Iranian Folklore

The folklore of Iran is closely related to that of India. It is described by Smith as a "kind of border land of miraculous reality".

Many westerners have trouble dealing with Iranian folklore due to the preconceptions they often have about it: that it is mysterious, romantic, and pleasurably lazy, much in the same way they often think about India's folklore. A key element of Iran's folklore is that, often, the normal is mixed with the supernatural in ways many would not necessarily expect.

Many European stories have similar tales in Iran, which can help ease them into Iranian folklore, though the differences may be somewhat jarring. The similarities are mostly due to the shared Proto-Indo-European heritage of the Iranians and Europeans, and the rest can generally be considered to have arisen due to trade between Iran and Europe throughout history leading to stories passing from one to another, serving as the origins for later regional variants.

## Origins

Iran is descended from the Proto-Indo-Iranian culture, itself a descendant branch of the Proto-Indo-Europeans. As such, its culture is closely related to that of India, and more distantly related to those of Europe. In classical times, Avestan was the sacred language used for religious purposes, and was notably similar to the Indian Sanskrit, used for much the same purpose.

In ancient times, the Persian Empire covered most of the middle-east, covering the area from Türkiye to north-western India, as well as Egypt, parts of Greece, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. It was initially conquered by Alexander the Great, and about a millennium later by the Arabs. Avestan is closely related to the Pahlavi language, which is the ancestor of Modern Persian.

Iranian folklore is a combination of pre-Islamic Iranian beliefs, Islamic elements, and aspects of other pre-Islamic belief systems that were present in the Islamic world before the spread of Islam, with many elements of these appearing in folklore in Iran.

## Supernatural Elements

* *Ghol* are ghouls
* *Pari* are fairies; beautiful enchantresses of human height who human men desire.
* Cycles of talking animal stories
* Ogres
* Jinn
* Magic - Iran has an incredibly complex magical tradition

## Folkloric Traditions

Iranian folklorists have seen few differences in the content of the oral and literary traditions, with many concluding that, while the form is different, the content is the same. The literary tradition in Iran goes back *at least* 3,000 years and likely originated as the Proto-Indo-Iranian oral tradition.

The earliest myths are mostly about the conflict between good and evil, starting soon after the beginning of existence. This conflict is a core part of Zoroastrianism. The basic story is about a hero of light who defeats a dragon (or other monster) of darkness and evil. Early stories also show high levels of organisation, with royal families controlling everything, courts were extravagant, and changes in religion and politics were depicted as rebellions against the royal family. An example of this is the prophet Mani creating Manichaeism in the 3rd Century CE, which later spread to both China and Europe, where it was considered a major rival of Christianity for a time. Whereas the conflict between light and dark is present in all Proto-Indo-European cultures, Iran seems to have taken great relish in elaborating on it.

Iranian mythical heroes, such as Rustam, exist in a number of different contexts, with stories varying based on location, time, and religious sect. Rustam himself is likely based on earlier mythical figures (he bares notable similarities to Heracles), whereas others like Hatim T'ai were historical figures (in this case an Arab chief) who had mythic elements added to their narratives over time.

Magic in Iran has a long and proud lineage, with Iran being considered a world centre for occult knowledge in the medieval period. A number of notable grimoires came from Iran. Owing to its notable magical tradition, magic often has a place in the Iranian epic tradition, such as in the *Bakhtyar Nama*. Love stories also appear often in Iranian folklore, with a number appearing in the *Shahnameh* of Ferdowsi, of which many later ended up in corrupted forms in the *One Thousand and One Arabian Nights*. There are also fables along the lines of those of Aesop.

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Smith, M. (1972). "Indian and Persian folklore and mythology", in Leach, M. (ed) *Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend*. 3rd ed. p.516-518