Mortuary Temple Of Hatshepshut At Deir El-Bahari.

More on the remarkable art in the caves of Dunhuang, China:

As a border town, Dunhuang, China was the site of conflict between China and its neighbors, and these events are commemorated in some of the caves. Here, for example, is a depiction of a Chinese army taking Dunhuang back from the Tibetan kingdom in the middle of the 800s CE.

{WHF} {Ko-Fi} {Medium}

Medium

China’s Psychedelic Lost Caves

The caves at Dunhuang are a remarkable record of culture, trade, and spirituality

Η Ζωή στο Λορεστάν και οι Λορί του Μέσου Ζάγρου, της Οροσειράς που χωρίζει Ιράκ και Ιράν

Η Ζωή στο Λορεστάν και οι Λορί του Μέσου Ζάγρου, της Οροσειράς που χωρίζει Ιράκ και Ιράν

Life in Luristan, and the Luris of Middle Zagros, the Mountains that separate Iraq and Iran

ΑΝΑΔΗΜΟΣΙΕΥΣΗ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΣΗΜΕΡΑ ΑΝΕΝΕΡΓΟ ΜΠΛΟΓΚ “ΟΙ ΡΩΜΙΟΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΗΣ”

Το κείμενο του κ. Νίκου Μπαϋρακτάρη είχε αρχικά δημοσιευθεί την 26 Αυγούστου 2019.

Αναπαράγοντας στοιχεία από ομιλία μου στο Καζακστάν τον Ιανουάριο του 2019, ο κ. Μπαϋρακτάρης αποδεικνύει με το εκλαϊκευτικό κείμενό του αυτό ότι, αρκεί να παρουσιάσει αντικειμενικά και συστηματικά κάποιος τους κατά τόπους λαούς και έθνη του Ζάγρου, του Αντιταύρου, της βόρειας Μεσοποταμίας και της ανατολικής Ανατολίας (Doğu Anadolu), για να αποδείξει αυτόματα ότι δεν υπάρχουν "Κούρδοι" αλλά πολλά και μεταξύ τους πολύ διαφορετικά έθνη, τα οποία παρουσιάζονται διεθνώς ως δήθεν ένα - μόνον από τους άθλιους πολιτικούς και ακαδημαϊκούς γκάνγκστερς των αποικιοκρατικών χωρών (Γαλλία, Αγγλία, ΗΠΑ, Καναδάς, Αυστραλία, Ολλανδία, Ισραήλ) και τα κατά τόπους όργανά τους, με σκοπό την δημιουργία ενός ψευδοκράτους μέσα στο οποίο τα διαφορετικά μεταξύ τους αυτά έθνη θα σφάζονται εσαεί και μάλιστα χειρότερα από οπουδήποτε αλλού.

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https://greeksoftheorient.wordpress.com/2019/08/26/η-ζωή-στο-λορεστάν-και-οι-λορί-του-μέσου/ ============

Οι Ρωμιοί της Ανατολής – Greeks of the Orient

Ρωμιοσύνη, Ρωμανία, Ανατολική Ρωμαϊκή Αυτοκρατορία

Μια περιοχή που αξίζει να περιηγηθείτε από χωριό σε χωριό για ένα μήνα τουλάχιστον και να γνωρίσετε από κοντά τα ήθη και τα έθιμα, τις παραδόσεις και τις δοξασίες των γηγενών Λορί είναι το Λορεστάν, μια ορεινή επαρχία του δυτικού Ιράν σχεδόν πάνω στα σύνορα με το Ιράκ.

Στα λαγκάδια θα είστε στα 700-1200 μ και οι βουνοκορφές τριγύρω θα ξεπερνούν τα 2500-3500 μ.

Οι Λορί είναι ένα αρχαίο ιρανικό φύλο που διατήρησε πάντοτε την ιδιαιτερότητά του και την ταυτότητά του μέσα στο Ιράν, ζώντας κοντά στους Λακί και στους Μπαχτιαρί (ακόμη πιο νοτιοανατολικά στον Ζάγρο), στους Πέρσες (στα νότια τμήματα του ιρανικού οροπεδίου), στους Φαΐλι και στους Γκοράνι (πιο βόρεια στον Ζάγρο), στους Αζέρους (στα βόρεια-βορειοδυτικά τμήματα του ιρανικού οροπεδίου), στους Τουρκμένους και στα άλλα έθνη του Ιράν.

Κατοίκηση στα σημεία αυτά πάει πολύ παλιά λόγω της σχετικής εγγύτητας με την Μεσοποταμία, όπου ξεκίνησε ο ανθρώπινος πολιτισμός.

Με το που κατεβεί κάποιος από τα βουνά προς την πεδιάδα στα δυτικά βρίσκεται στην Κεντρική Μεσοποταμία. Τα χάλκινα αγάλματα του Λορεστάν (πρώτο μισό της πρώτης προχριστιανικής χιλιετίας) αποτελούν κεντρικό κεφάλαιο της Προϊστορίας της ευρύτερης περιοχής.

Οι Λορί (ή και Λουρί) είναι στην πλειοψηφία τους σιίτες μουσουλμάνοι αλλά στο Λορεστάν (ή και Λουριστάν) υπάρχουν και πιστοί άλλων θρησκειών, όπως οι Γιαρσανί (επίσης γνωστοί και ως Αχλ-ε Χακ), μια από τις πολλές θρησκείες του ευρύτερου χώρου ανάμεσα στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο και την Κεντρική Ασία που είναι άγνωστες στον περισσότερο κόσμο.

Οι Λορί έχουν τρομερή προσήλωση στις παραδόσεις τους και ακόμη και ανάμεσα στους σιίτες Λορί κυριαρχούν προϊσλαμικές δοξασίες που δημιουργούν συχνά-πυκνά πρόβλημα στις άτεγκτες κι αλύγιστες ηγεσίες των θρησκευτικών ηγετών του Ιράν.

Δεν κάνω λόγο για την Ισλαμική Δημοκρατία που εγκαινιάστηκε το 1979 με την αποχώρηση του ψευτο-σάχη και την επιστροφή του Χομεϊνί.

Ήδη στις αρχές του 19ου αιώνα, στα χρόνια δηλαδή της τουρκμενικής δυναστείας Κατζάρ του Ιράν, οι Λορί είχαν τόσο απομακρυνθεί από την σιιτική ισλαμική ορθοδοξία που οι ιρανικές αρχές ζήτησαν από τους Οθωμανούς να στείλουν από την Κερμπαλά της Νότιας Μεσοποταμίας (καίριο σιιτικό ιερό) ένα θεολόγο για να …. κηρύξει το (σιιτικό) Ισλάμ στους Λορί!!!

Χορός ντασμάλ-μπαζί στο Μαμασανί

Η ζωή των Λορί είναι ταυτισμένη με τον ετήσιο κύκλο και συνυφασμένη με την εναλλαγή των εποχών: οι γεωργικές και κτηνοτροφικές απασχολήσεις τηρούνται κατά τον πατροπαράδοτο τρόπο και κανένας νεωτερισμός δεν μπαίνει στα χωριά των Λορί όπου ο παγερός χειμώνας σημαίνει ζωή γύρω από την εστία, αφηγήσεις παραμυθιών για τα παιδιά, και για τους μεγαλύτερους διάβασμα του Κορανίου (ή διάβασμα του Καλάμ-ε Σαραν-ντζάν / کلام سرانجام για τους Γιαρσανί).

Οι Λορί δεν έχουν καμμιά διάθεση για να αποσχισθούν ή να σχηματίσουν ένα ανεξάρτητο κράτος παρά τις επίμονες προσπάθειες της ΣΙΑ, της Μοσάντ του Ισραήλ και άλλων μυστικών υπηρεσιών να τους πείσουν ότι είναι ‘Κούρδοι’ και ότι πρέπει να έχουν ‘το δικό τους κράτος’.

Ούτε οι Λορί, ούτε οι Λακί, ούτε οι Γιαρσανί, ούτε οι Γκοράνι δέχονται το ψεύτικο παραμύθι των ‘Κούρδων’, ενός ψευτο-έθνους παρασκευασμένου από μυστικές υπηρεσίες χωρών που μισούν την ευρύτερη περιοχή και θέλουν να την βουλιάξουν σε ατελείωτους πολέμους.

Πως οι Λορί καταλαβαίνουν ότι δεν πρέπει να πιστέψουν τα λόγια των άθλιων τεράτων του Ισραήλ, των ΗΠΑ, της Αγγλίας και της Γαλλίας;

Πως οι Λορί θυμούνται ότι στα αραβικά η λέξη Ακράντ στον πληθυντικό (: ‘Κούρδοι’) δεν σημαίνει ένα συγκεκριμένο έθνος αλλά πολλά και διαφορετικά έθνη που κατοικούν στα βουνά (‘Τζεμπάλ’);

Γιατί οι Σοράνι της Σουλεϋμανίγιε (στο Ιράκ) και οι Κουρμάντζι του Ντιγιάρμπακιρ (στην Τουρκία) ξέχασαν τις αλήθειες που ξέρουν, κατανοούν και τηρούν ακόμη οι Λορί, κι έτσι οι ηγεσίες τους ξεπουλήθηκαν στους εγκληματίες σατανιστές της Δύσης;

Η απάντηση σε όλα αυτά τα ερωτήματα είναι μία και απλή. Δεν έχει να κάνει με την πολιτική, γιατί πολιτική δεν υπάρχει: είναι ένα ψέμμα που οι προπαγανδιστές του εμφανίζουν ως τάχα πραγματικό, ενώ στην πραγματικότητα αυτό που αποκαλείται ‘πολιτική’ είναι η υλοποίηση μιας πρότερον ανύπαρκτης διαστροφής που την υλοποιούν μόνον τα θύματά της, δηλαδή οι ανεγκέφαλοι που αποδέχονται το ψέμμα.

Στο Λορεστάν δεν υπάρχει καμμιά πολιτική κι οι Λορί δεν θέλουν καμμιά πολιτική.

Ποια είναι η απάντηση;

Η ζωή στο χωριό και κοντά στην φύση, χωρίς τον σύγχρονο ανθρωποκτονικό ‘τεχνολογικό πολιτισμό’ είναι υγεία για το σώμα και το μυαλό.

Οπότε, οι χωρικοί κι οι αγρότες του Λορεστάν, επειδή είναι υγιείς, αντιλαμβάνονται τι είναι αλήθεια και τι είναι ψέμμα πολύ πιο εύκολα από ένα άρρωστο, σάπιο κάτοικο μεγαλουπόλεων.

Το πιθανώτερο να σας συμβεί, αν ζείτε σε μια μεγαλούπολη, είναι να πιστέψετε τα ψέμματα που σας λένε και να δείτε τον κόσμο και την ζωή πολύ στραβά, την Ιστορία ανάποδα και με ρατσιστικούς φακούς, και την καθημερινότητα ως την ‘ζωή εν τάφω’ που ζείτε εκεί.

Τα δηλητήρια που τρώτε και πίνετε στις μεγαλουπόλεις, ο μολυσμένος αέρας που αναπνέετε, κι η αποκοπή σας από την φύση αποτελούν πιστοποιητικό αποβλάκωσης και προσαρμογής στα ψέμματα που σας λένε όλοι εκεί.

Αν θα πηγαίνατε να ζήσετε στο Λορεστάν, θα ήταν ο πιο άφθαστος Παράδεισος για σας.

Δείτε το βίντεο:

Лурестан, Луры и их традиционная музыка – Luristan, Luris and their Traditional Music

https://www.ok.ru/video/1488355527277

Лурестан, Луры, их музыка и повседневная жизнь

https://vk.com/video434648441_456240280

Luristan, Luris and their Traditional Music – Λορεστάν, οι Λορί και η Παραδοσιακή Μουσική τους

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Αρχαιότητες του πρώτου μισού της πρώτης προχριστιανικής χιλιετίας από το Λορεστάν

Οι χρυσές προσωπίδες του Σπηλαίου Καλμακαρέχ, όχι μακριά από την πόλη Πολ-ε Ντοχτάρ, στο Λορεστάν

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Διαβάστε:

Luristan

v. Religion, Rituals, and Popular Beliefs

The official religion

Since the accession of the first Safavid shah (1502), the official religion in Iran has been the Eṯnā-ʿašariya (Twelver) Shiʿism, one of the two main branches of Islam. A noteworthy point in this context is that the Lur society has been living within the framework of Islam, but under conditions and circumstances that encouraged rather than restricted a free display of popular traditions, such as the cult of local shrines, emāmzādas (descendants of the Shiʿite imams), and other sects, especially the Ahl-e Ḥaqq, as well as many aspects of supernaturalism.

In areas where people did not speak or understand Arabic, or were mostly illiterate, as among the nomads of Luristan, the declaration of faith and especially performance of different prayers, were bound to take on a much more ritualistic value. Here, the need for oral interpretation and explanation of the orthodox faith was necessary if a completely unrestricted and free display of the popular beliefs and customs were to be avoided.

Thus, at the beginning of the 19th century during the governorship of Prince Moḥammad-ʿAli Mirzā, the Lurs had gone so far astray from the orthodox path that a preacher of the higher religious classes, a mojtahed, was brought in from Karbala in order to “convert” the tribes back to Islam (cf. Rabino, p. 24; Minorsky, 1978, p. 823).

It is uncertain to what degree this attempt was successful, but it is known that there was not normally any direct, authoritative, and powerful institution which could secure and defend the official and orthodox faith and conceptions in Luristan.

Almost all the writers who have dealt with this theme, except Cecil John Edmonds (1922, p. 341), are unanimous in the view that the Lurs, although outwardly professing Islam, have had only a faint idea of the orthodox religion and to a large degree have been indifferent to the Islamic doctrines, while at the same time they have indulged in superstitious rites and have deep veneration for local pirs (spiritual masters) and prophets.

Consequently, it is difficult to describe the impact of religion on the nomadic society of Luristan, where religious notions had become an integral part of life to such an extent that life itself, especially the modus vivendi of the nomads, was one big, yearly, revolving ritual, spaced by recurring seasons, migrations, births, festivals, and deaths.

What a spectator might want to call the “religious” aspects had simply ceased to be perceived as anything separate or to hold any aspect of apartness for the nomads, a circumstance, which also means that any specific questions about “religion” are poorly understood, because religion in Luristan was an unconsciously integrated part of the cycle of life (Demant Mortensen, 2010, p. 12 ff.).

Ahl-e Ḥaqq

Although most Lurs officially adhere to Twelver Shiʿism, with a sprinkling of Sunni Muslims, some adherents of the Ahl-e Ḥaqq (People of the [absolute] Truth) sect are found among the Lur and the Kurdish populations. Ahl-e Ḥaqq are often referred to in the literature as ʿAli-Elāhi or ʿAli-Allāhi (Minorsky, 1964, p. 306) and as having their roots in the heartland of Luristan.

There has been no central, uniform organization and no canonical scripture among the Ahl-e Ḥaqq, which has been traced within numerous tribal, ethnic, religious, and social groups. The cradle of the sect is definitely the area occupied by the Gurānis, which is now divided between the Iraqi and the Iranian Kurdistan, and also including some tribes of northern Luristan, for instance, the Delfān (Minorsky, 1964, p. 314; Halm, p. 635).

Some authors refer to the Selsela and Delfān groups as originally being ʿAli-Elāhis, but also to the Sagvand and Pāpi tribes as being followers of this “secret religion” (Field, I, pp. 173-84; Minorsky, 1978, p. 823). In this context it is interesting that one of the subtribes of the Delfān confederation, the Chuwari, mentioned by Rawlinson (p. 107) as spending the winters in Holaylān and Kuhdašt and the summers in the plain of Ḵāva, is described by Freya Stark as “heretics”: “…these are Ali-Ilahis” (Stark, 1947, p. 34).

The religious literature of the sect is mainly written in Gurāni, and two important shrines of the sect, the tombs of Bābā Yādgār in Zohab and of Solṭān Esḥāq (Sahhāk, Ṣohāk) in Perdivar, are both located in Gurān territory. The central dogma of the Ahl-e Ḥaqq is the belief in seven successive manifestations or incarnations of the divinity.

These incarnations are compared to garments put on by the godhead (cf. the table in Minorsky, 1964, p. 307). The legends about Shah Ḵošin (or Bābā Ḵošin), one of the seven incarnations of the divinity (haftvāna), take place in Luristan and seem to represent an early phase in the development of the doctrine. Each manifestation is accompanied by a retinue of four helper angels. The name of one of those is Bābā Bozorg.

Another of the angels of Bābā Ḵošin is the local saint and Sufi poet of Hamadan, Bābā Ṭāher. Apart from the “Four Angels,” several other groups of saints are worshipped by Ahl-e Ḥaqq (Minorsky, 1964, pp. 306-16; Edmonds, 1969, pp. 89-101; Gabriel, pp. 125-28; Halm, pp. 635-37; see Ṣafizāda, pp. 17-18, 65-68, 74-78, 85-86, 101-15, 127-32).

The sect of the Ahl-e Ḥaqq was originally referred to by the European travelers of the 19th century and first of all by John Kinneir (p. 141). He reports with alacrity the information he has received about nocturnal festivals in the course of which “the garments of the fair sex” at a certain point are thrown into a heap and jumbled together.

This done, the lights are put out and the clothes distributed among the men present. The candles are then re-lighted. He explains that it is a rule of the society “that the lady must patiently submit to the embrace of the person who has become possessed of her dress, whether father, son, husband, or brother.”

When the lights have been put out once again, “the whole of the licentious tribe pass the remainder of the night in the indulgence of the most promiscuous lust.” Obviously, a scandalous and exiting account like this was bound to create some interest at the time. Henry Rawlinson was the first to pass on somewhat more reliable information (Rawlinson, pp. 52-95, 110), and as the regiment he commanded on the march from Zohab was in fact Gurāni, most of his men in all probability were adherents of Ahl-e Ḥaqq.

An especially noteworthy ceremony or institution is an initiation rite called sar-sepordan (the entrustment of the head; total commitment), in which the neophyte links himself to a spiritual master (pir). As a sign of this, a nutmeg is broken as a substitute for the head (Ṣafizāda, pp. 19-20).

Other sacrifices, raw and cooked, bloody and bloodless, derived from dervish practices also occur, and during these sessions burning coals are sometimes handled and stepped upon. Rites of the Ahl-e Ḥaqq also include assemblies (jam) with women participation, in which music is played and could easily account for the extraordinary interpretation brought forward by Kinneir (quoted above), and also for the nickname of “extinguishers of light” (čerāḡ söndüren) given by outsiders to the adherents of the sect (Minorsky, 1964, pp. 308-9).

The religion of the shrine

In an article concerned with the function of religion in (contemporary) Iranian society, Brian Spooner has made a useful distinction between what he calls “the religion of the mosque” and “the religion of the shrine” (Spooner, 1963, pp. 83-95). “The religion of the mosque” roughly corresponds to the official, literate religion, whereas “the religion of the shrine” is characterized by a hierarchy from the ordinary person through holy men, the imāms, and prophets, to God.

In rural districts like Luristan, where “the religion of the shrine” was practiced, a mollā (cleric) or a ṭalaba (theological student) might pay a visit during the months of special religious significance. If there was no resident mollā, there might be a dervish, a doʿānevis or Qorʾānḵˇān. There is often something mysterious about a dervish that seems to attract the attention of ordinary men, but a dervish has no specific religious function in the society.

The doʿānevis writes doʿās (invocation to God), which are a very popular commodity in rural Persia; and the Qorʾānḵvān, although often illiterate, is able to chant passages from the Qur’an at funerals; he also sometimes washes the dead (Spooner, 1963, p. 85).

Among the nomads and in the villages there are often quasi-religious persons or individuals attributed with certain religious qualities; they are either the descendants of the Prophet (sayyed) or people with the epithet Ḥāji, Karbalāʾi, or Mašhadi, signifying persons who have completed the pilgrimage to Mecca, Karbala, or Mashhad.

The presence of such persons among the tribes of Luristan is attested by the inscriptions at tombstones from cemeteries in northern Luristan (Demant Mortensen, 2010, pp. 93 ff.). The descendants of the Prophet have no special religious function, but their sheer presence is a reminder of Moḥammad, to whom they are considered to be nearer and dearer than ordinary people, and thus they are also a memento of Islam in general.

Moreover, they are believed to possess at least a minimum of baraka (blessing, divine grace), and they may be preferred by ordinary people for ceremonies intended to ward off the evil eye in which there is a widespread belief in most of the Near East (Donaldson, pp. 117 ff.; Kriss and Kriss-Heinrich, II, passim; Spooner, 1976, pp. 76-84).

It goes almost without saying that Moḥammad and his descendants are believed to be especially endowed with baraka, and they may in their turn communicate some of it to ordinary people. A special feature is that baraka does not cease to exist or to be active at the death of a person. On the contrary, to deceased persons is attributed a very powerful baraka. This may help to explain the great significance placed by the Shiʿites on the pilgrimage to tombs and emamzādas and the extraordinary measures taken to be buried near a holy tomb (Demant Mortensen, 1993, pp. 121, 125).

Shrines and emāmzādas

Until recently there were no mosques in Luristan outside the few towns (cf. the distribution map in Kleiss, opp. p. 66). On the other hand, the tombs of local pirs and saints, the emāmzādas, are frequently seen in the landscape. They are the focus of a lot of attention and also of pilgrimage. The word emāmzāda may signify an individual as well as the shrine dedicated to him, in the same way as pir or piri (elder or holy) may be used about a person or his tomb.

The actual structure of a shrine, whether of an emāmzāda or otherwise, may range in size from anything comparable to a tiny house to a larger mosque. It is often square, whitewashed, with a domed roof and with or without a courtyard and a cemetery around it. In the center of the building is the tomb or cenotaph, as the case may be, which is the focal point of attention. It represents the deceased person and is considered full of his baraka.

A number of shrines and emāmzādas are mentioned in the literature, but often just in passing (e.g., by Rawlinson; Stein; Edmonds, 1969; Minorsky, 1978; Haerinck and Overlaet; Demant Mortensen, 2010). The better known include Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Aḥmad, Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Moḥammed (or Solṭān Maḥmud), and Emāmzāda Solṭān Ebrāhim (or Bābā Bozorg), all alleged to be brothers of the eighth Imam (cf. Demant Mortensen, 2010, p. 21, n. 29; personal information from Khan ʿAbd-al-Ḥosayn Pur Abuḵadora, Hulian, 1974).

According to Rawlinson, they are all included among the Haft-tan “Seven [dervishes]” by the Ahl-e Ḥaqq, and that is why they are of great sanctity (Rawlinson, p. 95; Edmonds, 1969, p. 89; Ṣafizāda, pp. 144-45, 147-48, 203-4).

Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Aḥmad is situated in Bālā Gariva, about 60 km south of Khorramabad, midway between Khorramabad and Dezful. Referring to this shrine, Edmonds recalls that one day he had a visit by four men wearing red turbans.

A red turban is unique in Persia, at least in the western and central provinces, and is worn only by the guardians of Šāhzāda Aḥmad, the holiest shrine in Bālā Gariva (Demant Mottensen, 1993, Pl. 6.58; Izadpanāh, pp. 16-18). The red-turbaned guardians are known as the pāpi, but do not seem to be connected with the tribe of the same name (Edmonds, 1969, p. 354); however, Carl Feilberg, who has made a special study of this particular tribe, has several interesting and curious details to add (Feilberg, pp. 144-53).

For instance, he states that there are no adherents of the Ahl-e Ḥaqq among the Pāpi, “who find them very bad mannered” (Feilberg, pp. 152-53). Minorsky, on the contrary, states that the Sagvand and Pāpi tribes are the followers of this “secret religion” (Minorsky, 1978, p. 823). Feilberg also mentions the red turbans of the guardians and supplies the information that a visit to the Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Aḥmad is known to be particularly helpful to infertile women.

Not far from Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Aḥmad was another shrine, the Emāmzāda Pir Mār (Saint Snake) also of great sanctity. The saint was supposed to have been able to cure the bite of all venomous snakes, a power his descendants apparently had inherited (Rawlinson, p. 96).

The Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Moḥammad in the Holaylān valley is mentioned by Edmonds (1922, p. 451) as being a “pretentious building” with a great reputation for sanctity in the district and having a colony of sayyeds living in tents and huts around it. Various notables have contributed various parts, such as the bath and a golden ball over the dome.

Aurel Stein (p. 242) refers to it as “the conspicuous new shrine marking the supposed resting place of Imamzadeh Shah-zadeh Muhammad, a much frequented place for pilgrimage for Lurs, with a clusted of Saiyid’s dwellings” (cf. also Edelberg, p. 379; Demant Mortensen, 1993, pp. 128-29, Pls. 6.59-61).

The shrine of Solṭān Ebrāhim, worshipped throughout Luristan under the name of Bābā Bozorg, is mentioned by Rawlinson (p. 100), who says that the tomb is situated on the northeastern face of the plain of Ḵāwa. He adds that this is “the most holy spot in Luristan; for the common Lurs have no idea of religion farther than the worship of this their national saint.” Stein (p. 302) confirms the position and calls it a “much frequented place for pilgrimage” (see also Izadpanāh, pp. 310-11 and Pls. 28-29 on pp. 344-45).

The person said to be buried in an emāmzāda is often of a rather nebulous origin or descent, and quite often the same person is said to be buried, and is worshipped, in several different places.

One example of this is in Luristan near Širvān, where the tomb of ʿAbbās b. ʿAli, the half brother of the Shiʿite Imams Ḥasan and Ḥosayn, is considered to be of great sanctity and receives much attention. People from all over Luristan go here on pilgrimage, although ʿAbbās b. ʿAli also is supposed to be buried at Karbala in Iraq (Rawlinson, p. 56).

The most important point is, however, that it is advisable to visit these graves, because honoring an emāmzāda almost amounts to honoring the Imam himself, which by implication ultimately means honoring God, and this will hopefully lead to His intercession on the Day of Judgement.

In many cases the purpose of a visit to a shrine or an emāmzāda is to ask the granting of certain wishes or requests. The means of obtaining this goal are various and ingenious. Like the Kaʿba in Mecca, the tomb will often be covered by a cloth or surrounded by a latticework, which will be kissed. This is considered as a way of mollifying the emāmzāda and is not just a pious gesture.

It is important to get in contact with the baraka of the person resting there. This may be achieved by touching something in the place, by rubbing oneself with the oil that has been deposited as a gift by previous pilgrims and has now accumulated some of the baraka, or by leaving behind one’s rosary (tasbiḥ) to be charged with baraka and collected at a later time.

When visiting an emāmzāda, it is not unusual to bring along presents, for example, candles, oil, foodstuffs, or even live animals to be sacrificed on the spot. What was originally intended as a votive offering—to the holy personage supposedly interred there—at the present time more often ends up as a present for the warden of the place. In any case, it has now become more customary not to bring anything until the wish has been fulfilled.

This rather pragmatic change from “I offer Thee this, and please may I have” to “If You grant me this, I will give You that” attitude, secures a minimum of waste and disappointment on both sides (Demant Mortensen, 2010, p. 21).

In Luristan people also seek out the shrines and emāmzādas for a number of other reasons, including oath-taking in legal cases, seeking cures for ailments, both physical and mental (Fazel, p. 234), pilgrimage, and the festivities at the end of Ramazan, the ʿid al-feṭr, and the processions and performances of the passion play (taʿzia) during the first ten days of Moḥarram in commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Ḥosayn and his family at Karbala in 680 CE (cf. Chelkowsky; Demant Mortensen, 1991).

Moḥarram processions and the taʿzia

In Iran, Moḥarram processions and recitations existed side by side for about 250 years, and both became more and more complex and refined, until the middle of the 18th century, by which time they were fused (Chelkowski, pp. 4 ff.). The result was a new dramatic form called taʿzia-ḵvāni or just taʿzia, in which the siege of Karbala was still the core, but as time went by, separate plays around individual heroes were also developed.

The taʿzia thus is a compromise between the moving procession and the stationary recitation, and as such it was first staged at open squares or street intersections but soon moved into the courtyards of bazaars, caravansaries, emāmzādas, or even private houses.

Each of the first ten days of Moḥarram featured its own special event commemorating the suffering of Imam Ḥosayn and his party, culminating with the big processions of the 10th of Moḥarram, the Āšurāʾ, as a conclusion (see, e.g., Massé, pp. 122 ff., tr. pp. 117 ff.).

An Āšurāʾ procession might consist of several groups following hard on the heels of each other and all acting some part of the tragedy at Karbala. For example, riderless, saddled horses illustrate in the funeral procession the horses of the martyrs who are now dead.

In the case of only one riderless horse in the procession, it signifies Imam Ḥosayn’s horse (Ḏu’l-janāḥ). Often there will be fastened to the saddle some objects emblematical of Imam Ḥosayn (e.g., see Kippenberg, figs. 1-4). When the riderless horses are brought forward in the funeral procession, it is a sign that the illustrious owners are now dead, and a great moan from the crowd watching goes up in the air.

There may be flags carried along, with the names of Ḥosayn and other martyrs embroidered on them, and banners (ʿalam) representing in the towns different quarters or guilds, and in the country different emāmzādas. There may also be long sticks or poles (kotol) hung with pieces of cloth and surmounted by a metal hand (panja).

The open hand (which is identified by the Sunnites as the hand of Fāṭema and is used as an amulet to ward off the evil eye) bears a quite different meaning for the Shiʿites. In the Moḥarram processions, it commemorates the fact that at Karbala Ḥosayn and his companions were prevented from drawing water, and when ʿAbbās, Ḥosayn’s half brother, tried to fetch some water from the river, his hands were cut off by the enemy. ʿAbbās then tried to hold the gourd between his teeth, but it was immediately pierced by an arrow.

Everybody gets the message instantly when the water-sellers at the Moḥarram processions carry a gourd and cry: “Drink to the memory of the martyr of Karbala!” Many other incidents were commemorated in this way, and groups representing the martyrs with, for example, limbs amputated, an axe sunk into the body, arrows sticking out everywhere, all combine to create the most perfect illusion of reality.

Usually there would be a man or a boy disguised as a lion, covering the supposed body of Imam Ḥosayn in the procession or at the taʿzia, and representing the miraculous lion that is reported to have kept watch on Imam Ḥosayn’s body and protected it from further profanation after the massacre at Karbala (see below).

Around 1930 the taʿzia was banned by the government for socio-political reasons, but, a renewed interest in it was raised during the post-World War II period (Chelkowsky, pp.. 262 ff.). It lived on in distant villages and isolated areas such as Luristan, but due to the lack of written sources it is not possible to know with any certainty to what extent the Moḥarram rites were celebrated in Luristan over the last 200 years.

However, a few people who have been in Luristan for longer periods of time have left descriptions that might suggest that the tradition was kept alive all along. For instance, Arnold Wilson relates how the evenings during a stay with a local khan were spent, listening to a blind storyteller, who was an inexhaustible source of local politics and history, Lur songs, and extracts from the Šāh-nāma of Ferdowsi, holding the listeners around the fire spellbound for hours by the dramatic modulations of his voice (Wilson, pp. 63-65).

He was succeeded by a sayyed, who first conducted the assembly in prayer and then followed with “a prose narrative of the sad fate of the patron saint of Persia, the martyred Husain, which reduced many of the audience to genuine tears, though it is not yet the month (Muharram) in which his death is called to mind” (Wilson, p. 64).

Carl Feilberg (pp. 144-46) remarks that there is a queer, agitated feeling in the air during Moḥarram, which is more noticeable or conspicuous since there are not many signs of religious fanaticism, but rather a certain degree of tolerance. On the occasion of the “Ḥosayn festival, mollās bring forth banners (ʿalam) from an emāmzāda.

The people circle around the banners, the poles of which are covered in red cloth, while they sing and beat their breast three times, and take their heads in their hands repeatedly. Someone reads the story of Ḥosayn from one end to the other, if possible every hour of the day. A man with a sword is excited to the point of cutting his head. Pieces of cloth are hanging down from banners. Every time someone pays a few coins to the mollā, he receives a shred of the cloth.”

Another observation was made inside the Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Moḥammad in the Holaylān Valley in 1963 (Demant Mortensen, 2010, p. 29). People had come from far away and assembled in the courtyard of the emāmzāda, where on the 8th day of Moḥarram a taʿzia was being performed for hours on end, continuing into the night of the Āšurāʾ. Earlier a procession of flagellants went across the valley floor, from tent camp to tent camp, which at that time of the year (June) was spread over the plain.

These few examples will suffice to show how important aspects of the religion were being taught by illustration and performance among the nomadic population of Luristan. The mental images evoked at a Moḥarram procession, at a rawża-ḵvāni (mourning ritual commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Ḥosayn) or a taʿzia performance are so strong and potent that this kind of “illiterate religion,” as it might conveniently be termed, adds another dimension to the metaphor phrased by Umberto Eco that “images are the literature of the lay-men” (Eco, p. 41).

Nomadic cemeteries with pictorial stelae and tombstones

The nomadic cemeteries of Luristan are nearly all placed near shrines or along old migratory routes. Their inscribed and decorated tombstones and stelae turn them into an important source for the mapping of tribal migrations during the 19th and early 20th century and for our understanding of certain aspects of the religious beliefs and ritual actions of the nomads.

Allusions to the tombstones of Luristan and the motifs they represent include incidental observations by travelers passing through the country in the 19th and early 20th century (e.g., Rawlinson, pp. 53, 57-58; Herzfeld, p. 59; Stark, 1932, p. 504). The topic has later been dealt with by Feilberg (pp. 137-41, figs. 128-31), Wilhelm Eilers, Jørgen Meldgaard, Clare Goff, Leon Vanden Berghe (pp. 19-20 and Pl. VII, figs. 1-2), and Houchang Pourkarim (pp. 54-57, photograph on p. 25). Starting during 1974-77, an extensive, systematic study of nomadic cemeteries in northern Luristan was carried out by a member of the Danish Archaeological Expedition (Demant Mortensen, 1983, 1991, 1996, and 2010).

It seems that most of the nomadic cemeteries in northern Luristan, along with the tribes that they represent, can be traced back to the late 18th or early 19th century.

The earliest known nomadic tombstone, dated 1209/1794, is in the cemetery of Kazābād in the Holaylān valley (Demant Mortensen 2010, p. 167). In a historical context, the emergence of the tombstones coincide with the withdrawal of the viceroy governor (wāli) and his retinue from Khorramabad into Pošt-e Kuh in 1796, a move that was occasioned by the attempt of the first Qajar shah to reduce and weaken his power and authority.

By the end of the 1920s and the early 1930s, there is a dramatic decline in the number of nomadic cemeteries, a picture clearly reflecting the drastic changes forced upon the nomads of Luristan by the policy of Reżā Shah (r. 1924-41). Starting early in the 1920s, Reżā Shah and his army attempted forcibly to “civilize” (taḵta-qāpu), that is, to disarm and settle, the nomadic tribes throughout the country.

By the mid-1930s this policy had resulted in an economic, social, and cultural breakdown of the old tribal structures of Luristan and in a partial cessation of nomadic migrations and of memorial stelae and obelisks at the cemeteries. The latest known pictorial stele, dated 1354/1935, has been registered at the cemetery of Pela Kabud in the Holaylān valley (Demant Mortensen, 2010, pp. 73, 148, fig. 98).

At the cemeteries the graves were usually marked by a horizontal tombstone lying within the frame of stones marking the outline of the grave. In addition, an obelisk or a stele depicting in lively scenes animals and human beings was sometimes erected at the head of the grave (e.g., see Demant Mortensen, 1993, pp. 134, 138, Pls. 6.64, 6.66).

These extraordinary pictorial stones, unique in an Islamic context, were carved and used by the nomads. Like the horizontal tombstones, they were erected for men as well as for women, although more frequently for the men.

The flat-lying gravestones bear an inscription stating the name of the deceased, the name of his or her father, and the name of the tribe to which he or she belonged. The time of death is always mentioned by year, according to the Islamic lunar calendar, and occasionally also by month.

The rank or title of the deceased may also be recorded. In rare cases, a few lines from a poem may be incised along the edge of the tombstone, but apparently never a quotation from the Qurʾan. This would be inappropriate, since people might step on the stones, and sheep and goats and other animals crossing a cemetery might soil the tombstones.

At the base of the stone there is nearly always a field with pictorial symbols that are characteristic of men and women respectively. With unfailing certainty they will indicate whether the deceased was a woman or a man. In the case of women, the symbols will include a comb, a mirror, and a pair of scissors, a symbol designating a carpet, and in a few cases a kohl-pin.

On a man’s tombstone is most often depicted a prayer stone, a string of prayer beads, a washing-set consisting of a ewer and a bowl, and a man’s comb, characterized by its half-circular shape. It appears that the symbols characterizing a woman on the gravestone to all intents and purposes reflect her profane, daily life.

In contrast to this a man is characterized on the gravestones with symbols full of religious connotations meant to turn the thought towards his pious purity: a washing-set, a rosary, and a prayer stone. This emphasis upon the religious aspects of life depicted on the men’s tombstones in a subtle and subconscious way perhaps reflected the Lur’s conception of the role and status in real life, where the men were the external providers and protectors, while the women lived in the private sphere.

Obviously, there is a great difference but it does not follow automatically that there was an evaluation in terms of status attached to the different roles within the tribal community. Wilson (p. 156), who lived a long time among the Lurs, wrote a eulogy of the Lur women, who bear the burden of the day in most senses of the phrase, in the following words. “without a wife a man is as helpless and useless as half a pair of anything else— and [he] knows it.”

In some cases a panel with an enigmatic geometric figure may be found on the gravestones, interspaced usually between the fourth and the fifth line of the inscription. It shows a cross on a square background with a kind of step design on both sides, opening up into tiny “channels” leading out from or into the center. The simplest interpretation of this motif is that it is a purely decorative element.

There is, however, one other possibility: the central motifs are almost identical to the central motifs in the great Persian garden carpets from the 17th and 18th centuries, and to similar motifs seen in many Caucasian carpets and tribal rugs. It is a characteristic feature of these carpet designs that the design is geometrical and that there are channels leading out of, or into, the central motif, precisely as in the medial panels of the gravestones.

In the carpets these channels and pools symbolize the water channels in a garden, or by extension the Garden of Paradise (bāḡ-e behešt). The connection between real, geometrical garden plans, their reproduction in carpets, and the religious conceptions about the Garden of Paradise has often been demonstrated.

Against this background and in a religious context, at nomadic cemeteries, it has been suggested that the geometric motifs of the middle panels on the tombstones, like the central figures of the garden carpets, not only fulfill a decorative purpose, but also contain symbolic connotations, which among the nomads of Luristan would direct the mind towards the Garden of Paradise (Demant Mortensen, 1996, pp. 176-78).

The stelae, which sometimes were erected at the head of the grave, usually have pictures on both sides, showing distinctly different themes. One side, facing the grave, shows scenes from the life of the deceased. A typical motif at a woman’s stele would be a vertical loom with a half-finished carpet, surrounded by two or three women each with a weft-beater in her hand.

The men’s stelae would show a mounted horseman with a small shield over his shoulder, with a lance or gun in his hand and his sword attached to the characteristic high wooden saddle. The rider is often engaged in a hunt, accompanied by two or three tribesmen, each carrying a gun with a fixed bayonet.

The other side of the stelae shows a similar picture, but with marked differences in content. Here the representation is a reflection of rituals associated with death and burial. The horse is rider-less, and it is clearly tethered with a mallet at the head and at the hind leg. The weapons of the deceased, a gun, a sword, and a shield, are tied to the high wooden saddle. Below this scene three women are shown, their arms resting on each other’s shoulders.

The women are probably shown as participants in the funeral procession or doing čupi dance. Singing, wailing, and dancing were practiced by mourning women as part of the burial rites in Luristan throughout the 19th and most of the 20th century. An emotional incident reflecting these rituals is reported by Freya Stark, who in 1931 spent some time in the plains of Ḵāva and Delfān.

She relates how Yusof Khan, a young leader of the Nur-ʿAlis “beloved by all the northern Lurs was taken and executed in Hamadan; his followers, including my guide, lifted his body from the cemetery and brought it to Kermanshah, and then carried it with high wailing dirges four days’ journey to its burial-place at Hulailan” (Stark, 1947, pp. 27-32).

The picture of a riderless horse seems to reflect an old Iranian tradition where the horse of the deceased was brought along in the funerary procession to the cemetery, with the deceased’s turban, his sword, bow and arrows, lance, and in general anything that might serve to identify his standing and strength.

To lead a horse after the hearse or bier at a funeral seems to have been, if not a universal habit, at least a widespread custom also known from Luristan, a reflection, perhaps, of a belief in an afterlife in which the deceased will need the horse and the weapons that he used to have in his life on earth (cf., e.g., Tavernier, p. 722; Quenstedt, pp. 254-56; Demant Mortensen, 2010, pp. 84 ff.).

There is, however, another possible explanation for the riderless horse as it appears on the Luristani stelae. An underlying meaning of the motif might be that the representation of a riderless, equipped horse on the tombstone in the same way as Imam Ḥosayn’s horse is represented in the ʿĀšurāʾ processions during Moḥarram reminds the passer-by of Imam Ḥosayn’s martyrdom, and thus his attentions would automatically be focused on the Day of Judgement and on pious hopes for the afterlife (Demant Mortensen, 1991, pp. 85-86).

As a derivation of this, the intended message could also have been that the person interred in the tomb had been of a pious observation. This seems to be quite a probable explanation and association with the nomadic setting in Luristan in the 19th and early 20th century, as it is indirectly testified by the elegies sung by the wives of the Wāli Ḥosaynqoli Khan on the occasion of his death, ca. 1900 (cf. Mann, pp. 145-52).

Supernatural powers

Apart from the more or less orthodox religious notions, there seems to be a widespread belief in supernatural beings in Iran (cf. e.g., Donaldson, passim; Massé, pp. 351-68). There are, however, considerable regional variations in their occurrence, form, and attributes, and a supernatural being reported in one area may be unknown in another. As far as Luristan is concerned, the most extensive information on this topic has been provided by Amanolahi-Baharvand (pp. 142-78).

According to this source, the Baharvand, and probably a major part of the nomadic tribes of Luristan, have had a dualistic concept of the soul and body. Without the soul the body was nothing, and the soul could leave the body at will, in the form of a flying insect, like a mosquito, with the nose as a passage. It was believed that, when a person is asleep, his soul is out, and when it returns to the body, the person awakes.

It was also believed that everybody has an identical spiritual being in the sky. When someone dies, the soul enters this being or spirit, which descends from heaven into the grave. When the spirit has entered the grave, it will, together with the soul, find the way to the eternal world. On the way, there is a bridge, narrower than a hair, which has to be crossed. When the spirits reach the bridge, they will be met by the sheep that were sacrificed in this world, and these will be ready to carry them across the bridge.

The good ones will have no trouble getting across the bridge, but the bad ones will have serious problems. On the other side of the bridge is the gate to the eternal world, and after Judgement the righteous will go to Paradise, while the wicked are sent to Hell. It was, moreover, believed that the coming of the Mahdi would mean an end to both of these worlds, because it would mean the creation of a completely new universe with freedom and justice for everyone (Amanolahi-Baharvand, p. 148).

This somewhat diverging version of the official eschatology existed alongside a belief in several kinds of personified supernatural beings to which human emotions and feelings were attributed. Above all there is God (Ḵodā), followed by various religious personalities such as ʿAli, Moḥammad, the Imams and emāmzādas, and the local saints and prophets in Luristan. ʿAli is the strongest of all, almost comparable to God, and certainly greater than Moḥammad (Amanolahi-Baharvand, p. 150).

The belief in predestination stems from the concept that God determines the destiny of every human being and all other creatures of the universe, so everything that happens is the will of God. He is the absolute ruler and owner of the universe. He can make people sick, poor, rich, crippled, and blind. He is omniscient and omnipresent, and He has it in His power to destroy everything in an instant if He so wishes.

Although supernatural power or ability is attributed to God and all prophets and Islamic saints, they are in a different category from the other supernatural beings. God is held responsible for death and disease as well as for everything else.

But there is nevertheless, at the same time, a distinction made between natural and supernatural causes of such misfortunes. This seemingly contradictory, and totally irreconcilable, assertion will just have to be accepted, in the same way as those diseases and misfortunes that cannot immediately be understood are attributed to supernatural forces (cf. Amanolahi-Baharvand, pp. 150 ff.).

Dangerous supernatural beings include malakat, which is a local derivation from Arabic, meaning angels (e.g., malak al-mawt, the Angel of Death, often used in the Qurʾanic vocabulary). The Luri concept is somewhat different. It was believed that malakats have all the characteristics of human beings, except that they are invisible and also have the power to change form.

This means that they can and will turn themselves into, for example, a human being, a cat, or a piece of wood. They never die, and they may be found in many places, such as ruins, mountains, and dark corners. They were feared because it was believed that they had the power to make people ill or insane. Sometimes they fell in love with a woman and caused her to behave abnormally.

The malakat might take a person and replace him with an identical malakat. The same might happen with a corpse, so if a body remained unburied overnight, it had to be guarded every minute. If someone is behaving crazily, it is believed that she or he might be possessed by a malakat, and a mollā (cleric) may try to capture it by torturing the afflicted person and thus drive it away (Amanolahi-Baharvand, p. 154).

Other groups of dangerous supernatural beings include the ḡuls and the divs (demons). In folktales the div is described as looking more or less like a human being, only larger and with the capacity of changing its form; it sleeps most of the time, and is often found at the bottom of wells.

Among the Baharvand in Luristan, it is believed that the div no longer exists, but that it has been replaced by another type of demon, which is extremely dangerous. This is a human-like creature, which may inflict injuries and illnesses resulting in death upon a person. In these cases it is beyond the powers of a sayyed or a mollā to help.

The Tofangči (rifleman) is the name given to an invisible hunter with male characteristics. If sudden unexpected deaths take place, it is believed to have been caused by the Tofangči, and if any of the herds were struck, the nomads would immediately migrate to another campsite.

Yāl, otherwise referred to as āl (cf. Donaldson, pp. 28-31; Massé, pp. 44, 356, tr., p. 348), is a supernatural being with the attributes of a female, a kind of witch, often described as four-footed, and with a tail. She is very dangerous for women in labor and is wont to snatch away babies. In Luristan she is known to have only two legs and no tail, but she is very tall and has large teeth. If a woman is attacked by yāl, a yāl-catcher will beat her with a stick in order to tell where the yāl is, and a sheep will be killed and its liver and heart taken to her.

To counterbalance the feared influence of all the malevolent, supernatural demons there is also a belief in a few benevolent creatures. For instance every person is believed to have a baḵt (lit. fate), which is the supernatural guardian of every individual (Donaldson, pp. 175-76).

The baḵt is supposed to be identical with its owner, and it protects his land and property. If someone’s baḵt is active, everything is prosperous for the whole family, the herds increase, and so on; but a baḵt may fall asleep, in which case it takes the form of an animal. If that should happen, all sorts of misery starts, and it is almost impossible to find and wake up the baḵt. If a man is unlucky and, for instance, is losing herds or even children, he may say that his baḵt has fallen asleep.

Another well-known group is the fairies (pari), who are the most beautiful of all supernatural beings and look just like humans. They may marry among themselves and have a social organization and even a king of their own, Šāh-pario, but they may also marry human beings. If this happens, it must be kept a secret; otherwise, the pari will escape.

Many people claim to have seen the paris dancing and singing, and it is possible to capture them when they are bathing in a river, but one must be very quick, jump into the river, and insert a needle into the hair of the pari before she becomes invisible. When the needle is inserted in the hair, the pari becomes the wife of the captor and will always be near him, but at the same time invisible to others. It is possible for such couples to have children, but they are also invisible, except for the father (Amanolahi-Baharvand, pp. 158-60).

It is in the same somewhat shady and ill-defined border area between religion, superstition, and folklore that one may find some impersonal, supernatural forces at work. They might for the sake of clarity be divided into “powers” and “matters” of supernatural character. The supernatural “powers” reckoned with in Luristan include baraka, bahra, rišarr and časm-e bad (Amanolahi-Baharvand, pp. 160 ff.).

Baraka, or blessing, has already been described above, and bahra has something of the same inherited quality. A person could have the bahra, that is the property or capacity of hunting or capturing certain personified, supernatural beings, or curing disorders caused by these. In that case he will nearly always be successful in these matters. Like baraka, it is a good quality, which cannot be used against other people.

The words riḵayr and rišarr are combinations of Luri and Arabic, and they signify a good or benevolent face and an evil face, respectively. Thus it is believed that some people have a “good face” (riḵayr) and they will cause prosperity wherever they appear; on the other hand, if someone on a journey sees an “evil face” (rišarr), he will worry that the journey will be fruitless or even dangerous (Demant Mortensen, 2010, pp. 20-21, 36).

This idea seems to be closely related to the notion of the bad or evil eye, in which there is a widespread belief in most of the Near East. Three main types of evil eyes are recognized in Luristan: čašm-e šur (“envious eye,” lit: “salty eye,” normally permanent), čašme-e nāpāk (“dirty eye,” normally temporary), and čašme-e bad (“bad eye,” normally momentary).

It is a problem that a person with an evil eye may unintentionally cause danger and disaster. The number of causes and cures enumerated, and the amount of time spent in anxiety, fear, and inconvenience caused by this belief is quite striking. Supernatural power may also be obtained through certain acts either of piety or of ceremonial sacrifice of animals.

Certain sayyeds were believed to have obtained supernatural power, partly through their descent from the Prophet, and partly through their own acts. Those who had obtained this status were regarded as next to holy, and with a supernatural power to cure both physical and mental illnesses. People would make an oath by the turban of such a person, or by his copy of the Qurʾan, which was believed to be much more powerful than an ordinary copy (Demant Mortensen, 2010, pp. 36-37).

This is leading to the other category of supernatural forces, that of “matter” or “substance.”

The Qur’an itself is believed to possess enormous supernatural forces, which would keep at bay the many malevolent supernatural beings, and also illnesses.

Objects related to emāmzādas, especially pieces of cloth from banners (ʿalam), protected the bearer from snake bites, harmful supernatural beings, and other dangerous creatures, and every year during Moḥarram the guardians literally took their ʿalams to pieces and distributed them among the people, who would sew them on to their clothing.

Also some trees were regarded as sacred and invested with supernatural power, possibly a concept of pre-Islamic origin.

Often, but not always, they are found close to a shrine, such as the Emāmzāda Šāhzāda Moḥammad in the Holaylān valley (Stein, p. 242).

Hundreds and hundreds of pieces of cloth may be seen hanging on such trees “in greater profusion than leaves” as de Bode puts it (I, p. 283), each representing a vow or wish uttered.

While others might silently wish upon a falling star, these rags of cloth each denote a “visible wish” as it were (Demant Mortensen, 1993, pp. 122-23, Pls. 6.56-57).

In order to remain on friendly terms with the personified supernatural beings surrounding them, and at the same time to protect themselves from all the malevolent powers lurking everywhere, the Lurs employ a complex set of ancient local ceremonies and adapted Islamic rituals, which are almost impossible to disentangle.

Most of the nomads in Luristan would have only a superficial knowledge of Islam, and many religious acts are mixed with older traditions, the origin of which remains obscure.

Sacrifices are normally made either to Imam ʿAli or to the local shrine or emāmzāda, but not directly to God.

Sacrifices are made for different purposes; for instance, at the birth of a first child (son), or people make a vow that they will make a sacrifice if a wish be realized, or if they recover from an illness.

A special kind of animal sacrifice is performed when a person dies (ʿaqiqa). The animal has to be a sheep and more than six months old.

An Arabic formula is whispered in its ear before it is killed. Then it has to be boiled, and the bones buried unbroken. None of the immediate family of the deceased can take part in this meal, as it is believed that the deceased in the next world will be carried across the bridge by the sheep to the gates of the eternal world. In Luristan a special offering (alafa) is also made to the dead annually a few days before the New Year (Nowruz).

The offering consists of sweetmeat (ḥalwā) and bread, and during the preparation of these foodstuffs the names of those deceased in whose memory the meals are being prepared must be mentioned, and they will then receive the sacrifice (Amonolahi-Baharvand, pp. 170-76; Demant Mortensen, 2010, pp. 36-37).

Epilogue

Fredrik Barth (p. 146), following his description of some ceremonies, rituals, games, and beliefs among the Bāṣeri tribe in Fars, reaches the following conclusion about religion: “In general, I feel that the above attempt at an exhaustive description of the ceremonies and explicit practices of the Basseri reveals a ritual life of unusual poverty.”

The same verdict has been passed by almost everybody who has expressed an opinion on this matter as far as the Lurs are concerned. It is hoped, however, that the observations in the preceding pages might help to build a case for the opposite opinion. There was no ritual or religious poverty among the Lurs; on the contrary, the atmosphere was positively crowded with images of supernatural and other beings. The belief in them reflects truly religious notions, although these do not always conform to official doctrines.

Όλες τις βιβλιογραφικές παραπομπές μπορείτε να βρείτε εδώ:

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/luristan-05-religion-beliefs

Περισσότερα:

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/luristan-04-origin-nomadism

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bronzes-of-luristan

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/luristan-bronzes-i-the-field-research-

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/luristan-bronzes-ii-chronology

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Лурестан

http://etnolog.ru/people.php?id=LURY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luristan_bronze

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorestan_Province

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lurs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luri_language

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luri_music

----------------------------------------

Κατεβάστε την αναδημοσίευση σε Word doc.:

https://vk.com/doc429864789_619584124

https://www.docdroid.net/ZOuHf4E/h-zoi-sto-lorestan-kai-oi-lori-toy-mesoy-zaghroy-tis-oroseiras-poy-khorizei-irak-kai-iran-docx

https://www.slideshare.net/MuhammadShamsaddinMe/ss-250586176

https://issuu.com/megalommatis/docs/life_in_lorestan.docx

Head of a Winged Protective Spirit from Room B at the Northwest Palace of Nimrud, the Assyrian Capital. The alabaster wall relief dates back to the era of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE). Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA.  

Photo by Babylon Chronicle

Gate in Volterra, Etruria by Pavel Svedomsky

Μεχραγκάν, η Μεγάλη Φθινοπωρινή Εορτή των Παρσιστών του Ιράν και της Ινδίας

Μεχραγκάν, η Μεγάλη Φθινοπωρινή Εορτή των Παρσιστών του Ιράν και της Ινδίας: όταν η Μαζδεϊστική Παράδοση περνάει από τον Μουσουλμάνο Φερντοουσί

Mehragan, the Parsis' Great Autumn Feast in Iran & India: when Mazdeism's Tradition comes through a Muslim, the Great Epic Poet Ferdowsi

ΑΝΑΔΗΜΟΣΙΕΥΣΗ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΣΗΜΕΡΑ ΑΝΕΝΕΡΓΟ ΜΠΛΟΓΚ “ΟΙ ΡΩΜΙΟΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΗΣ”

Το κείμενο του κ. Νίκου Μπαϋρακτάρη είχε αρχικά δημοσιευθεί την 1 Οκτωβρίου 2019.

Ευχαριστώντας με για την μετάφραση τμημάτων του επισυναπτόμενου βίντεο από τα φαρσί (περσικά), ο κ. Μπαϋρακτάρης αναπαράγει σημεία διαλέξεών μου για τους υπερβατικούς συμβολισμούς με τους οποίους ο Φερντοουσί παρουσιάζει στο έπος του την αρχή, την διάρκεια και το τέλος της Παγκόσμιας Ιστορίας, βλέποντας στους ήρωές του την διαχρονικότητα της Θείας Παρέμβασης και στους βασιλείς του τις αενάως αναπαραγόμενες και διαφοροποιούμενες κατ' άτομο συνθέσεις των Μεγάλων Ιδεών.

------------------------

https://greeksoftheorient.wordpress.com/2019/10/01/μεχραγκάν-η-μεγάλη-φθινοπωρινή-εορτή/ ======================

Οι Ρωμιοί της Ανατολής – Greeks of the Orient

Ρωμιοσύνη, Ρωμανία, Ανατολική Ρωμαϊκή Αυτοκρατορία

Αυτές τις μέρες, οι Παρσιστές του Ιράν και της Ινδίας γιορτάζουν μία από τις μεγαλύτερες εορτές τους, τα Μεχραγκάν. Όπως το ίδιο το όνομα δηλώνει, αυτή η εορτή είναι αφιερωμένη στον Μίθρα, ένα θεό του οποίου την υπόσταση προσπάθησε ο Ζωροάστρης χωρίς επιτυχία να εξαφανίσει και του οποίου (Μίθρα) τους πολυθεϊστικούς Μάγους οι Αχαιμενιδείς σάχηδες επίμονα προσπάθησαν να εξαφανίσουν.

Αυτό μάλιστα συνέβαλε στην δημιουργία μιας επιπλέον αρχαίας ελληνικής λέξης ως μετάφρασης από την αντίστοιχη αρχαία ιρανική: “Μαγοφονία”! Αυτό ειπώθηκε για την εξόντωση, από τον Δαρείο Α’ τον Μέγα, του Μάγου Γαυματά ο οποίος είχε αποπειραθεί να ανατρέψει την δυναστεία.

Ο Ηρόδοτος μάλιστα διασώζει ότι αυτή η περίσταση έγινε αμέσως ένας εορτασμός. Αυτό είναι ενδεικτικό των τρομερών συγκρούσεων ιερατείων που συνέβαιναν ακόμη και στην κορυφή της αχαιμενιδικής αυτοκρατορίας.

Ο Ζωροαστρισμός και ο Μιθραϊσμός ήταν δυο θρησκείες η μία στους αντίποδες της άλλης και ο τρόπος σύγκρουσης ιερατείων δεν είναι μόνον μάχες, πόλεμοι, στάσεις και δολοφονίες αλλά επίσης και αλλαγή του θρησκευτικού περιεχομένου μιας εορτής ή τροποποίηση των χαρακτηριστικών της. Σχετικά με τις ιρανικές θρησκείες από την Αρχαιότητα μέχρι σήμερα, μπορείτε να βρείτε μια σύντομη παρουσίαση εδώ:

Ιράν: η Χώρα που γέννησε Περισσότερες Θρησκείες από Οποιαδήποτε Άλλη, Πρώτη Χώρα που Θρησκείες της διαδόθηκαν από τον Ατλαντικό μέχρι τον Ειρηνικό

https://greeksoftheorient.wordpress.com/2019/07/22/ιράν-η-χώρα-που-γέννησε-περισσότερες-θ/

(και πλέον: https://www.academia.edu/51404599/Ιράν_η_Χώρα_που_γέννησε_Περισσότερες_Θρησκείες_από_Οποιαδήποτε_Άλλη_Πρώτη_Χώρα_που_Θρησκείες_της_διαδόθηκαν_από_τον_Ατλαντικό_μέχρι_τον_Ειρηνικό)

Ιράν: η Χώρα που γέννησε τις Περισσότερες Θρησκείες, Πρώτη Χώρα που Θρησκείες της διαδόθηκαν από Ατλαντικό μέχρι Ειρηνικό – ΙΙ

https://greeksoftheorient.wordpress.com/2019/08/21/ιράν-η-χώρα-που-γέννησε-τις-περισσότερ/

(και πλέον: https://www.academia.edu/51484958/Ιράν_η_Χώρα_που_γέννησε_τις_Περισσότερες_Θρησκείες_Πρώτη_Χώρα_που_Θρησκείες_της_διαδόθηκαν_από_Ατλαντικό_μέχρι_Ειρηνικό_ΙΙ)

Ο Μίθρας είναι ένας ιρανοϊνδικός θεός που διαδόθηκε ιδιαίτερα ανάμεσα στους Αραμαίους, τους Έλληνες, τους Ρωμαίους και όλους τους αρχαίους λαούς της Ευρώπης. Σε όλες τις μορφές και φάσεις ιρανικών γλωσσών ο Μίθρας έχει δύο ονόματα: Μιτρά και Μεχρ. Το δεύτερο είναι τμήμα του ονόματος της εορτής που εορτάζουν σήμερα οι Παρσιστές, χωρίς ωστόσο καμμιά επίκληση του Μίθρα. Ο Παρσισμός, ως τελευταίο στάδιο των αρχαίων ιρανικών θρησκειών, έχει διαμορφωθεί κάτω από την επίδραση δύο πολιτιστικών φαινομένων:

α. του Μαζδεϊσμού που είναι η σασανιδικών χρόνων (224-651 μ.Χ.) αναπροσαρμογή του Ζωροαστρισμού, και

β. της σύστασης του ιρανικού μυθικού επικού κύκλου κατά τα ισλαμικά χρόνια, όταν είτε Παρσιστές είτε Μουσουλμάνοι Ιρανοί προσπάθησαν να ανασυντάξουν την προϊσλαμική ιρανική πολιτισμική κληρονομιά και να την ανασυνθέσουν σε μια ενότητα παραδόσεων, κοσμολογίας, μυθικής αφήγησης του ιρανικού και του πανανθρώπινου παρελθόντος, σωτηριολογίας και εσχατολογίας.

Έτσι, προκλήθηκε ένα πολύ παράξενο και κυριολεκτικά μοναδικό φαινόμενο: η επίσημη θρησκεία του σασανιδικού Ιράν, ο μαζδεϊσμός, τερματίσθηκε. Όσοι Ιρανοί παρέμειναν προσηλωμένοι σ’ αυτήν την θρησκεία, την διατήρησαν στις κοινότητές τους, πλην όμως όχι ως επίσημη αυτοκρατορική θρησκεία, εφόσον άλλωστε ανήκαν στο ισλαμικό χαλιφάτο. Έτσι, διαμορφώθηκε ο Παρσισμός, ένα μετα-μαζδεϊστικό στάδιο ιρανικής θρησκείας της οποίας οι πιστοί σήμερα ανέρχονται σε μερικές εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες ανθρώπων στο Ιράν και στην Ινδία.

Από την άλλη, όσοι Ιρανοί προσχώρησαν στο Ιράν, συνέθεσαν ένα ιρανοϊσλαμικό κύκλο επών και μυθικής αφήγησης της Ιστορίας μέσα στον οποίο το προϊσλαμικό παρελθόν του Ιράν παρουσιάσθηκε ως ισλαμικού χαρακτήρα και αποδεκτό για το Ισλάμ. Όμως αυτός ο κύκλος επών έγινε εξίσου δεκτός από τους Ιρανούς που δεν έγιναν Μουσουλμάνοι και, διατηρώντας ό,τι είχαν μπορέσει από την παλιότερη, αυτοκρατορική θρησκεία τους, διαμόρφωσαν τον Παρσισμό.

Έτσι, σήμερα στο Ιράν, όταν συναντήσουμε κάποιον που ονομάζεται Φερεϋντούν (το οποίο είναι ντε φάκτο ένα προϊσλαμικό ιρανικό προσωπικό όνομα), δεν μπορούμε σε καμμιά περίπτωση να ξέρουμε, αν αυτός είναι Μουσουλμάνος ή Παρσιστής. Και εννοείται ότι είναι μακρύς ο κατάλογος των ονομάτων αυτών που, όντας προϊσλαμικά ιρανικά, έχουν γίνει ολότελα αποδεκτά από τους μουσουλμάνους Ιρανούς και επιλέγονται ως δικά τους προσωπικά ονόματα.

Η νίκη του Φερεϋντούν επί του Ζαχάκ, κεντρικό θέμα της παρσιστικής εορτής των Μεχραγκάν, εδώ απεικονίζεται σε σμικρογραφία χειρογράφου του έπους Σαχναμέ του Φερντοουσί, μουσουλμάνου εθνικού ποιητή των Ιρανών και των Τουρανών.

Καθώς μάλιστα οι Ιρανοί και οι Τουρανοί αποτελούν ένα αδιαχώριστο σύνολο εθνών, όλη αυτή η ιρανική πολιτισμική κληρονομιά και επική παράδοση έχει επίσης διαδοθεί ανάμεσα σε όλα τα τουρανικά και μογγολικά φύλα.

Ονόματα όπως Ρουστάμ, Φερεϋντούν, Κέυ Κουμπάντ, Κέυ Καούς, Κεϋχοσρόης, Εσκαντέρ, Σιγιαβούς, Αφρασιάμπ, κλπ είναι προσωπικά ονόματα κατοίκων της Τουρκίας, της Συρίας, του Ιράκ, του Αζερμπαϊτζάν, του Αφγανιστάν, του Πακιστάν, της Ινδίας, της Κίνας, της Ρωσσίας, και όλων των χωρών της Κεντρικής Ασίας – στον μεγαλύτερο βαθμό τους προσωπικά ονόματα Μουσουλμάνων και σε μικρότερο βαθμό προσωπικά ονόματα Παρσιστών.

Ο βασικός χαρακτήρας των Μεχραγκάν (جشن مهرگان , جشن ملی ایرانیان/ εορτασμός Μεχραγκάν – εθνικός εορτασμός των Ιρανών / τζεσν Μεχραγκάν – τζεσν μελί-γιε Ιρανιάν) είναι ο εορτασμός της φθινοπωρινής ισημερίας.

Έτσι, αυτόματα, η εορτή αυτή είναι η δεύτερη σημαντικώτερη των Παρσιστών μετά το Νοουρούζ, το οποίο εορτάζεται κατά την εαρινή ισημερία και αποτελεί την ιρανική Πρωτοχρονιά είτε για τους Μουσουλμάνους είτε για τους Παρσιστές.

Λόγω της ύπαρξης αρκετών ιστορικών ιρανικών ημερολογίων και της αναπροσαρμογής κάποιων από αυτά, συχνά οι ημερομηνίες του εορτασμού διαφέρουν.

Οι επικρατέστερες ημερομηνίες είναι οι πρώτες ημέρες του Οκτωβρίου.

Δεν σώζονται αναφορές σε Μεχραγκάν στα αχαιμενιδικά χρόνια, και προφανώς η εορτή ως μιθραϊστική και αντίθετη στα κηρύγματα του Ζωροάστρη θα είχε απαγορευθεί.

Αλλά για τους Μιθραϊστές ήταν μια πολύ σημαντική εορτή.

Η πρώτη αναφορά σε Μεχραγκάν ανάγεται στα σασανιδικά χρόνια, δηλαδή λίγο καιρό πριν τον εξισλαμισμό του Ιράν.

Η επικράτηση του Μιθραϊσμού στα αρσακιδικά χρόνια (250 π.Χ. – 224 μ.Χ.) είχε υποχρεώσει τους Σασανιδείς που ανήλθαν στην εξουσία το 224 μ.Χ. να κάνουν κάποιους συμβιβασμούς.

Όμως, η ηρωοποιητική προβολή του Ιράν ως εκλεκτού λαού του Άχουρα Μαζντά κατά τα σασανιδικά χρόνια από τον Καρτίρ έδωσε τον ουσιαστικό χαρακτήρα του Μαζδεϊσμού, της τότε αυτοκρατορικής θρησκείας που επιχείρησε να κάνει τους Ιρανούς ένα έθνος ηρώων και τους Σάχηδες αυτοκράτορες όλης της γης.

Ο Ζαχάκ σκοτώνει τον ταύρο.

Έτσι, η παλιά εορτή των Μιθραϊστών διατηρήθηκε στα σασανιδικά χρόνια πλην όμως πήρε ένα χαρακτήρα πανηγυρισμού της νίκης του μυθικού ήρωα Φερεϋντούν επί του Ζαχάκ, του αρνητικού και κακοβουλου ηγεμόνα. Το βασικώτερο χαρακτηριστικό του Ζαχάκ ήταν το κυνήγι ταύρου και η ταυροκτονία. Όμως, εντελώς συμπτωματικά, το βασικώτερο χαρακτηριστικό του Μίθρα ήταν η ταυροκτονία.

Η σύγκρουση του Φερεϋντούν με τον Ζαχάκ

Έτσι, καταλαβαίνουμε ότι οι Μαζδεϊστές διατήρησαν την μιθραϊστική εορτή, δίνοντας όμως εντελώς αρνητικό χαρακτήρα στο μέγιστο επίτευγμα του Μίθρα. Πουθενά αλλού δεν περιγράφεται η σύγκρουση Φερεϋντούν και Ζαχάκ καλύτερα από το Σαχναμέ του Φερντοουσί, του εθνικού ποιητή του Ιράν, ο οποίος αν και μουσουλμάνος είναι αυτός που χρωμάτισε περισσότερο τον εορτασμό των συγχρόνων Παρσιστών.

Έτσι, κι αυτοί εορτάζουν μια εορτή της οποίας το όνομα παραπέμπει στον Μίθρα και το περιεχόμενο αφορά απόρριψη του έργου του Μίθρα.

Η μάχη του Φερεϋντούν με τον Ζαχάκ

Στην συνέχεια, μπορείτε να δείτε ένα βίντεο που παρουσιάζει όψεις του εορτασμού των Μεχραγκάν από τους σύγχρονους Παρσιστές. Στο εισαγωγικό σημείωμα θα βρείτε επεξηγήσεις (σε ελληνικά, αγγλικά και ρωσσικά) για το κάθε τι που δείχνει το βίντεο λεπτό προς λεπτό.

Ευχαριστώ ιδιαίτερα τον διακεκριμμένο ιρανολόγο και ανατολιστή, καθ. Μουχάμαντ Σαμσαντίν Μεγαλομμάτη για την μετάφραση σε νέα ελληνικά των βασικών σημείων του βίντεο, το οποίο είναι ηχογραφημένο σε φαρσί (νέα περσικά). Στην συνέχεια, θα βρείτε πληροφοριακά κείμενα σχετικά με τα Μεχραγκάν.

Ο Φερεϋντούν υποδέχεται τον Τουρσάντ

Δείτε το βίντεο:

Мехраган, Великий осенний праздник парсов в Иране и Индии (مهرگان)

https://www.ok.ru/video/1522499062381

Περισσότερα:

01:43 – 01:57 Великий иранский эпический герой Ферейдун

02:00 – 03:00 Праздничные аспекты современных торжеств Мехреган

03:00 – 03:30 Осеннее Равноденствие – Меграган (эквивалентно празднику Навруз, который совпадает с Весенним Равноденствием, поэтому является Новым годом для мусульманских иранцев и парсов)

03:30 – 03:45 Поэзия Насира Хусрава, иранского шиитского поэта-исмаилита, философа и математика

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasir_Khusraw

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Насир_Хосров

03:46 – 04:10 Персеполис (известный иранцам как Тахт-э Джамшид: трон Джамшида, главного героя иранского эпоса, описанного в «Шахнаме» Фердоуси и многих других иранских эпосах)

04:10 – 04:47 Праздничные аспекты современных торжеств Мехреган

04:48 Статуя Фердоуси («Райский»), национальный иранский поэт (10 в)

04:50 – 05:50 Выживание праздников Мехреган после завоевания Ирана мусульманами, турками и монголами

6:00 – 06:50 Барельеф Митры в Так-Бостане – Иран; представления Митры в индийском, иранском и среднеазиатском искусстве

06:50 – 07:00 У современных парсов образы Ахура Мазды и Зороастра обычно идентичны.

07:05 – 07:15 Ссылки на Ахура Мазду в клинописных древнеахеменидских иранских текстах

07:20 – 07:40 Отрывки из Хорде Авесты (Маленькая Авеста)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khordeh_Avesta

07:40 Праздничные аспекты современных торжеств Мехреган

08:15 Доисламские иранские концепции и верования сохраняются в религиозном, шиитском и суннитском, исламском танце семах

08:42 Персеполис / Тахт-Джамшид

09:00 Дариус I Барельеф в Бехистуне / Бисотуне возле Экбатаны (Хамедан)

09:11 Немруд Даг, юго-восточная Турция: греко-иранское пиковое святилище, самое святое место королевства Коммагены

9:30 Различные памятники иранской цивилизации

09:55 Ссылка на иранского мифического героя Ферейдуна и его победу над Заххаком, который считается отправной точкой праздника Мехреган

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fereydun

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Траэтаона

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahhak

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Заххак

10:30 Праздничные аспекты современных торжеств Мехреган

10:52 Аль Бируни (ведущий мусульманский историк, математик и астроном: XI-XI века) – ссылки на Мехреган

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Biruni

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Аль-Бируни

11:15 Снимки с торжеств Мехреган; ряд иранских памятников и древностей; и изображения сцен из иранских эпосов, в частности, битвы между Ферейдуном и Заххаком

12:50 Слово «Мехреган» было распространено среди арабов уже в доисламские времена, что означает «празднование» или «праздничная годовщина».

13:10 Параллели с древнегреческими религиозными праздниками

13:20 Значительные Мехреган отмечены в истории

14:00 Праздничные аспекты современных торжеств Мехреган

Больше:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehregan

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мехреган

Απεικόνιση του Φερεϋντούν στην νεώτερη ιρανική τέχνη

Δείτε το βίντεο:

Mehragan (Мехреган), the Great Autumn Celebration of the Parsis in Iran and India (مهرگان)

https://vk.com/video434648441_456240311

Περισσότερα:

01:43 – 01:57 Representations of Fereydun

02:00 – 03:00 Festive aspects of modern celebrations of Mehragan

03:00 – 03:30 Autumn Equinox – Mehragan (equivalent to the feast of Nowruz, which coincides with the Spring Equinox, being therefore the New Year’s Day for Muslim Iranians and Parsis)

03:30 – 03:45 Poetry by Nasir Khusraw, Iranian Shiite Ismaili poet, philosopher and mathematician

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasir_Khusraw

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Насир_Хосров

03:46 – 04:10 Persepolis (known to Iranians as Takht-e Jamshid: the throne of Jamshid, the foremost hero of the Iranian epic described in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and many other Iranian epics)

04:10 – 04:47 Festive aspects of modern celebrations of Mehragan

04:48 Statue of Ferdowsi (‘the Paradisiacal’), the national Iranian poet (10th c)

04:50 – 05:50 Survival of Mehragan celebrations after Iran’s conquest by Muslims, Turks and Mongols

6:00 – 06:50 Bas-relief of Mithra in Taq-e Bostan – Iran; representations of Mithra in Indian, Iranian and Central Asiatic art

06:50 – 07:00 Among modern Parsis, the representations of Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster are usually identical.

07:05 – 07:15 References to Ahura Mazda’s in cuneiform Old-Achaemenid Iranian texts

07:20 – 07:40 Excerpts from Khordeh Avesta (Little Avesta)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khordeh_Avesta

07:40 Festive aspects of modern celebrations of Mehragan

08:15 Pre-Islamic Iranian concepts and beliefs are preserved in the religious, Shiite and Sunni, Islamic dance Semah

08:42 Persepolis / Takht-e Jamshid

09:00 Darius I ‘s relief in Behistun / Bisotun near Ekbatana (Hamedan)

09:11 Nemrud Dagh, south-eastern Turkey: the Greek-Iranian peak sanctuary, the holiest place of the kingdom of Commagene

9:30 Various monuments of the Iranian civilization

09:55 Reference to the Iranian mythical hero Fereydun and his victory over Zahhak which is thought to have been the starting point of the Mehragan feast

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fereydun

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Траэтаона

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahhak

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Заххак

10:30 Festive aspects of modern celebrations of Mehragan

10:52 Al Biruni (leading Muslim historian, mathematician and astronomer: 10th-11th century) – references to Mehragan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Biruni

11:15 Snapshots from Mehragan celebrations; a number of Iranian monuments and antiquities; and representations of scenes from the Iranian epics, notably the battle between Fereydun and Zahhak

12:50 The word ‘Mehragan’ was diffused among Arabs already in Pre-Islamic times, meaning ‘celebration’ or ‘festive anniversary’

13:10 Parallels with ancient Greek religious festivals

13:20 Significant Mehragan celebrations recorded in History

14:00 Festive aspects of modern celebrations of Mehragan

More:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehregan

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мехреган

Ζαχάκ: ο κακόβουλος ηγεμόνας

Δείτε το βίντεο:

Μεχραγκάν, η Μεγάλη Φθινοπωρινή Εορτή των Παρσιστών (Mehregan / مهرگان)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EI5E6jOfp8

Περισσότερα:

Αυτές τις μέρες, οι Παρσιστές του Ιράν και της Ινδίας γιορτάζουν μία από τις μεγαλύτερες εορτές τους, τα Μεχραγκάν.

(جشن مهرگان , جشن ملی ایرانیان)

(εορτασμός Μεχραγκάν – εθνικός εορτασμός των Ιρανών / τζεσν Μεχραγκάν – τζεσν μελί-γιε Ιρανιάν)

01:43 – 01:57 Αναπαραστάσεις του Φερεϊντούν

02:00 – 03:00 Όψεις σύγχρονου εορτασμού των Μεχραγκάν

03:00 – 03:30 Φθινοπωρινή ισημερία – Μεχραγκάν (αντίστοιχο της εαρινής ισημερίας που είναι η ιρανική, μουσουλμανική και πασριστική, Πρωτοχρονιά – Νόουρουζ)

03:30 – 03:45 Στίχοι του Νάσερ Χουσράου, Ιρανού Σιίτη Εβδομοϊμαστή ποιητή, φιλοσόφου και μαθηματικού του 11ου αι

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasir_Khusraw

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Насир_Хосров

03:46 – 04:10 Περσέπολη (γνωστή στους Ιρανούς ως Ταχτ-ε Τζαμσίντ: Θρόνος του Τζαμσίντ, κορυφαίου ήρωα του ιρανικού έπους που έχει περιγραφεί στο Σαχναμέ του Φερντοουσί και σε πλήθος άλλων ιρανικών επών)

04:10 – 04:47 Όψεις σύγχρονου εορτασμού των Μεχραγκάν

04:48 Άγαλμα του Φερντοουσί (: Παραδεισένιου) εθνικού ποιητή του Ιράν (10ος αι)

04:50 – 05:50 Επιβίωση του εορτασμού των Μεχραγκάν μετά τις κατακτήσεις του Ιράν από τους Μουσουλμάνους, τους Τούρκους και τους Μογγόλους

6:00 – 06:50 Ανάγλυφο του Μίθρα στο Ταγ-ε Μποστάν – Ιράν και απεικονίσεις του Μίθρα στην ινδική, ιρανική και κεντρασιατική τέχνη

06:50 – 07:00 Στους νεώτερους Παρσιστές οι απεικονίσεις του Άχουρα Μαζντά και του Ζωροάστρη συγχέονται και ταυτίζονται.

07:05 – 07:15 Αναφορές του Άχουρα Μαζντά σε σφηνοειδή αρχαία αχαιμενιδικά ιρανικά κείμενα

07:20 – 07:40 Απαγγελία από την Χορντέ Αβέστα (μικρή Αβέστα)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khordeh_Avesta

07:40 Όψεις σύγχρονου εορτασμού των Μεχραγκάν

08:15 Διατήρηση ιρανικών προϊσλαμικών παραδόσεων στον ισλαμικό σιιτικό και σουνιτικό θρησκευτικό χορό Σαμά

08:42 Περσέπολη / Ταχτ-ε Τζαμσίντ

09:00 Ανάγλυφο του Δαρείου Α’ στο Μπεχιστούν / Μπισοτούν κοντά στα Εκβάτανα

09:11 Νέμρουντ Νταγ, νοτιοανατολική Τουρκία: ελληνοϊρανικό ιεροθέσιο κορυφής της Κομμαγηνής

9:30 Διάφορα μνημεία ιρανικού πολιτισμού

09:55 Αναφορά στον ιρανικό μυθικό ήρωα Φερεϊντούν και την νίκη του επί του Ζαχάκ που υστερογενώς εκλήφθηκε ως αρχή του εορτασμού των Μεχραγκάν

10:30 Όψεις σύγχρονου εορτασμού των Μεχραγκάν

10:52 Αλ Μπιρούνι (κορυφαίος μουσουλμάνος ιστορικός, μαθηματικός κι αστρονόμος: 10ος- 11ος αι.) – αναφορές σε Μεχραγκάν

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Biruni

11:15 Σκηνές από εορτασμούς των Μεχραγκάν, ποικίλα ιρανικά μνημεία και αρχαιότητες, και αναπαραστάσεις σκηνών από την ιρανική εποποιΐα, ιδιαίτερα της μάχης μεταξύ Φερεϊντούν και Ζαχάκ

12:50 Διάδοση της λέξης ‘Μεχραγκάν’ στα αραβικά με την γενική έννοια ‘εορτασμός’, ‘εορταστική επέτειος’

13:10 Παράλληλα με αρχαιοελληνικές εορτές

13:20 Σημαντικοί εορτασμοί Μεχραγκάν στην Ιστορία

14:00 Όψεις σύγχρονου εορτασμού των Μεχραγκάν

Επιπλέον:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehregan

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мехреган

=========================

Διαβάστε:

The Festival of Mehregan

Mehregan is one of the most ancient Iranian festivals known, dating back at least as far as the proto- Iranians. According to Dr. Taqizadeh, (1938, p. 38: “The feast of Mithra or baga was no doubt one of the most popular, if not the greatest of all the festivals for the ancient Iranians, where it was celebrated with the greatest attention.

This was originally an old-Iranian and pre-Zoroastrian feast consecrated to the sun-god and its’ place in the Old-Persian calendar was surely in the month belonging to this deity.

This month was called Bagayadi or Bagayadish and almost certainly corresponded to the seventh Babylonian month Tishritu, the patron of which, was also Shamash, the Babylonian sun god.

This month was, as has already been stated, probably the first month of the Old-Persian year, and its more or less fixed place was in the early part of the autumn.

The feast was in all probability pre-Zoroastrian and it was perhaps the survival of an earlier Iranian New Year festival dating from some prehistoric phase of the Proto-Iranian (Aryan) calendar, when the year began at the autumnal equinox. It was connected with the worship of one of the oldest Iranian deities (Baga-Mithra), of whom traces are found as far back as in the fourteenth century BCE.

In the Zoroastrian religious calendar, Mehregan is celebrated on the sixteenth day of the seventh month. According to Fasli reckoning, this occurs on October 1st. Modi (1922), p. 463, states that Mehregan should properly fall on the fall equinox (which is the first day of the seventh month), but it is usually performed on the name day of Mithra (16th day). Meherjirana (1869, tr 1982 by Kotwal and Boyd) p. 161 says that this feast is important for the following reasons:

“This jashn is called Mehregan and is a time for love and gratitude for life. [In ancient times] Zohak was very cruel to the people. So a blacksmith named Kaveh, with the help of others, sought out Faridoun who then caught Zohak and prisoned him in mount Damavand. Faridoun then became king and the peoples’ lives were saved. For these reasons, King Faridoun and all the people had a great jashan on that day. It is so stated in the Persian Vajarkard Dini.”

According to Zoroastrian angelology, Mithra is the greatest of the Yazats (angels), and is an angel of light, associated with the sun (but distinct from it), and of the legal contract (Mithra is also a common noun in the Avesta meaning contract). He has a thousand ears, ten-thousand eyes.

The feast of Mehregan is a community celebration (Jashan), and prayers of thanksgiving and blessings of the community (Afarinagan) figure prominently in the observances.

In the Rig Veda, Mitra figures prominently mentioned over 200 times.

The Sun is said to be the eye of Mitra, or of the compound Asura “Mitravaruna” (analogous to Mithra-Ahura in Avesta), who wield dominion by means of maya (occult power).

They are guardians of the whole world, upholders of order, barriers against falsehood. (The Vedic language also has a common noun Mitra meaning ‘friend’.)

In the angelology of Jewish mysticism, as the result of Zoroastrian influence, Mithra appears as Metatron, the highest of the angels.

He also appeared as Mithras, god of the Mithraic religion popular among the Roman military.

He can also be found in Manichaeism and in Buddhist Soghdian texts. Mehregan, Tiragan, and Norooz, were the only Zoroastrian feasts be mentioned in the Talmud, which is an indication of their popularity.

http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Celebrations/mehregan.htm

-------------------------------

Mehregān

Mehregān (Mehrgān/Mehregān; Ar. Mehrajān; Meherangān among the Parsis), an Iranian festival apparently dedicated to the god Miθra/Mehr, occurring also in onomastics and toponymy.

By extension this name is used with the generical meaning of autumn and identifies a musical mode. In the Mazdean annual schema of feasts, the festival occurs on the day Mehr of the month Mehr, that is, the 16th day of the 7th month. In some almanacs the occurrence of Mehragān is marked at the 10th of Mehr, after the modern reform (1925 CE) of the Iranian calendar (Ruḥ-al-Amini, p. 83).

The name of the festival is to be found in the Jerusalem Talmud and in that of Babylon (Taqizāda, pp. 192, 214; tr. pp. 158-59, 311; Bokser, pp. 261-62; Neusner, pp. 185-86).

According to Masʿudi (Moruj, sec. 1287), in the Christian milieu of Syria and Iraq, the word Mehrajān indicated the first day of winter.

The Arabic form Mehrajān identifies also a festival widespread outside the Iranian plateau. In a variant of the Aḥsan al-taqāsim by Moqaddasi (p. 45, n. d), there is mention of its celebrations in ʿAden, where the author has been visiting around the end of the 9th century (Cristoforetti, pp. 162-63).

On the basis of some Arabic verses of the Sicilian poet ʿAli b. ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Ballanubi, Mehrajān celebrations were observed in Cairo in the 11th-12th centuries (Corrao, p. 56).

After its prohibition, at an unknown date, this “Coptic” festival was allowed again by the Fatimid caliph al-Ẓāher (r. 1021-36; Corrao, p. xxxvii). For Egypt one can envisage a symmetry between Mehrajān and the local festival Nayriz, which clearly derives from Nowruz and occurs at the 1st of the Coptic month of Tut (September 10-11). We know that in modern times a Mehrajān festival occurs in mid-February in Somalia (Cerulli, p. 162). According to Ebn ʿEḏāri (p. 84), in 399/1009 in Andalus Mehrajān occurred at the end of Šawwāl, which corresponds to the last ten days of June.

In Andalus during 10th century, the name ʿAnsara was much more in use than the Persian derived name Mehrajān for the same festival (Lévi-Provénçal, p. 172 n. 1). The coincidence with the St. John festival and its fires (24th of June) makes one think of a symmetrical Andalusi Nayriz festival on the 1st of January, but the general lack of information on the matter does not allow one to say anything conclusive (for Arabic sources about Christian festivals in Andalus, including Mehrajān, see Fernando de la Granja). The relation of symmetry and consequent analogy between Mehrgān and Nowruz is frequently asserted in the extant sources (see below). This is the basis on which one may make inferences about the ancient rites of Mehrgān.

The name of the festival Mehragān is formed of the proper noun Mehr (Old Pers. Miθra/Mithra, a diety) and the suffix –agān, which is used in many names of the Mazdean festivals (on this point and for a survey of other possible etymologies, see Calmard, p. 15). Walter Belardi (esp. pp. 61-149) has done a detailed study on the position of Mithra/Mehr in the Iranian calendar. His study is focused on the significant meaning of the name of this Indo-Iranian god, based on the common noun *mitrá, as “pact, contract, covenant,” and on Mithra/Mehr’s function as an arbiter (cf. Boyce, 1975-82, I, pp. 24-31). This function is well testified by his Greek attribute mesítēs (according to Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride, 46) and by the Iranian and para-Iranian sources, in which Mithra/Mehr acts as arbitrator on the cosmological, eschatological, and anthropological levels (Belardi, pp. 32-45).

The Mehragān festival is clearly correlated to the equinox (see Biruni, Āṯār, p. 222; tr., p. 208), which is the astronomical phenomenon most easily linked to the concept of equity and equilibrium. But it remains uncertain whether the festival was in honor of Mithra or if the dedication to Mithra was, in Ḥasan Taqizāda’s view, serendipitous. According to Taqizāda (pp. 350-51; tr., p. 145), the reason may as well be a compromise that occurred in the process of adoption of some ancient religious beliefs by Zoroastrians.

Hence, the celebration of Baga Mithra in the 7th month of the Achaemenian calendar Bagayadi- (Av. Bāgayāday-) may have been added to the “new-Avestan” calendar in a period (second half of the 5th century BCE) in which the seasonal celebrations for the autunm equinox coincided with the 16th of Mehr. The name of the festival (*bāgayāda?) had been replaced by the name that this festival features in the “new-Avestan” calendar, that is Mehragān (<*miθrakāna).

Taqizāda’s hypothesis implies that the name of the Achaemenian month was taken to mean “(the month of) the worship of Baga,” assimilated with Mithra, but this interpretation has been rejected for philological reasons (Boyce, 1981, pp. 66-68; idem, 1982, II, pp. 16-18, esp. p. 24; on the name Baga, see Gignoux, pp. 88-90).

In fact, the only possible analogy between the Achaemenian celebration and the posterior Mehragān could be found in the stated celebration for the triumph of justice over usurpation, respectively represented by the victory of Darius I the Great over Gaumāta and of the epic hero Ferēdūn over Bēvarasp (Żaḥḥāk).

According to Taqizāda (p. 350; tr., p. 145), the Iranian epic preserved the memory of the coincidence of Mehragān with the day on which the usurper Gaumāta was killed by Darius I in 522 BCE. Some of the rites used on Magophonia, that is, the commemoration of the murder of the magi, or “of the magus” Gaumāta under Darius I, may have influenced the observance of *Mithrakāna (see Boyce, 1975-82, II, pp. 86-89; Hartner, p. 749; Henning, pp. 133-44; Dandamaev, pp. 138-40; Widengren, pp. 163-66).

It is noteworthy that the report by Ebn al-Balḵi (pp. 90-91) about the massacre of the Mazdakites ordered by Ḵosrow I Anuširavān (r. 531-79 CE) on the occasion of the great banquet for Mehragān could confirm the analogy, but this passage would also imply that Mehragān was an official occasion in which the king assigned “duties and assignments” (kārhā wa šoḡlhā; cf. Ps.-Jāḥeẓ, Ketāb al-tāj, p. 144; tr., p. 164; cf., for Nowruz, ḴELʿAT).

The festival, which was once connected to the solar calendar of the Iranian tradition, evidently suffered all the consequences of the complex evolution of the various forms of that calendar used by the Iranian people. Originally, and probably until the early Sasanian period, Mehragān was a single day (Boyce, 1970, pp. 518-19; idem, 1982, II, p. 34), but it seems to have been duplicated during the Islamic age as a Small or General Mehragān and a Great or Special Mehragān, as is the case of Nowruz and other festivals (Biruni, Āṯār, pp. 223-24; tr., p. 209).

This kind of duplication, producing a distance of five days between these two festivals, is clearly related to the general issue of interventions in the Iranian calendar, on which scholarly opinions differ notably (Bickerman, p. 203; Boyce, 1970, pp. 514-29; Balinski, p. 99; Marshak, pp. 145-52; de Blois, pp. 40-41, 46-49; Scarcia, pp. 133-41). The Arabic sources (e.g., Biruni, Āṯār, pp. 222-23; tr., pp. 207-9; Ṯaʾālebi, pp. 33-35) testify to attempts, clearly a posteriori, to explain those duplications on the basis of two different moments in the epic tradition being referred to; concerning Mehragān, they attribute it to the rebellion of Kāva and the triumph of Fereydun over Bēvarasp.

The fact that the epic tradition plays a role also in connection with the Sada festival may be due to the occurrence of the calendrical Mehragān in the traditional seasonal place of the Sada festival during the 6th and 7th centuries CE (Cristoforetti, 2002, p. 295). According to Biruni, the Sasanian king Ohrmazd I (r. 272-73 CE) joined the Small and the Great Mehragān, thereby turning it into a six-day festival (according to Taqizāda, pp. 351 n. 496, tr. p. 323 n. 496, this enlargement is a phenomenon that had already occurred in a more ancient time).

The fact that festivals were extended is supported for the later Sasanian times by a Byzantine document dated 565 CE (Boyce, 1983, pp. 807-8). However, afterwards the kings and the people of Iran celebrated the festival over thirty days, “distributing them over the several classes of the population in the same way as we have heretofore explained regarding Nowruz” (Biruni, Āṯār, p. 224; tr., p. 209; cf. idem, Tafhim, pp. 254-55). Biruni’s note that Nowruz was celebrated for thirty days through the month of Farvardin, if taken at face value, would make it reasonable to assume that the festival of Mehragān also lasted for the same number of days, starting on the day of Mehragān and ending on the 15th of Ābān.

It is possible to see a relation between this ambiguous passage by Biruni and the fact that Ferdowsi (I, p. 89, v. 3) talks about a Mehrgān of the 1st of Mehr as in perfect symmetry to the Nowruz of the 1st of Farvardin (cf. Modi, 1922, p. 463). The following sentence attributed to Salmān Fārsi (Biruni, Āṯār, p. 222; tr., p. 208) clearly reflects such symmetry between the two festivals in a different way: “In Persian times we used to say that God has created an ornament for his slaves, of rubies on Nowruz, of emeralds on Mehrajān.

Therefore these two days excel all other days in the same way as these two jewels excel all other jewels” (cf. similar point in Ps-Jāḥeẓ, Maḥāsen, p. 361).

This close relation of perfect twinship is also reflected by the fact that in Arsacid times “Nō Rōz came to be celebrated at the autumn equinox, and Mihragān at the spring one, the two poles of the religious year thus changing places” (Boyce, 1983, p. 805; cf. idem, 1979, p. 106).

According to Mary Boyce, the original festival may have been renamed under the influence of a Babylonian autumn festival, which was “under the protection of Shamash, Mithra’s Mesopotamian counterpart” (Boyce, 1982, II, p. 35).

However, all of our information concerning the Mehragān festival is provided by sources of non-Iranian origin (Rajabi, p. 222).

In Greek authors we find only mentions of generic celebrations: “The dominant aspect is that of a royal festival of a new year or renewal, celebrated by festivities, present-giving, animal sacrifices” (Calmard, p. 16).

According to Ctesias, it was the only annual occasion on which it was proper for the king of Persia to get inebriated (cf. Boyce, 1975, I, p. 173, who connects the practice with the use of soma/haoma).

Nevertheless, another dominant feature of the festival seems to have been its royal and solar aspect; on the day of Mehragān, the day of the creation of the sun itself, the king would wear a crown engraved with the image of the sun (Biruni, Āṯār, p. 222; tr., p. 207).

As regards the Arsacids, a passage in Ṯaʿālebi (p. 47) referring to an official meeting between Ḵosrow son of Firuz (Osroes II? r. ca. 190-95 CE) and the chief of the Zoroastrian priests seems to be the most ancient testimony of customs regarding exchanging of gifts on Mehragān.

But both the name of the ruler and the congruity of the two characters recall the well-known topos of wisdom of Ḵosrow I Anuširavān and his most wise minister Bozorgmehr.

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Κατεβάστε την αναδημοσίευση σε Word doc.:

https://www.slideshare.net/MuhammadShamsaddinMe/ss-250611802

https://issuu.com/megalommatis/docs/mehragan_the_parsis_great_autumn_feast.docx

https://vk.com/doc429864789_620132611

https://www.docdroid.net/nnR62DK/mekhraghkan-i-meghali-fthinoporini-eorti-ton-parsistwn-toy-iran-kai-tis-indias-docx

Phrases in Coptic

ⲁϣ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲉⲕⲣⲏϯ?(ash pe pekrēti?) : How are you?

ⲛⲓⲙ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲉⲕⲣⲁⲛ? (nīm pe pekran?) : what’s your name?

ⲕϧⲉⲛ ⲟⲩⲏⲣ ⲛ̀ⲣⲟⲙⲡⲓ? (K-khen wēr nrompi?) : how old are you?

ⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲉⲕⲓⲟⲡⲓ? (Ou pe pekyopi?) : what do you do for a job?

DEATH ON THE NILE (1978) dir. John Guillermin

Abu Muhammad Ahmad ibn Atiq al-Azdi, Kitab al-baytarah (Book on Veterinary Medicine), 1223.

Courtesy Alain Truong

Ghaznavid sultan Mahmud (r. 998-1030 CE) and his forces attacking the fortress of Zaranj in 1003 CE. Jami al-Tawarikh, 1314 CE. Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh (lit. 'The Compendium of Chronicles') is a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate. Written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318 CE) at the start of the 14th century, the breadth of coverage of the work has caused it to be called "the first world history". It was in three volumes and published in Arabic and Persian versions.