مجله مطالعات ایرانی
پیاپی 12 (پاییز 1386)

A great part of Iranian ritual plays are related to water and rain, which is due to weather conditions in this country. From the ancient time, Iranian had created powerful myths for water, rain and drought. In a celestial combat they sent Tishtar- the god of rain- to fight with Apush- the demon of drought. They related water to Venus and then themselves tried to help gods to overcome demons by holding different rituals.This article examines mythical grounds, ritual plays and their evolution in the formation of some of the Iranian plays.

Studying about demons is of great importance due to their widespread role in the literature of Iran such as the Middle Persian texts and the national epics. One of the most obvious periods of the representation of demons and their pervasive presence against human beings is the mythical period of Shahname. In this period, demons are considered as humanlike creatures, standing on their feet and using their hands. They possessed a society, culture and civilization which are more modern than that of human beings. This progress has made them detach themselves from their internal pure nature and invade their neighbors.Therefore, in the mythical period of Shahname demons are aggressive tribes who have attacked Iran.

This study tries to describe some prominent phonological, morphological and syntactic aspects of Surani dialect spoken in Sardasht city in the province of Western Azarbayjan. Surani is one of the main branches of Kurdish dialects and is spoken in provinces such as Kurdistan, Western Azarbayjan (Sardasht, Mahabad, Oshnaviye, Bukan, etc) and also in the northern part of Iraq. The article will first offer a brief explanation regarding the phonological aspects of this dialect and then it will consider the syntactic features including gender, indefinite markers, definite markers, variations in paradigms of transitive verbs, possessive suffixes, passive constructions, traces of ergativity, prepositions, circumpositions and mood of verbs in different tenses. It should be mentioned that in order to show phonological changes, morphological rules and transcribing words the article has used the standard generative phonology known as IPA model. This article will provide researchers with some unique facts regarding this dialect.

The present article tries to consider and recognize the religious elements and instructions in the old creed of Zoroastrian, represented in the mythology of “Veys and Ramin” written by Farkhr A`din As`ad Gorgani. The researcher tries to prove the fact that this old story includes most of the traditions and religious beliefs of Iranians in ancient time. This work of mythology is teemed with religious traditions and beliefs of Avesta and presents the beliefs of a typical faithful Zoroastrian. These religious beliefs varies from the sanctity of Amshaspandan (angels in Zoroastrian), natural elements such as fire, heavenly bodies, the custom of wearing special sashes which differentiate Zoroastrian from other religious groups, building underground tombs, and retribution and remuneration in this religion.This article is carried out in the form of a library research methodology and is of great importance since in determines the degree of the impact of religious beliefs on the artistic and intellectual heritages of a country as well as the creation of its literature.

In the last years of the First century A.H, Iran experienced the presence of a Shiite clan. These migrants were called Asha`riyun and settled in the central parts of Iran and established the city of Qom. They used that city as a center for spreading the knowledge of the family of the prophet (S.A). In addition to this, they had two other fundamental roles for Shiite. First is their campaign against those who did not observe the rules of citing traditions and second is showing a severe reaction against those who cited traditions exaggeratedly.

Our literary works are full of mysteries and points, the recognition of which is impossible unless one applies a deep thought and passes from their external covers into the internal ones. Adopting a superficial and temporary view toward this literary works prevent us from understanding their cultural values and hidden knowledge. Since the majority of our poets had been intellectual men who were familiar with and fond of the history and culture of Iran, they have reflected most of the Iranian customs such as the elements and beliefs regarding the creed of “Mehr” in their works.The myth regarding the discovery of fire mentioned in most of the editions of Shahname is comparable with that of the birth of Mehr. In other words, it can be claimed that the myth of the creation of fire elaborates the myth of the birth of Mehr in a beautiful manner. The existence of fire from among stone is in concordance with the birth of Mehr from rock, and both of these phenomena are related to the presentation of “Isad Mehr” and the rising of sun from mount Alborz. This article tries to study the evidences which relate these two myths together.

Persian language is derived from Middle Persian or Pahlavi which itself is derived from Old Persian. Middle Persain was the language of Pras province during the Sassanid era. The Torfanian Middle Persian is a type of Western middle Iranian languages. Both Pahlavi language (at the end of Sassanid era) and Persian Dari language (at the beginning of Islamic era) have borrowed a large number of words from Parthian language.Parthian by which Manichean manuscripts have been written is called Manichean Parthian (Torfanian Parthian). The term Torfani refers to the place where these Manichean texts have been found.This article will explain the grammatical structure of infinitives, verbal nouns, and auxiliary verbs of middle Persian and Manichean Parthian.

The real nature of Iranians` tendency toward Islam has been also a question. Has their belief been something genuine, inveterate and as a result of heartfelt tendency or has it been something fallacious and due to prudent tact?The pervasive researches carried out about this issue reveal that although some of the Iranians` Islamic tendencies were because of gaining worldly interests and had somehow a kind of prudent basis, the reality of the Islamic faith of the majority of the Iranians is based upon genuine principles, sagacity and is the result of their good choice. This fact is proved by many historical and social evidences, but Islamic evidences are much more valuable. These Islamic evidences clearly indicate the genuineness of Iranian`s Islamic faith. This study tries to prove the issue by just focusing on religious evidences such as the Holy Quran and narration.

The old texts reached to us from Mesopotamia (the second quarter of the 3rd millennium A.D) indicate the existence of a great deal of experiences and trade exchanges between this region and the eastern part of Mesopotamia. These texts reveal that a great amount of goods were imported from the eastern areas either in the form of raw materials or processed ones. Archaeological studies approve this clam. In this article, in addition to examining a Sumerian text regarding bronze and tin, the aforementioned claim also has been studied by comparing the old texts with the existing recent ones. Furthermore, geological and archaeological findings have been also used to investigate the point.

Ferdowsi`s Shahname is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces of the world of literature. In the past decades it has been translated into many languages including Kurdish. The existing Kurdish Shahname can be classified into two groups: 1) in the first group some parts of Ferdowsi`s Shahname are translated keeping the original framework. 2) the second group are those translated versions which have different structures compared with the original Shahname by Ferdowsi. The similarities between the second group and the original Shahname lies on the epic atmosphere, the existence of the same heros and kings.One instance of the first group is a mythology under the name of “Bizhan and Manizhe” translated by an anonymous poet (12th century). This article discusses the similarities and differences between this Kurdish Shahname and Ferdowsi`s Shahname.

One of the most important and interesting discussions in historical, geographical and cultural researches is the etymology of the names of cities and towns in ancient Iran. This article will clarify the place and position of “mehr” the god of ancient Iran, the way that those ancient people worshipped him, as well as introducing the cities and towns whose names are combined with the word “mithra”.

There are several princes in Shahname who have been murdered innocently and their murder is avenged by their son or grandsons. However, among them Siyavash is the only hero whose life and death has been so impressive that annual rituals are held for his death. These rituals originally formed in Transoxiana. Afterwards, they became prevalent in Persian Empire in ancient time. The rituals had an astonishing effect on the Iranian classical plays. The present study has traced features of Siyavash rituals in ancient texts and images. According to the findings of the study the rituals were in the form of annual communal lamentation, procession, singing for Siyavash death, offering sacrifice and holding celebration related to Siyavash rebirth. The rituals implied the cycle of life-death-rebirth of Siyavash in the same way as a vegetation deity. These similarities lead to the recognition of a vegetation god at the very core of the whole rituals. So that is reasonable to take Siyavash for granted as a vegetation god who transformed into an epic hero. Some features of these rituals are still common in parts of Iran.

An examination of the role of animals and their place in the process of stories in Shahname is so sensational that reveals the crucial function of animals in the process of the national epics of this book for the readers. The relation of these animals with heroes of Shahname indicates Ferdowsi`s attention to the myths of ancient nations, where human beings have had a kind of relation with animals and birds. Ferdowsi has depicted animals` emotions in his book.This article tries to consider those animals which have a principal impact regarding the emotional matters in Shahname such as: Rakhsh (Rustam`s horse), phoenix, milch cow, Shabrang (Behzad`s horse).