Yezidi are a sect of Kurdish people from Northern Iraq .
This is the story of how they came to follow the Peacock Angel.
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A shepherd was bringing his sheep home after a days grazing, to a cave in the mountains where they bed for the nights.
As he drove the ewes and lambs into the shelter, the sky was split by lightning.
The ground quivered. The mountains roared. The shepherd looked up, and prayed for his life.
There he saw a fierce angel standing in the sky, bearing a terrible huge spear in one hand, and a ratty blue bundle in the other. The whole sky seemed to turn inside-out, as the angel hurled the ragged blue object to the earth below.
Wind toppled trees. The valley shook.
Then it became calm again.
The sheep settled.
Cicadas buzzed.
The shepherd stood up, and looked down into the valley. He saw an object more brilliantly blue than anything on earth until that time. He walked toward the color, and saw that it was a beautiful bird. A peacock.
The bird was barely alive. The shepherd wrapped the beautiful dying bird in his coat, and took it to a stream where he washed its wounds. He carried it to his cave shelter. He sang songs to the bird. He dropped warm ewes milk from his fingers into the bird's mouth. He tended the ruined peacock all night long. The bird wept. The shepherd wiped the tears.
In the morning, the peacock was recovered. The peacock spoke to the shepherd. He said, " Don't be afraid. You showed me kindness so I will bless you and all of your children."
"What are you?" asked the shepherd.
"I am the Spirit of Evil", said the bird. "I was thrown out of heaven by my brother, the Spirit of Good. Heaven has conquered me. I must continue here on earth. I will spread sorrow among people. I will plant conflict in their hearts. Teach your children to react gently toward evil, as you have done to me. Be compassionate towards evil, in yourselves and in others. Always sing songs to me. Tend me , as you tended me last night."
The Peacock Angel rose and flew away.
