An analysis of boasting in Firdausi's Shahnameh and Almas Khan Kandooleei's Shahnameh

IntroductionSince epopee composing among Kurd people has been prevalent in allegiance with Firdausi’s Shahnameh, certainly recognition of cultural and sociological destinies through analysis of one of the most important pillars of epic, that is boasting, and the comparative investigation of this type in two epopees, can be a light to discover the beliefs which stem in the culture and society of Zagros-settler Kurds.
In the current paper, boasting samples in two Firdausi (Khaleghi Motlagh’s copy) and Kurdish Almas Khan Kandooleei epopees have been extracted based on five common stories (Rostam and Sohrab, Rostam and Esfandyar, Rostam and Shaghad, Bijhan and Manijhe, and Siavash). Meanwhile, defining its statistical frequency in the form of chart, and the analysis of the most important common and segregation aspects of these samples have been considered to answer the following questions: 1- To what extent is frequency of attention to boasting and declamation in the two epopees? 2- Have the cultural and sociological differences had any effect on possible diversities of boasting and declamation in the two epics or not?
MethodologyIn the current paper which has been carried out through the descriptive-analytical method, summary of each story has been declared, then the most important structural differences of the stories in Kurdish epopee have been written based on the comparison with Firdausi’s epopee. Then, meanwhile, determination of boasting samples in the two epopees and also determination of subject frequency, the most important discussable common or different samples have been analyzed. After that, the most important findings have been mentioned in the conclusion part.
Results and DiscussionIn most common stories of the two epopees, the number of couplets with the content of boasting is not usually more than ten couplets except in Rostam and Esfandyar story which does not have the limitation. The longest appearance of boasting is also in the story. In the story, the boastings of Esfadyar addressing Rostam is complicated with reproof and contempt; but Rostam’s boastings are gentle and instructive. Glories in Kurdish Bijhan and Manijheh are soft and without response by the addressee. In other words, it is a kind of personal introducing with glory which (afoul or captive) Bijhan declares to response the others’ questions and it is obvious that the characteristic reduces glory language to a large extent and it also limits the reactions. In Firdausi’s Rostam and Sohrab, and Siavash, Rostam’s boasting towards Iranian king is obvious; but in Kurdish epopee even a sample is not obvious and this can exclaim the higher rank of the king towards Rostam in the culture of Kurds in comparison with Firdausi’s cultural view. If boasting resources are composed with irony, it will be more wealthy. There is much of the combination with irony in Firdausi’s stories, but in Kurdish epopee stories, it is very limited and it is particular to Rostam and Esfandyar story. Declaration of boasting and glory in Kurdish epopee stories is usually limited and specific to the main champions and characters of the story; but there is not such a limitation in Firdausi’s epopee. Firdausi’s declaration is purer than Almas Khan Kandooleei’s because boasting with the content of affront in the expression of great Iranian heroes (Rostam, Siavash, and Esfandyar) in Firdausi’s epopee is very limited and deficient. In the other words, we can rarely observe weasel, vulgar and offensive applications by Iranian champions. That is, in spite of the dominance of different excitements, Firdausi’s language is more strained and purer. And, vulgar and dirty words do not exist in his words (if there is any, it is of Iranian troops’ words) but in contrast, in Kurdish epopee the content of boastings is usually offensive and it is recurrent of lingual view.