Exploring Women’s Mourning Rituals in Shahnameh and Bakhtiari Communities

Mourning rituals are among the ceremonies that are in the field of culture of a society and are a part of the customs that all societies with different religions and cultures pay attention to. This custom has always been held in high regard in Iran. The purpose of this article is to examine and describe the mourning women in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and to recognize the similarity of this custom and ritual with the mourning women in the Bakhtiari tribe based on sources as well as field research in a comparative and analytical manner. A study of the mourning rituals of women in the Shahnameh and its comparison with the mourning rituals of the Bakhtiari people shows that there are many similarities between the narrative narratives of the Shahnameh and the historical narrations about the morning ritual. Brushing hair, dirt, scratching the face, tearing clothes, cutting hair, and cutting hair are common customs among the Shahnameh and Bakhtiari people.