Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

Mand or Sheikh Mend () was a 13th-century

Yazidi Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The majo ...

saint. He is the son of Şêx Fexredîn and thus belongs to the Şemsanî lineage of sheikhs. His sister was

Khatuna Fekhra Khatuna Fekhra () was a 12th-century Yazidi female saint. The ''Quba Xatuna Fexra'' (Temple of Khatuna Fekhra) in Mağara, İdil, Şırnak Province, southeastern Turkey was built in honor of her. There is also a shrine built in honor of her i ...

, revered today as one of the most important Yazidi female saints.

Association with snakes

Sheikh Mand is traditionally considered to be a patron of snakes. His shrine at

Lalish Lalish ( ku, لالش, translit=Laliş, also known as Lalişa Nûranî) is a mountain valley and temple in Shekhan, Duhok Governorate in Iraq. It is the holiest temple of the Yazidis. It is the location of the tomb of the Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, ...

is said to contain a cave that is full of snakes.Diar Khalaf and Hayri Demir. 2013. ''Mythos und Legende der Shex Mend und das Symbol der Schlange'' (Myth and legend of the Şêx Mend and the symbol of the snake) (in German).

References

13th-century births 13th-century deaths Yazidi mythology Yazidi history Yazidi religion 13th-century Kurdish people Yazidi holy figures {{Yazidi-stub