Hababa clan of Ezidis

After Sharaf al-Den, the Hababas came to Shingal. Birje and Kalahe belong to Hababa. There are three shekh because it is such a big clan:

• Murad Ato (Shahabia area).

• Hamid Hama Qaske (inside Shingal).

• Ismail Qassib Khidhir (Qizelkend).

Hababa clan origins

The Hababa clan came from Turkey, at a village called Hababe there. This was the origin of the name for this clan. There were three brothers, but amid a genocide they fled approximately three hundred years ago,

• Habo made Hababa clan upon settling in Shingal.

• Al-Qaid made Qaidi clan upon settling in Sharya.

• Avdi went to Syria and became Christian.

There are many villages belonging to Avdi's clan of Christians, two of them known as Tel Alo and Tel Tamir, both of which are close to Qamishlo. Qasim Shifan visited in 2015, and in fact many Ezidis visit there as they keep a close connection and many descendants still live there. The Ezidi community in Shingal had immediate plans to invite them to Shingal for a feast sometime, but the border has not been open reliably. It is unknown whether or not Avdi was forced into Christianity, but even if it was under coercion he did so to avoid becoming Muslim. "We appreciate god because he became Christian, and not Muslim," said Dakhil.

Habo became a leader of Shingal for both Muslims and Ezidis. He was a king. Generally, the town was under Hababa control. He achieved this through the fear of his strength.

In Khazen Der times (Khazen Der was a leader during the Kinania times, which may refer to Ottoman times), there were 24 leaders of the Hababa who were killed. This was done because Muslims went to the king to complain about Hababa control. So a genocide (farman) was effected specifically against Hababa people. As a result of this, the Hababa population decreased in Shingal area, and from the ruling family only three men survived. These three men from the ruling family were protected by a Muslim family of the Baba tribe, a Shia tribe in Birje; they were neighbors of the Hababas there. These three men were called Navxosh and Khale (two brothers who were young boys) and Khudhir (their uncle, an adult). They managed to retake control of Shingal again and the Hababa clan returned to being huge and important. After this, Khale became a tribe and Naxosh became a tribe and Khudhir became a tribe. For him, it was three fathers ago.

I interviewed Dakhil Khudeda Khalif Navxosh Khale Sado. Khale and Sado were both killed in the Khazen Der genocide, along with all other leaders of the Hababa clan. Before ISIS, Dakhil was writing all tribal information by his hands in a notebook. It was lost in the war with the Islamic State.