The Myth of Blood and Its Ritual Functions in the Stories of Shāhnāmeh

Old rituals are associated with mythology, which means that man has lived with myth from the beginning. Human beings have common concepts such as suffering, happiness, war, peace, love and other emotions that open to a common sense and bring together single people; so they give meaning to myths and rituals. Blood is a part of human biological existence and his/her stream of life that goes beyond the body, becomes a common concept among humans and is the source of many myths and ancient rituals in the personal and social life of mankind. The myth of blood is manifested among various nations in various forms. Among Iranian people, the myth has many faces which some of them, such as shedding blood and drinking it, are appeared in Shāhnāmeh, the national Iranian epic. By using an analytical-comparative approach and based on evidence from other cultures, the present essay attempts to study the myth of blood and its ritual functions in the stories of Shāhnāmeh. The result of the research shows that the myth has a ritual function in forms of scapegoating, repelling evil, seeking revenge, mourning and Anew life.