Yarsan Between a Behavioral and Ethical Binarism: A Review of Yari Literary Texts

Abstract

The present study is an attempt to put forward two hypotheses about the Yarsan religion; the first hypothesis seeks to focus on the behavioral aspects of this religion. Analyzing the Yarsani texts, this study explores some of the behavioral and subjective dimensions of Yarsanism which distinguish it from the other religions in the Middle East. The second hypothesis seeks to represent the ethical aspects of this religion. Unlike the behavioral aspects of Yarsan, a large number of the Yari texts focus on the ethical aspect of this religion. If we define behavior as an approach referring to “contact [with] self” or “contact [to] self” and ethics as the codes and principles, then we find out that behavior, in the Yarsanic texts, does not have a higher position than ethics, if not a lower position. This study, in the first place, attempts to demonstrate these hypotheses in some sacred texts of Yarsan. Yarsan is a religion that puts emphasis on behavior as well as on ethics and being ethical. The Yarsanic texts confront us with a dualism; its behavioral aspects distinguish it from the monotheistic religions while at the same time they display great similarity between this religion and other Monotheistic religions.

Keywords

• behavior
• ethics
• subjectivity
• yarsan
• essence