Rediscovered Photos Revive Yazidi Heritage After IS Devastation

Fri Oct 17 2025 00:58:28 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A collection of photographs from the 1930s has been rediscovered, showcasing the rich culture and history of the Yazidi community in Iraq, offering a glimpse into their past before the tragic events of recent years.

Archeologists' 1930s photographs of the Yazidi community in Iraq, largely hidden for decades, have been rediscovered by Penn doctoral student Marc Marin Webb. The cache documents their rich culture, which faced destruction during the Islamic State's attacks. Many Yazidis, like Ansam Basher, express deep emotional relief at seeing their heritage preserved. The photographs serve as a testament to the community's resilience and efforts to reclaim their narrative amidst ongoing struggles.

PHILADELPHIA — In a poignant intersection of past and present, a collection of photographs taken by archeologists in northern Iraq during the 1930s has been unearthed as a crucial visual archive of the Yazidi community. These rediscovered black-and-white images, which capture the daily lives and cultural practices of the Yazidis, were scattered among over 2,000 photos at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Among them, a photograph of a Yazidi shrine caught the attention of doctoral student Marc Marin Webb in 2022, nearly a decade after Islamic State militants had devastated the shrine and plundered the region. Alongside other researchers, Webb gathered almost 300 photographs to create a comprehensive visual record of the Yazidi people, who are among Iraq's oldest religious minorities.

The atrocities committed against the Yazidis — described by the United Nations as a genocide — resulted in the deaths of thousands and the exile of many others, as well as the widespread destruction of their cultural heritage. Despite these harrowing events, the rediscovery of these photographs provides a window into a vibrant past.

Ansam Basher, a Yazidi now living in England, expressed profound joy upon seeing images from her grandparents' wedding in the early 1930s. No one would imagine that a person my age would lose their history because of the ISIS attack, she reflected. The images, some of which show her family at significant life events, provide hope and a sense of identity amid the turmoil her community has faced.

The archive not only documents Yazidi life but also offers a form of resistance against the cultural erasure attempted by IS. The first exhibits featuring these photographs were held in the region this past April, coinciding with the Yazidi New Year celebrations, reviving collective memory and showcasing resilience.

Among the featured images, wedding photos depict an early car—a symbol of modernity at the time—alongside moments of family life, religious gatherings, and traditional practices. Marin Webb emphasized that these archives fulfill a critical narrative about the Yazidi community, one that highlights their humanity beyond the violence they have endured.

As the collection continues to be explored and exhibited, it stands as a testament to cultural survival and the ongoing efforts of the Yazidi people to reclaim their heritage and share their history with the world.