Dolls in the Make-it-Rain Rituals of West Azerbaijan

The Make-it-Rain ritual dates back to ancient periods and is rooted in some mythical and religiousbeliefs and ideas. Presently, this ritual is performed in different ways in several cities and villages. One of the customs in relation to this ritual is the making of the Rain Doll by women and children. A glance at ancient history indicates that, given their inabilities and helplessness before natural phenomena, human beings began creating some gods and goddesses as the sources of metaphysical powers in order to find a way to overcome their problems. One of such goddesses was Anahita or the goddess of water, who is the counterpart to Ishtar goddess in Babylonian culture.Due to the importance of water in people’s lives, in this paper the writer has focused on the quality of performing the Make-it-Rain ritual, the role of dolls in this regard, and the influence of Anahita in the making of such dolls in West Azerbaijan. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that this dramatic ritual is rooted in a long lasting cultural belief among Iranians. This study was carried out following the descriptive method, and the required data were collected using formal interviews, direct observation, and library studies.