Why are Yezidis Forbidden to Eat Lettuce?

Written by Kerem Muldur

For some religions, eating habits and restrictions are one of the most crucial pillars of their faith. Whether related mythological stories and curses matched with treacheries or even linguistic similarities, ruling these habits might hint at the social structure or profound logic of a religion.

Generally embraced by Kurdish communities in the Middle East, Yezidism, which can be considered a great demonstration of the phenomena mentioned above, also forbade particular vegetables and animals to be consumed. Possessing various narratives, anecdotes, and popular legends, the most apparent example is that ingestion of lettuce is considered perverted in the Yezidi religion. In this article, we will focus on understanding those stories and relating them to the social context of the era and Yezidi society.

One of the most enduring explanations emerges from Yezidi-rooted sacred narratives themselves, highlighting the Abel and Cain story. The conflict between Abel (Hâbil) and Cain (Kâbil) is regarded as humanity’s first sin in Abrahamic traditions. According to scripture, both brothers offered sacrifices to God. Abel’s was accepted, while Cain’s was rejected, igniting jealousy and anger. Leading Cain to murder Abel, this resentment marked the origin of bloodshed among humankind. 

     Many stories were highly influenced by this narrative, including the Yezidi eating habits. In some Yezidi oral traditions, Cain is said to have hidden among lettuce leaves after committing the murder. This act symbolically linked lettuce with treachery and sin. Consequently, lettuce became associated with impurity and was avoided in certain Yezidi dietary practices.

Moving from myth to language, another explanation has arisen in the very sound of the word “khas.” Lettuce translates to the Kurdish word “xas” or “khas,” which is connected to religious values of Yezidis. According to an analysis held with Yezidi minorities in Iraq, Yezidis have used the word “khaass” to denote their saints and female prophets; therefore, eating lettuce has been converted to eating khas, a word invoking religious notions^[1,2]. 

Beyond myth and linguistics, social conditions have also shaped this taboo. According to a study highlighting an interview with Yezidi gurus at Sanliurfa, in the 19th century, a wave of Yezidi immigrants that came to Mosul ruled by Arabs started to plunder the lettuce fields^[3]. Lettuce was the most popular crop and one of the key commodities of its time at Mosul. Therefore, these plunders started to shake the economy of the city, reaching a level that Arabs complained about the issue to the Gurus and leaders of Yezidis. To keep their relationships stable and maintain their life in Mosul, leaders forbade eating lettuce, claiming it was haram. There is a strong possibility that these leaders used other arguments and stories about why eating lettuce is haram, including the linguistic similarity we mentioned and other narratives that we will cover in the following section.

Historical memory adds yet another layer of meaning. During another interview with Yezidi people, they were asked about why they haven’t eaten lettuce, followed by three answers^[4]: 

1. It is not too clean as a vegetable, it is also flatulent,

2. I don’t know why, just a tradition,

When we dig deeper into the third answer, we can see that the referenced event is a slaughter of Muslim Kurdish and Ottoman people against the Yezidi people. Yezidi people were told to be murdered while they were working on lettuce fields, tarnishing lettuce’s reputation^[5].

Even though Sheikh Adi was the founder of the Yezidi religion, there were many saints and friends of his who assisted him during harsh conditions. Historical accounts describe how this saint, as a respected spiritual leader known for guiding his community through hardship, was ambushed and killed by hostile tribes opposed to the Yazidis’ growing influence. After that murder, his enemies desecrated the body by throwing lettuce over the corpse, mocking both the man and his sanctity. This act of mob pelting struck Yazidis dramatically; the word for lettuce, khass, also echoed this tragic event against saints, intensifying the insult. Over time, this memory turned into a powerful cultural taboo: Eating lettuce became unthinkable, as if participating in the same disrespect shown to the martyr. To this day, many Yazidis have avoided lettuce, invoking that event as a mark of reference for their valuable religious figure.

The Yezidi aversion to lettuce emerges from overlapping mythological, linguistic, socio-economic, and historical layers. Myth links the vegetable to Cain’s concealment after fratricide; language ties the Kurdish word khass to the sanctity of Yezidi saints; economic boundaries mark lettuce fields as belongings of outsiders; and collective trauma recalls massacres in such fields. These diverse strands illustrate a broader principle: Sacred sound and story often render ordinary foods untouchable—as seen, for example, in the Yezidi reverence for the rooster, whose call invokes Melek Taus. The reason behind this is lots of narratives about this diet because this is not a written law of religion; therefore, it is not hard for gurus and leaders to lead the people with new rules and laws with narratives. Trauma transforms neutral items into vessels of memory; much as poppies evoke wartime loss in Europe, lettuce recalls violence in Yezidi lore. Together, these explanations reveal how a humble plant becomes a mirror of cultural survival. In Yezidism, even the smallest leaf carries the weight of history, belief, and identity.

References:

1- Christine Allison, “YAZIDIS i. GENERAL,” Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, 2004, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yazidis-i-general-1 (accessed on 20 September 2016).

2- Explainer: The Yazidi minority in Iraq. (2014, August 8). RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. https://www.rferl.org/a/explainer-yazidi-minority-iraq/26521435.html?utm=

3- IŞIK, Z., & GÜNDÜZ, D. Ş. YEZİDİLİK TEOLOJİSİ.

4- Russell, G. (2019, November 7). Gerard Russell · Peacock worship: The Yazidis. London Review of Books. https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v36/n17/gerard-russell/peacock-worship?utm

5- Brian, Brian. (2024, Feb 24). Who are the Yazidis & What Are Their Beliefs? Retrieved from https://www.thecollector.com/yazidsi-beliefs/