The Social Function of Iranian Food in Ritual-Religious Ceremonies: Power, Belief, Value

Food as a way of communication between different people in society can turn an individual experience into a collective experience. The aim of this study is to investigate the social function of food in Iranian society in the framework of social semantics. The corpus of the study is the votive food that evokes certain values and beliefs for every Iranian Shiite person. We know that food is a way of communication between different people in society and can turn an individual experience into a collective experience.Votive food has transcendental values and is a link between members of the community, but it is also based on a religious dimension, which is effective and has a predetermined role. Besides enjoying food, the desire to achieve something or fulfill a need is hidden in it. This article shows that, firstly, the votive food has a religious value; and secondly, while mixing the layers of its power, it causes the formation of new layers of power and connects pleasure through the senses to knowledge. and finally, creates a visual system.