Rediscovered Photos Illuminate Yazidi Heritage Amidst Devastation

Sun Oct 19 2025 22:54:50 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A cache of historical photographs documenting the lives of the Yazidi community in Iraq from the 1930s has been rediscovered, highlighting their cultural heritage and resilience against the backdrop of recent violence perpetrated by the Islamic State.

As part of a project led by Penn doctoral student Marc Marin Webb, nearly 300 photographs from the 1930s capturing the daily lives and traditions of the Yazidi people have been archived. The rediscovered images offer a glimpse into their rich culture, which faced systematic destruction by the Islamic State. The emotional connection these visuals provide has brought joy to Yazidis like Ansam Basher, who recognize their ancestors in the photos. The initiative not only aims to preserve their heritage but also counteract the violence associated with their history.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Archeologists studying ancient civilizations in northern Iraq during the 1930s forged connections with the nearby Yazidi community, documenting their daily lives in photographs that were only recently rediscovered after the Islamic State devastated this small religious minority.

The black-and-white images, buried within approximately 2,000 photographs from excavations led by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, emerged anew in 2022 when doctoral student Marc Marin Webb discovered a poignant photo of a Yazidi shrine, nearly a decade after its destruction by IS extremists.

Webb and fellow researchers went through museum archives to accumulate almost 300 photos, shaping a visual narrative of the Yazidis, one of the oldest religious minorities in Iraq. The UN denounced the systematic attacks on the Yazidis as a genocide, responsible for the deaths of thousands and forcing countless others into exile or sexual slavery, while also obliterating much of their cultural heritage.

Yazidi teacher Ansam Basher, now residing in England, expressed her emotions upon seeing the rediscovered photographs, particularly images from her grandparents' wedding in the 1930s. “The idea of losing your history because of the ISIS attack is unimaginable,” said the 43-year-old, recalling her childhood in Bashiqa, a town outside Mosul, now fallen to IS.

A cache of cultural memory

The archive captures Yazidi people, places, and traditions that IS sought to erase. Marin Webb collaborates with Nathaniel Brunt, a Toronto documentarian, to share these images both through regional exhibits and digitally with the Yazidi diaspora.

“These photographs serve as a strong resistance against acts of destruction,” asserted Brunt, who witnessed the devastation of ancestral sites in Sinjar, the Yazidi homeland. Exhibitions began in April, coinciding with Yazidi New Year festivities, in the very locations depicted in the historic photos.

Basher's brother visited the hometown from Germany and recognized their grandparents in the exhibits, enriching the historical context for the researchers. The wedding photos exhibit the bride in traditional garb, a momentous event marked by the rare presence of a 1927 car used in the procession.

Found photos, history awakened

As the collection includes images capturing the Yazidis’ everyday life, Marin Webb emphasized that these photos reflect their existence, countering narratives of violence. Locals have expressed hope that the exhibits convey their identity succinctly to the world.

The Yazidi community, often misunderstood as worshippers of Satan, faces persecution for their unique beliefs, blending various religious traditions. Basher appreciates that the photos remained preserved at the museum, an effort credited to archivists like Alessandro Pezzati, who helped uncover this invaluable collection.