The face of female myths in written folk tales in Bakhtiari culture

In folk tales, especially in myths, the characteristics of some female characters can be adapted to the female characters in mythology, which can be said to be metamorphosed by the same characters‌. Women are in myths, or in their construction and characterization, female mythological characters are used as archetypes‌. In addition, in other issues related to women such as family formation, fertility and childbirth, sacrifice, human-plant relationship, can be found the influence of mythical attitudes that the purpose of this study is to examine these issues‌. And is the face of female myths in written folk tales in Bakhtiari culture‌. 

In this study, the method of selecting sample stories was purposeful selection‌. In the studied works, there are many stories with mythical bases, among which, according to the presence of female characters in the story, fourteen stories were selected and studied‌. The method of analysis is also a qualitative method with the aim of description and analysis‌.

Based on the similarities between the character of the crescent and Anahita, it can be said that Anahita has found a fictional form in the character of the crescent or in the processing of the character of the crescent, this goddess has been considered as an archetype‌. Given the role of stories in institutionalizing culture in a society, the existence of a role model such as Crocodile / Anahita leads storytellers, especially women, to attributes such as healing, helping, wealth‌. To be rich, to have the aspect of holiness and beauty.The character of Tamti in Bakhtiari folk tales has two important characteristics, wise and guiding, which are also the most important characteristics of the goddess Chista‌. Also, the prevalence of different narratives of this character in Bakhtiari culture can indicate the type of desires and tendencies of women in Bakhtiari culture, ie having an active role in life and especially having the two attributes of knowledge and guidance.The character of a beautiful woman, the story of "beautiful woman and hunter", can be a fairy in myths, whose presence in common stories in Bakhtiari culture, shows in this culture, in addition to a sacred look at There is also a kind of negative attitude towards women; That a woman is a seeker of pleasure and in this way, they may endanger men.The adjective attributed to the head of an ax saw in the story of the same title, whether we compare her with the demon Bushesb or with the demon of anger, indicates a negative attitude towards women in Bakhtiari culture; That a woman can keep men away from the path and away from spirituality and thus, cause their destruction.In the story of "Dragon and the Wicked Woman", Nizan has more dominance than her husband‌. 31)‌. In the field of marriage, during the matriarchy, it was these women who chose their husbands (Mazdapour, 1978: 105)‌‌. In the story of "Lazy Pazardaloo" there are signs of this issue; As in this story, Bibi Akhtar, the daughter ofQalandarshah, chooses her own husband (Limuchi, 2006: 78)‌.In other ways, the man travels for various reasons, such as war, invitation, or conspiracy, which leads to a foreign country‌. He meets a woman in a position, for example, at a party or a party, and thus love is formed between the two‌. A woman's romantic invitation to a man is a common feature of this type of love story‌. Eventually, through the mediation of several people, love leads to marriage, in which the man either stays or intends to return (see: Mazdapour, 1975: 99)‌‌. In the story of Alimisheza, Alimisheza escapes from the house due to a stepmother's conspiracy and enters a new land‌. One day he takes off his ugly clothes and swims in the river when the king's daughtersees him and falls in love with him‌. Through the girl's father, Ali Mishuza is invited to the palace and the king's daughter marries him.For Fraser, the killing of a man-god by a woman-god was one of the signs of feminism among the ancient tribes‌. God becomes a wife with a goddess and always God and not the woman of God finds a sad destiny (see: Fraser, 2013: 438)‌‌. The depth, and self-sufficiency of this idea, has continued in myths and folk tales with all the transformations and transformations‌. Traces of this can also be seen in the story of "Jikumjikum confused, who has not turned his back"; As in this story, the stepmother in the position of the goddess, orders the rejection and killing of the stepfather, in the role of the man of God‌. After the death of a man of God, they mourn for him that in this story, the son's sister buries his brother's bones under a tree and begins to cry and lament for him (cf‌. Limouchi, 2006: 97 )‌‌. After weeping and wailing, the man of God is resurrected.In Bakhtiari culture, in order to be blessed and avoid evil products, the act of sacrifice was performed‌. There are also beliefs today that show that girls were used to ward off disasters and rebellion; For example, if a loved one becomes ill, in order to ward off the disease, a girl is wrapped around her head and they pray that the plague and disease will be transmitted from that person to this girl‌. There are also signs in folk tales according to which it can be said that in order to get rid of malice from agricultural products, a girl should be given to a demonic force in order to protect the products from that force‌. In the story of "King Jamshid", when the father goes to the farm to harvest the crop, he encounters a snake that does not allow him to harvest the crop‌. The snake suggests that the old man should marry one of his daughters in order to allow her to harvest‌. The old man tells the girls that Mahtab accepts his little girl‌. He goes to the snake and marries her‌. In this way, by giving the daughter to the snake, the father and other sisters pick the wheat and remove the rye from the agricultural products.

In the fourteen stories studied, some of the female characters are transformed characters of goddesses or female demons in Iranian mythology, or it can be said that in the creation of these characters, goddesses, female divans and fairies ‌‌, has been considered as an archetype‌. Another feature of female myths in ancient Iran was the issue of motherhood, which in Bakhtiari stories can also be some of these features such as decision-making in family affairs, choosing a husband, wife of the martyred god and involvement in He found agricultural work‌. There are also some myths about women, such as sacrificing them to stay away from agricultural products‌. In terms of function and showing the kind of attitude towards women, the use of goddesses as an archetype in these stories, causes a desire to have wealth, fertility and help, based on the story of the godmother and the goddess Anahita‌. And based on the story of Al-Azangi, Jirnal, and the goddess Chista, the personality of guidance and self-awareness should be institutionalized as a female way of life in Bakhtiari culture, and women should move towards such traits‌. The reflection of mythical ideas about women in stories such as Lazy Pazardaloo and the Princess and the Colorful Gardens, causes women to turn to independence, especially in the field of marriage, and based on the story of Dede Pollen to Sholar, Play an active role in life outside the home‌.