Pîr Ja‘far

General Information

Also Known As

Pîr Ja‘far shrine, Bîra Cefer, Well of Ja‘far

Nahiya (Subdistrict)

Şera

Village or Nearby Villages

Meşalê

Religious Affiliation

Yezidi, Muslim, Druze

The Pîr Ja‘far shrine is an Êzîdî shrine near Meşalê, just north of the Henan/Henên shrine. Local descriptions place it roughly 50 to 70 meters north of Henan/Henên. It has a classical domed building, carries the Yezidi rank-title "Pîr," and has partly been forgotten because of Henan/Henên's greater fame. The grave inside is oriented north-south.1

Map and Location

Coordinates: 36.575781, 36.928334

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

Dedicated Figure & Historical Roots

In the Multi Channel video of Meşalê, a local man calls the old shrine Pir Ja'far. He says it is Yazidi according to historical information, though as a popular saying rather than something certain, and that it is not an Islamic shrine. Yazidis used to frequent it during their holidays.2

Dr. Sebastian Maisel, author of Yezidis in Syria, counts Pir Jafar, together with Sheikh Hanan, as the two important shrines that kept Qatme's reputation among the communities of the Kurd Dagh. Both stand near the Mashala cemetery on the town's outskirts and are revered and visited by Yezidis, Muslims, and Druze alike.3 In the description of Dr. Mihemed Ebdo Elî, the historian and geographer of the Afrin region, the shrine is a small building about a hundred metres northwest of the Henan shrine, neglected either through lack of Yezidi attention or because it stands beside the more famous and more important Hanan shrine.4

Transcripts

Meşalê (Multi Channel):

  • 17:18 – The host asks whether the shrine is Hanan; the speaker identifies it as Pir Ja'far.
  • 17:26 – The speaker describes it as Yazidi according to historical information, with uncertainty, and not Islamic.
  • 17:38 – The speaker says Yazidis used to frequent it during their holidays.

Videography

Meşalê (Multi Channel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwmhDXZkwFg

Bibliography

References

  1. Mihemed Ebdo Elî, Çiyayê Kurmênc (Efrîn): Dîrok, Civak, Belgekirin (Efrîn: Çapnivîsa Kurdî, 2007), Pîrozgeha Henên section; Mihemed Ebdo Elî, Êzdî û Êzdiyetî li Bakur Rojavaya Sûriyê (Efrîn: Çapnivîsa Kurdî, 2008). Quotes: "Pîrozgeha Pîr Ce'fer jî dora 50 mitrî li bakurê pîrozgeha Henên e"; "Mêrava di hindurê wê de jî berê xwe Bakur- Başûrî ye"; "Li ber gundê Meşalê li bakurê pîrozgeha Ĥenên bi dora 70/m ye"; "Avahiya wê kilasîkî û bi lod e"; "ew pîrozgeheke Êzdiyan e"; "navnîşana pilevaniya “Pîr” a Êzdî hildigire"; "ew hatiye jibîrkirin." English translation: "The Pîr Ce'fer shrine is about 50 meters north of the Henên shrine"; "The grave inside it is also oriented north-south"; "It is near the village of Meşalê, about 70 meters north of the Ĥenên shrine"; "Its building is classical and domed"; "it is a Yezidi shrine"; "it carries the sign of the Yezidi rank-title 'Pîr'"; "it has been forgotten." ↩

  2. Multi Channel, "Meşalê," YouTube video, at 17:18-17:38, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwmhDXZkwFg. Quotes: "لا هذا مقام قديم هذا بيقولوا له بير جعفر"; "مقام إيزيدي على حسب المعلومات التاريخية"; "بس ما في شي مؤكد"; "بس مو مقام إسلامي"; "كانوا يتراودوا عليه أخوتنا الإيزيديين أيام أعيادهم." English translation: "No, this is an old shrine, they call it Pir Ja'far"; "A Yazidi shrine according to historical information"; "But there is nothing certain"; "But it is not an Islamic shrine"; "our Yezidi brothers used to frequent it during their holidays." ↩

  3. Sebastian Maisel, Yezidis in Syria: Identity Building among a Double Minority (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2017), 212. Direct quote: "The town kept its reputation among the various communities in the Kurdagh due to two important shrines, Sheikh Hanan and Pir Jafar, which are located near the cemetery of Mashala on the outskirts of Qatme. These shrines are revered and visited by Yezidis, Muslims, and Druze alike." ↩

  4. Nidal Yousef, "'زيارة حنان'.. الضريح الذي تحول إلى مقصد ديني" [The Hanan Shrine: The Tomb That Became a Religious Destination], eSyria, March 21, 2013, https://www.esyria.sy/2013/03/زيارة-حنان-الضريح-الذي-تحول-إلى-مقصد-ديني. Arabic quote: "وعلى بعد مئة متر منها إلى الشمال الغربي توجد زيارة أخرى ذات مبنى صغير تسمى زيارة 'بير جعفر' وواضح من اسمها أنها تخص ابناء الديانة الإيزيدية في المنطقة، وقد أهملت بسبب عدم اهتمام الإيزيديين بها أو بسبب وقوعها إلى جانب مزار حنان الأكثر شهرة وأهمية." English translation: "A hundred metres to its northwest is another shrine with a small building called the Pir Ja'far shrine. It is clear from its name that it belongs to the followers of the Yezidi religion in the region, and it has been neglected, whether through the Yezidis' lack of attention to it or because it stands beside the Hanan shrine, which is more famous and more important." ↩