نشریه فرهنگ و ادبیات عامه
پیاپی 28 (مهر و آبان 1398)

In Iranian mythology and since the beginning of creation war has been a current theme. Some Iranian gods, such as Bahrām, Mitrā, Bād, Hoom and Soroush, are fighting for peace, security and purity on behalf of Ahuramazdā against Angra Mainyu (Ahriman). Myths play an important role in the collective and subconscious memory. As such, they have a profound impact on religions, arts, literature and general culture of all times. Therefore, this article examines the gods of war in the legends of Chahārmahāl and Bakhtiāri, Lorestān and Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad province. The research context consists of legends written in Persian in Chaharmahāl and Bakhtiāri, Lorestān and Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad province. The purpose of this research is to explain and analyze the presence of mythological war gods in the legends of the above-mentioned provinces. Through a careful reading of this article, the reader will understand that the gods of war such as Bahrām, Soroush, Wind and Mehr are present in the legends of these provinces, sometimes superhuman and sometimes terrestrial with metamorphoses in their appearance and function.

Rituals and arts, Iranian beliefs and traditions, and therefore the role and status of the ancient and innocent heroes of this land bring about diverse events in the rituals, myths and symbols of the Iranian Shiites, especially in Ashurā culture. The traces of these contents and thoughts can be found in many religious traditions. In this sense, the Ta'zieh manuscript is even more widespread because of its reputation among the general public. This article has attempted to show the impact of Siāvash's story on Ta'zieh version of Imam Hussein. Therefore the purpose of this research is through summarizing the two stories and their characteristics, to examine their similarities and their links with the mysterious birth of a celestial mother, their eternal aspect, their actions and reactions of nature to these heroes, their prediction and awareness of their destiny, their presence of supernatural, equipment, martyrdom, repetition of history, worship and protection, as well as common symbols and references. This research attempts to answer the question of how, in addition to tell a historical fact, it would be possible to combine the myths of mythical heroes with religious leaders in order to make the character more credible and even more praiseworthy.

Oral –formulaic composition (theory) has been originated from Homeric studies in Parry and Lord Works and is widely used in most languages. In the field of folk prose texts of Persian several researches have been conducted, all of which have addressed the issue of general stereotyped propositions. On the basis of these achievements, foreign scholars have considered Persian epic poems, particularly Shāhnameh, as a product of narrative and oral tradition. With a new look at narrative scrolls as oral epic texts, this article in addition to presenting their general propositions, introduces another type of proposition in the form of epic statements in three parts: a) Propositions indicating the beginning or entry to the scene of wrestling c) Propositions indicating the beginning of wrestling and C) Proposals indicating the end of wrestling that are presented and describe the function of each category. The paper concludes by proving that the scrolls and narrators of the manuscripts had in mind a treasure trove of these propositions and used them automatically when they thought of combat. Therefore, one can better understand the narrative structure of the Persian oral epic by using this method and extracting the assertions used in various martial art.

Our accessibility to myths has been limited for us throughout the history for some reasons. Today, most people has the concept of snake as pest and insidious simply for fear of bite and death. For this reason, human beings have come to reflect the continuation of an old tradition belonging to myths whose phenomena are the experiences and truths of people's lives, hidden in a myriad of stories and fantasies over time. This is certainly a combination of self and animals which has the domesticated role and is considered the symbol of power against animals. In relation to Shāmārān’s myth, the relationship between man and the snake has taken over time a new form to the extent that the snake becomes a part of human existence and forms a hybrid being. Shāmarān (half human - half snake), the myth of Kurdish culture, is one of the motives associated with this culture throughout history. In the motives of Kurdish people of Mokriyān, Shāmārān is the goddess of snakes which is the symbol of treasure and wealth attributed to it- an old metaphor of the knowledge it possesses. The myth, the repetition of animal motifs and their frequency of use, reflect the beliefs of the peoples in this culture. The snake is the most sacred symbol of the Kurds and the shāmār represents the material and immaterial knowledge and the conservation of the secrets for the Kurds. The method used in this study is descriptive-analytical and historical in nature, and it has been attempted to describe and compare the role of this animal in different parts of Mokariyān in Mahābād. The results showed that Shāmārān is the symbol of power, wisdom, blessing, friendship and protection, and its image woven on the crafts of local residents such as the curtain, the handkerchief and the cradle indicates a strong presence.

Due to their deviation from the principles and rules of formal written literature, nonsense are the poems driving from oral and popular literature, and are a mixture of verbal and musical games that seem to have no message. Although seemingly meaningless, nonsense are full of movement and events. The interconnected notions of nonsense and their imaginative images portray a world full of enthusiasm for children, a world without rules, like the imagination that makes up for everything it wants. In order to analyze nonsense, this study uses data collection by the library method and is based on data analysis, primarily qualitative and inductive reasoning, by examining "aesthetic rhetoric," including linguistic and syntactic deviation, synesthesia, rhythmic pattern, unusual imagination, image inversion, surreal imagery, personification, animation without any temporality and spatiality, the aesthetics of deviation even with the conflict of meaning and repetition of content. The results show that nonsense are dynamic and living poems in the field of folk literature that change and adapt to temporal and spatial conditions and that their aesthetic and semantic rhetorical traits are more expressed in linguistic structures and forms. It should be noted that the semantic deviation is their proper and inseparable character at syntagmatic and paradigmatic levels.

“One Thousand and One Nights”, has continued to grow until the end of the twelfth Hijri. There are therefore several historical layers in this stories, including the historic layer of Baghdād which represents the history of the Abbasid caliphs and the court that accompanies it. Satan’s companionship history with Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm al-Mawṣilī and the history of Ishāq al-Mawsili with Satan – two expert minstrels of their time, fit into this same layer. Although these two stories were made and discussed in Baghdad, the themes used in their infrastructure are not anchored in Baghdad in Abbāssid dynasty but rather in pre-Islamic Saudi Arabia because they are based on two ancient Arab myths. The first is the long-standing link between jinn and music, and the other is the recognition of jinn as an inspirer who emerges in the belief of "obedience to Cohen" and "the devil -the poet". An upcoming exploration of ancient Arab sources shows how the storyteller, influenced by these myths, describes Iblis as a masterful minstrel who teaches musician Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm al-Mawṣilī.

Hamzamehnāmah is one of the Persian folk tales published in different languages, in prose and verse, in the Islamic world. By collecting historical data and while examining and commenting on the origins of this oral epic, this study examines descriptively and analytically the historical documents on its origin. According to historical documents, the review of literature on Hamzamnāmeh as a literary genre in Persian literature and its various writings show that the origins of this story correspond to the events of Sasānian Iran. For the first time, the authors of the present research have tried to compare the origin of Hamzanāmeh in the Sassānid era with the epic story of Bahrām Chobin and have attempted to describe the similarity of this work to a lost epic of pahlavi literature called Bahrām Chōbīn book. This analogy compares all the historical events in which Hamzah is present with the historical narrative of Bahram Chōbīn and shares any similarities. By examining the probability of the Sasānian origins for this story, it is possible to make this hypothesis that the story of Hamzah has been implemented based on the free translation of Bahrām's Pahlavi story into Arabic (with many intermediaries), or at least into Arab folk literature, the myths of Bahrām has had a direct influence on the formation of Hamza's oral epic, although the popular principle of the work gradually took on an Arab-Islamic character.

The various representations of the sanctity of tree and plant have long been recorded in mythology, literature and culture. In the culture of the Kohgiluyvu-Bouir-Ahmad tribe, certain representations of the mythology of tree and plant enjoy from evident exemplifications. These include swearing, the ritual of the freshening up the houses, the alighnment of the human race with the plant, the symbol of the death and livelihood of the local poems, and the rituals of these people. The aim of this study is towards an analysis of mythological indices of plant and tree in the Kohgiluyvu-Bouir-Ahmad people with respect to the literary facets of these indices in their folk/local poem. Being fundamental in type, using content analysis, this study has been conducted based upon library-local resources and studies. Many of the indices such as hair cutting, freshening up the house using the plant smoke, believing in the healing power of plants and vegetal pedigree of human have got mythological representation, which can also be found in the culture of ancient Iran. Swearing to the tree is done mostly by farmers, intended to put an emphasis upon the greanness of the tree and proving the truthness of his words. They use mountain plants to freshen up their home environment and to treat illnesses. This is believed to remove the evils.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of folk culture in Joseph Arthur Gobino's travel book entitled “Three Years in Asia” , based on the content analysis method in which he tries to divide these effect in six categories of hospitality, compliments, customs and types, Iranian art, architectural and urban features and the story of his trip to Iran. Superstitious thoughts were also studied and analyzed. The result of this study shows that although in his account of his trip to Iran Gobino was able to provide a detailed account of Iran's morality and behavior patterns, it would be impossible not to ignore the contrast between the European “I " and the oriental “other” that underlies his thoughts and descriptions of different aspects of Iranian life and customs. Conflicts that have a direct impact on the spectator's mind with the other and with what belongs to his territory, followed by his reports and descriptions.

In Bakhtiāri dialect, šowxin is a type of folk and epic poetry that describes the bravery, struggle and murder of one of the brave elders or men of Bakhtiāri people. Like other folk poems they have had anonymous poets. The order and number of their verses are different, and mainly reflect the love and devotion of people towards their ethnic heroes. These poems also refer to certain traditions, beliefs in addition to historical, political and social issues of Bakhtiāri people. Since most of works on Persian folk language and literature has not been adequately addressed, this article provides an overview of the research on Bakhtiāri poetry. These poems have been described and it is briefly stated that there is about 24 šowxin type (389 verse) in this dialect, among them four are important and remarkable. The present paper seeks to explore the structural and content characteristics of Bakhtiāri's šowxin, such as their templatic characters, elements, contexts of epic poetry and strong descriptions. Šowxins are considered influential folk poems and deserve to be taken into account from different viewpoints among different ethnic groups.