struck him and paralysis gradually developed, after which he was called Çolaq. The storyteller places the event more than fifty years back.7

Visitors tie rags or colored ribbons to the juniper tree when asking for wishes. The cave water falls from the rock throughout the year and is described as holy. People take a little of it to rub on the chest and face, especially when a mother's milk has dried up.8

Current Status

In May 2020 members of an armed group excavated the shrine in a search for antiquities.9 Settlers began quarrying rock on the mountain overlooking the shrine at the end of 2021, and falling boulders damaged its entrance and steps. On the night of September 12, 2022, unknown men cut down the two blessed trees at the shrine's door, on which Yezidi visitors tied threads after asking a wish. The Yezidi residents of Qîbar accused fighters of the al-Mu'tasim Division of cutting them in order to erase the Yezidi landmarks of the village.10

Transcripts

Qîbar (Ax û Welat - Episode 791):

  • 00:15 – Host introduces the visit to the Çilxane shrine for the Red Wednesday celebrations.
  • 04:42 – Village elder explains the location of Çilxane and Melekadî shrines.
  • 08:04 – Description of the ancient caves behind the Çilxane shrine.
  • 14:19 – Narration detailing the cave dimensions, stalactites, and history.
  • 16:11 – Host enters the cave shrine.
  • 16:40 – Guest discusses the shrine and its uses.
  • 17:05 – Guest recounts the visit involving an Arab from a sheikh's family and an older woman's restored milk.
  • 17:36 – Guest begins the account of Hesen Çolaq and the figures emerging from Çilxane.
  • 19:17 – Guest names the communities that visited and describes the Wednesday sacrifices and festival.

Videography

Qîbar (Ax û Welat - Episode 791): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8am1JvEiC4

Bibliography

References

  1. TirejAfrin, "المزارات الرئيسية في منطقة عفرين" [Major Shrines in the Afrin Region], www.tirejafrin.com/site/mazarat.htm, English translation "Major Shrines in the Efrîn Region," lines 74-78. Direct quote: "This shrine is located in the Lêlun Mountain (Çiyayê Lêlun) south of the village of Erş Qîbar." ↩

  2. TirejAfrin, "Major Shrines in the Efrîn Region," lines 76-78. Direct quote: "It sits in a deep rocky valley of the same name and is carved into a cliff face. Its average internal dimensions are 4 meters in length, 2.5 meters in width, and 2 meters in height. On its floor are natural hollows where water, dripping from small stalactites on the ceiling, collects. At its entrance stands a juniper tree decorated with hundreds of colorful fabric scraps hung by visitors hoping to have their wishes fulfilled. ... A few graves are located next to the shrine's entrance, likely belonging to the worshippers who passed away there and were buried nearby." ↩

  3. TirejAfrin, "Major Shrines in the Efrîn Region," lines 78-79. Direct quote: "As for the name Çilxane, it is composed of two words: çil meaning \"forty\" and xane meaning \"house\" or \"place.\" Yezidis state that it was a retreat for those seeking asceticism and worship, as well as those wishing to observe the forty-day fast. Its name is derived from this practice, meaning \"the house or place of the forty-day fast.\" An unconfirmed narrative suggests that Sheikh Adi (Şêx Adî) observed one of his forty-day fasts there." ↩

  4. Sebastian Maisel, Yezidis in Syria: Identity Building among a Double Minority (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2017), 218. Direct quote: "The area around the village is rich with archaeological remnants of earlier settlements and civilizations as well as a number of caves with ancient structures and inscriptions. Three important Yezidi shrines are located adjacent to the village: the cave of Cilmera, the shrine of Melekadi, and the shrine of Hercerka Sheikh Huseyn." ↩

  5. Ax û Welat, episode 791, "Qîbar," YouTube video, 05:35-06:14 and 19:17-19:41, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8am1JvEiC4. Direct quote: "We went to Chil Khane, for example all of us, everyone took their kid, took their lamb, slaughtered it there. ... No one stayed behind, the whole village went. There was no discrimination. Arab, Islam, Yezidi, all of them. ... On Tuesday they announced, on Wednesday they came before... slaughtered their lambs, uh they came and celebrated. Like... you could say before it was in what shape? In the shape of a wedding/feast. Meaning holiday, meaning the holiday of... specifically of Çilxane, was something very very important among all the people." ↩

  6. Ax û Welat, episode 791, "Qîbar," 17:05-17:34. Direct quote: "We were small, meaning I remember well, someone came, an Arab... that I want him to be from a Sheikh's family, let him come, I took him. I said come, I know, I came, to this door, to Çilxane. We went inside, because we were small we didn't know anything properly. He said she rubbed the water on an old woman's head, on an old woman's body. After a week, they came to our house again, brought clothes, brought wood, we said what is this? He said as soon as we left and reached home, he said Lord of the Worlds said he released milk into our old woman (cured her)." ↩

  7. Ax û Welat, episode 791, "Qîbar," 17:36-19:12. Direct quote: "The other thing about Çilxane I can tell you now, my father had a maternal uncle, they called him Hesen, his name was Hesen. ... He looked, more than a person is praying inside, and drums and lights are falling on them. When he came out, he looked, a human with long hair, black, with black clothes, came out, the other with white clothes. And finally, forty honorable men came out from here. ... There they became sunlight... and turned their face, went towards the east. In the end, what did the last one say? He said \"Poor one, you are still following.\" In that moment, fear struck him and... and slowly paralysis appeared until outside, so they named him Çolaq (Cripple). ... This... you can say before now more than fifty years, very old this, this recounting." ↩

  8. Ax û Welat, episode 791, "Qîbar," 20:10-22:45. Direct quote: "And we come to enter this place, this is the place of wishes. And I can... tie a rag to it here, I ask for a wish of mine. ... And this water also falls from above... drops fall from above... This water also comes from this rock. ... Always, by day, by night, in summer, winter, this water is always here. And this water is a very holy water, a very sacred water, it is good... Any person, for example if a mother's milk dries up... They come and take a little of this water, apply it to their chest, to their face, they go out, God for their sake grants enough..." ↩

  9. Kurd Online, "The Forgotten Yazidi Villages in Afrin: Ongoing Violations Throughout the Years of War in Syria," https://english.kurd-online.com/the-forgotten-yazidi-villages-in-afrin-ongoing-violations-throughout-the-years-of-war-in-syria/. Direct quote: "On May 15, 2020, members of an armed group excavated a Yazidi shrine in 'Qibar Village' called (Chilkhana/Çilxana) with the intent of searching for antiquities; the temple served as a shrine visited by many families for blessings." ↩

  10. Ezdina, "بالصور: مجهولون يقطعون شجرتين مباركتين في مزار إيزيدي بريف عفرين المحتلة" [In Pictures: Unknown Persons Cut Down Two Blessed Trees at a Yezidi Shrine in the Countryside of Occupied Afrin], September 2022, https://www.ezdina.com/2022/09/Reportag-Ezidi598.html. Arabic quotes: "أن المجهولين قطعوا الشجرتين الموجودتين في مزار 'جلخانة' الإيزيدي 2 كم جنوبي قرية قيبار/ الهوى بريف عفرين الشرقي، ليلة 12 أيلول/ سبتمبر الجاري." "وكان أبناء الديانة الإيزيدية يزورون المزار الديني ويربطون خيوط على الشجرتين المباركتين بعد طلب أمنية، وتعتبر الشجرتين من الرموز المباركة لدى الإيزيديين في قرية قيبار/ الهوى." "وأشار الفريق إلى أن السكان الإيزيديين اتهموا مسلحي 'فرقة المعتصم' التابع لما يسمى 'الجيش الوطني السوري' بالوقوف وراء عملية قطع الشجرتين، وذلك بهدف إمحاء وتدمير جميع المعالم الإيزيدية في القرية وإضفاء طابع الدين الإسلامي على القرية." "وكان مستوطنون يقومون باستخراج الصخور من الجبل المُطل على مزار 'جلخانة' منذ نهاية 2021عام، ما تسبب بوقوع صخور كبيرة على مدخل ودرج المزار، ما يهدد بتدمير المزار بشكا كامل." English translations: "The unknown men cut down the two trees at the Yezidi Jelkhana shrine, 2 km south of the village of Qibar/al-Hawa in the eastern Afrin countryside, on the night of this September 12." "Followers of the Yezidi religion used to visit the religious shrine and tie threads on the two blessed trees after asking a wish; the two trees are counted among the blessed symbols of the Yezidis in the village of Qibar/al-Hawa." "The team indicated that the Yezidi residents accused fighters of the al-Mu'tasim Division, belonging to the so-called Syrian National Army, of being behind the cutting of the two trees, with the aim of erasing and destroying all the Yezidi landmarks in the village and giving the village an Islamic religious character." "Settlers had been extracting rock from the mountain overlooking the Jelkhana shrine since the end of 2021, which caused large rocks to fall on the entrance and steps of the shrine, threatening to destroy the shrine completely." ↩