Search published articles
Showing 34 results for Motif
Volume 1, Issue 1 (1-2013)
Abstract
Abstract:
Zarrin Qabā Nāme is a huge verse in 23133 couplets that probably has been versified in the Safavid period. Its poet is unknown and beginning of itś matter is coming of Solomonś messenger (Zarrin-qabā) to Keyxosrowś court and his confronting with Iranians. Afterwards several stories are narrated that their important persons are Sistanś heroes. Structure, language and content of Zarrin-Qabā-Nāme are storytelling-folklotic. Therefore, studying of its important motifs is useful in knowing and completion of Iranian folk- storytelling literatureś motifs. In this paper, some of these kinds of points and motifs are studied in four parts: 1) Semitic and Islamic matters 2) Rare and single indications, 3) Other matters and contents, and 4) Modeling from other stories.
abstract abstract abstract abstract abstract
Volume 1, Issue 1 (1-2013)
Abstract
Abstract: The motifs are elemental in keeping the structural, semantic and aesthetic consistency of Persian tales. Multiple and often uncertain origins have been counted for fictional motifs, such as mythical and religious narratives, folklores, history and so on. Over the centuries, the motifs have undergone shifts and variations, and transferred from one domain to another. Having been considered as a multi-dimensional bird for possessing various and often contrasting features and functions, "The Raven" also acts as a multi-functional motif in Iranian culture. The function of the raven in texts and narratives has two main origins: mythical and religious. In the first, the raven is linked with the Sun and light, acting as the messenger of the Sun God, brings good omen, and embodies wisdom and foresight; and the second one makes the raven to penetrate the beliefs and mentalitys of men through the story of fratricide of Cain, and thus symbolize death and darkness. The study of how the function and motif of raven have undergone shifts and variations through myth to religion and folklore is the purpose of this paper. The investigation of the function of raven in texts, tales and proverbs, and the analysis of its stability or alteration would bring to light chief and critical points about the (dis)similarity of myth and religion, and the role of raven in Iranian people's attitudes and folklore.
Elham Dehghan, Mohammad Taghavi,
Volume 2, Issue 8 (12-2009)
Volume 2, Issue 8 (12-2009)
Abstract
English
Volume 3, Issue 2 (10-2015)
Abstract
Maulana J'alalu·'d-din Muhammad Rumi and Walt Whitman are two of the greatest and most influential poets of the world. Nicholson considers Rumi as the greatest Sufi poet of all time, and the United Nations (UN) has named the year 2007 after him. Walt Whitman, on the other hand, is the poet who is entitled the father of the American Free Verse, and forms the third column of the trinity of American transcendentalism along with Emerson and Thoreau. Despite linguistic, cultural, temporal and spatial differences, both poets consider language an insufficient tool for the expression of the transcendental and mystical thoughts; hence, their readership is invitation for silence. Undoubtedly the poets have some differences in silence motif, which is rooted in their culture and language. Rumi denies language courageously to the extent that some of his ghazals end in silence. Whitman, too, expresses his concern for silence spasmodically; however, the real silence in his poetry happens when he invites the readers to be united with nature. In this paper, the authors have investigated the silence motif in the poetry of Rumi and Whitman using the theories “analogies without contact” and “Rapprochemen” within the domain of comparative literature.
Volume 3, Issue 4 (12-2012)
Abstract
Novels created by women in recent years are similar in many aspects like plot, point of view, character, etc. This paper tries to analyze and compare the theme of four novels written by female novelists. It seems that in these four novels, there are many proportion in themes and motifs. To achieve this aim, we first explain the theme and then analyze the theme of novels in the two aspects of theme and motif. The results showed that the theme and motif of the novels are too similar. The main reason behind such similarities is similar discourse of the creators of these novels.
Volume 4, Issue 9 (7-2016)
Abstract
The study of Persian storyteller's scrolls (Tumārs) as written documents of Iranian epic tradition, is sometimes difficult due to their massive volumes and intricate stories. However, dividing these texts into their elements facilitates inter-textual analyses. With the use of the global motif-index of folk literature, a framework will be shaped to index motifs for Tumārs. This motif-index enables easier access to each motif in different narratives, rooting the motifs and analysis of development, evolution, influences and survival of each motif in different eras as well as comparative studies of narratives. This index also will facilitate a basis for analytical and stylistic study of Tumārs according to their motifs. The purpose of this article is to show the consistency of global motif-index with Persian folk tales especially epic tales and a kind of text analysis with this pattern. By indexing motifs of Rostam's seven labors in Haft lashkar, this paper aims to show that the framework of motif-index is consistent with Persian folk narratives and by analyzing the motifs of this tale, some little characteristics of Persian Tumārs are shown. Hence, it highlights the richness of Iranian folk literature and tradition by adding new motifs to the global index. This kind of indexing can be used as a framework for all Persian folktales to manage all those massive stories and for easier access to their contents.
Volume 4, Issue 14 (3-2007)
Abstract
Zolfaghari. H.,PH.D
Abstract:
One of the stories of Nezami’s Haft Peykar is named Bahram Goor and his female slave "Fetneh" in hunting-ground. Nezami has extracted this story from very simple, short, schema-scheme and temporal Ferdowsi's narration and developed it and has added the second part to it. After Nezami, Amir Khosro Dehlavi (752-651) has mentioned this story in Hasht Behesht and Abdi Beyk Navidi Shirazi (988-921) has brought it in Haft Akhtar. Both of them are the imitation from Nezami's Haft Peykar. Amir Khosro has brought the middle part of story with little changes in comparison with Nezami narration and Abdi Beyk has added the range of changes.
By comparing and analyzing of these Four Narrations, we find out that Nezami's skill about narrative elements, motifs and moral, mental aspects has preference over the other narrations.
This comparison has been done with the view of the narrative structure not verbal aspects and expressive, stylistic devices. At the end of this article, for example, we only narrate the description of female slave from Four Narrations, so that the reader compares oneself.
In the beginning of the paper, not only do we introduce four works and reports of Four Narrations, but also present the narrative motifs, and consider the aspects of similarity and difference of narrations with the use of a chart.
Volume 4, Issue 15 (6-2007)
Abstract
Tawousi.M.,PH.D
Samini. N.,PH.D.
Mohandespoor.F.
Abstract:
This paper briefly approaches the views, looked into the origins of A Thousand and One Night, based on narrative, historical, ecological and regional proofs and specifically focusing on the protagonist, Scheherazade, through her motifs and mythological origins.
The archetypes, on which Scheherazade is created, have been studied as the motifs forming her thoughtful and practical character. Through such an exploration, we have found out that Scheherazade manifests two Iranian archetypical motifs: "Existence for Combat" and "Resurrection Oriented Conclusion".
Volume 5, Issue 3 (12-2017)
Abstract
During the Safavid era, communications between Iran and India became deeper than before due to the common official language. Persian romantic stories were among the written works during this period in the countries. The question is: "Are Persian romantic stories in the Safavid era in Iran and India fully similar due to the concurrency, common language and existence of similar structures, or have distinction due to different cultural environment?" Some Researches has been done on the storytelling of the Safavid period, But so far, there has been no works published on the influence of intellectual motifs on the Iranian and Indian Persian stories in any of the topics.
In this paper, it has been attempted to answer the question, by analyzing the content of the Stories. Of course, the assumption of this research is that there are many similarities in language, structure, sequences and character's functions in the Persian romantic stories in Iran and India, but despite these similarities, there is a different worldview and attitude towards the characters and events. These differences include: "Death of the lovers at the end of the story", "Girl's freedom in choosing a spouse", "supernatural creatures’ role", “presence of Mysticism and Sufism, "animals’ impact in the story ", "presence of Indian characters" and "independence of the source" that would help to understand the stories written in India from Iranian stories.
Volume 5, Issue 12 (3-2017)
Abstract
In this study, we have investigated Sam battles; the hero of Sam Nameh; applying structural research methodology. To this goal, at first , the collection of battles have been categorized in five agents such as subject , battle’s motif , battle adversary, adjuvants , and the results of battle. Then, by summarizing table data, we reached nine total conclusions related to the battle’s structure of this poems. At the next step, by reducing these nine conclusions, we obtained three general formula. The main function of Sam nameh hero’s battles is to highlight an exaggerated hero who is always victorious. In a non-linear study and regarding sender / motif pairs, the progress of battles is separable. The first class includes hero’s battles from beginning of the story till his departure to the land of Shadad A’d and then his battles with the king of china and his army by the motif of love.
Second class has been devoted to the collection of hero’s battles with regard to religious motifs and other marginal factors. Also, Sam Nameh hero’s is an independent actant who do not obey any king. Considering this fact and absence of no national motif , it is possible to say that Sam Nameh is not an epic work , rather this is a love story whose poet intervention in order to shape a an affected discourse has made it an exclusive work with special structures.
Volume 5, Issue 12 (3-2017)
Abstract
In this study, we have investigated Sam battles; the hero of Sam Nameh; applying structural research methodology. To this goal, at first , the collection of battles have been categorized in five agents such as subject , battle’s motif , battle adversary, adjuvants , and the results of battle. Then, by summarizing table data, we reached nine total conclusions related to the battle’s structure of this poems. At the next step, by reducing these nine conclusions, we obtained three general formula. The main function of Sam nameh hero’s battles is to highlight an exaggerated hero who is always victorious. In a non-linear study and regarding sender / motif pairs, the progress of battles is separable. The first class includes hero’s battles from beginning of the story till his departure to the land of Shadad A’d and then his battles with the king of china and his army by the motif of love.
Second class has been devoted to the collection of hero’s battles with regard to religious motifs and other marginal factors. Also, Sam Nameh hero’s is an independent actant who do not obey any king. Considering this fact and absence of no national motif , it is possible to say that Sam Nameh is not an epic work , rather this is a love story whose poet intervention in order to shape a an affected discourse has made it an exclusive work with special structures.
Volume 5, Issue 12 (3-2017)
Abstract
The folk legends are considered as a part of valuable treasure of each culture. In Azarbayjan, legends have irrefrangible connection with the name Aşig, since , they are the heir of all epic , martial, festive stories of Azerbayjan. In one of this stories entitled Asli and Karam the hero of the story is similar to Qognos. All the story get vivified by lyrics of the hero, but at the end he burns and changes to ashes. This story connects with the elements of extraordinariness. In this study, the motifs of extraordinariness as apple, dream, wine of love and etc. are studied. The text of story is totally full of love motifs. This story begins with the birth of story’s hero with an apple and ends in the motif of magic cloth. The hero of the story has a passive personality and just suffers, and tolerates. For this reason the story lacks the epic aspects. This article investigates the motifs of Asli and Karam story
Volume 6, Issue 4 (2-2017)
Abstract
Volume 7, Issue 3 (11-2016)
Abstract
The increasing rate of depositing new protein sequences and structures to biological databases such as Protein Data Bank (PDB) indicates the importance of structural comparison to explore the evolutionary relationship among different protein families, prediction of function in annotated proteins and classification of protein structure and folds. Due to the high computational cost, protein multiple structural alignment programs in comparison with the conventional multiple sequence alignment programs are slower and represent approximate answers. Therefore, designing new algorithms is an open problem. In this paper, a novel algorithm named PSNetAl for multiple structural alignments of proteins based on graph matching is introduced. PSNetAl inputs are protein structural files in PDB format. Undirected, distance-based graphs are constructed from pdb input files and multiple alignments of graphs are performed by a progressive algorithm. The largest common subgraph as the output of multiple alignment includes the common nodes among all networks. If there is any structural or evolutionary similarity among networks, it will be expected after multiple alignments structural motifs to be present in the largest common subgraph. To evaluate the functionality of PSNetAl, a dataset containing 76 protein families with 50-90% sequence identity and at least 3 members were extracted from HOMSTRAD database. The obtained results show in 67 out of 76 families more than 90% of structural motifs are observed in the largest common subgraph of the multiple alignment.
Volume 8, Issue 4 (3-2019)
Abstract
Aims Sacred architecture is a reflector of divine beauties, and it is an illustrative example of the combination and association of symbolic forms with our deep beliefs and this connection can be expressed in the deepest mysterious layers of the altar. The altar is the most important part of the religious building. In the history of architectural decorations in Islamic art, altar has always embedded the best and most valuable examples in terms of style and in terms of motifs as well as calligraphy values. The Aljaito altar, in terms of the art of Stucco used in it, is in the rank of the most beautiful works of the Ilkhani era. In this research, the study of the herbal designs of the altar, the characteristics, and generalities of the motifs and the patterns governing them are the aim of the research.
Instruments & Methods Through library and field studies, we have identified the decoration of the altar of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan. The research method is descriptive-analytical and uses architectural software.
Findings & Conclusion The following results were obtained by examining the designs and decorations of Aljaito altar: 81 patterns of herbal design were extracted from the altar designs, with a range of 28% horizontal rectangle, 22% circle, 21% pentagon, 15% vertical rectangular, 7% star, 6% square, and 1% Shamseh; the majority of it included horizontal rectangle. Also, the dominant line in Aljaito altar designs adhered to 100% of the curve pattern, and 85% were completely non-symmetrical and 15% was vertical to the axis in the herbal designs.
Instruments & Methods Through library and field studies, we have identified the decoration of the altar of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan. The research method is descriptive-analytical and uses architectural software.
Findings & Conclusion The following results were obtained by examining the designs and decorations of Aljaito altar: 81 patterns of herbal design were extracted from the altar designs, with a range of 28% horizontal rectangle, 22% circle, 21% pentagon, 15% vertical rectangular, 7% star, 6% square, and 1% Shamseh; the majority of it included horizontal rectangle. Also, the dominant line in Aljaito altar designs adhered to 100% of the curve pattern, and 85% were completely non-symmetrical and 15% was vertical to the axis in the herbal designs.
Volume 9, Issue 4 (2-2020)
Abstract
Problem Decorative and geometrical experiences are an integral part of Iranian art and traditional architecture in the Islamic era, which has provoked the acclaim of many pundits in this area. One of the challenges of contemporary Islamic architecture is the lack of discourse between traditional and modern approaches to create geometry and new forms.
Aims The purpose of this study will be to produce 3D geometric decoration based on the principles of Gestalt aesthetics so that these forms will be shaped by sound frequencies resulting from the reading of the Quran at the different tunes.
Methods To achieve the desired goals through library and field studies, firstly, recognition and classification of the Quran tunes, then examining the relationship between parametric architecture and music, has been used to analyze them from descriptive-analytical research methods. Then, the modeling methods and pattern deformation based on the principles of Gestalt aesthetics have been studied. Finally, three-dimensional geometric patterns are mapped into a computer simulation method with Rhino software and Grasshopper plugin based on audio input from the Quran.
The result of this study indicated that the mathematical relationship between parametric architecture and Iranian music can be used to create unique dimensional shells, coordinate with valuable features of context-based architecture,
Conclusion Mathematical language can be used as a link between parametric architecture and musical tunes used in the reading of the Quran. Also, 3D shells which are produced with the Islamic architecture approach can play an applied role in the beautification of the urban highways.
Aims The purpose of this study will be to produce 3D geometric decoration based on the principles of Gestalt aesthetics so that these forms will be shaped by sound frequencies resulting from the reading of the Quran at the different tunes.
Methods To achieve the desired goals through library and field studies, firstly, recognition and classification of the Quran tunes, then examining the relationship between parametric architecture and music, has been used to analyze them from descriptive-analytical research methods. Then, the modeling methods and pattern deformation based on the principles of Gestalt aesthetics have been studied. Finally, three-dimensional geometric patterns are mapped into a computer simulation method with Rhino software and Grasshopper plugin based on audio input from the Quran.
The result of this study indicated that the mathematical relationship between parametric architecture and Iranian music can be used to create unique dimensional shells, coordinate with valuable features of context-based architecture,
Conclusion Mathematical language can be used as a link between parametric architecture and musical tunes used in the reading of the Quran. Also, 3D shells which are produced with the Islamic architecture approach can play an applied role in the beautification of the urban highways.
Volume 9, Issue 38 (5-2021)
Abstract
Lullabies are one of the most important and valuable branches of popular culture in any ethnic group. The theme of lullabies is the reflection of thoughts, beliefs, spiritual reflections, social and political concerns, emotions, prayers and individual and social aspirations that can affect the geographical, cultural, social, and political conditions of a society. Because lullabies are not specific to a particular culture or country, they can have a lot in common, which may be in terms of rhythm, theme, concepts, as well as religious topos, natural, social, geographical, and political motifs and themes. In this descriptive-analytical study, 40 written Sabzevari lullabies have been collected by the library method to be examined. While identifying the method of the motif formation in them, the most commonly used motifs are presented in order to introduce the native lullabies of Sabzevar and to understand the reflection of religious ideas, social conditions and personal concerns of mothers of that time. After examining the various motifs in these lullabies, we were able to divide them into four categories: religious motifs, nature, places and relatives. Among the motifs used, the motif "flower" (the name of different types of flowers) with 26 items and the motif "Baba" with 16 items had the highest frequency. The results of this study show that the speakers of these lullabies have used a variety of motifs to enrich the theme of their lullabies because their poets have based the existing images and themes on various motifs, most of which form a network of images, their intellectual and emotional themes. Without analyzing them, recognizing the main peculiarities of the concepts in these lullabies could not be understood.
Volume 9, Issue 42 (12-2021)
Abstract
Research background
No article is published on the analysis of Hani and Shaimorid's story. Of course, some books have reported its poems. In addition to giving an account of the first edition of the story, the book Baluchi Romances in verse written by Jahandideh (2011) has also offered the related poems. Faqirshad (2016) has offered poems of the first story together with a report of the story in the book Legacy quoting the musicians' songs. He has published them in Karachi, Pakistan. Rakhshani (2015) has published some poems of the second edition of the story known as Baluchi culture and epic literature in Karachi.
Objectives, questions, and assumptions
Baluchi poem stories are a part of Iranian literature being unknown for non-Baluch Persians and Iranians. In addition to discussing Baluch culture and literature, the publication of these poems can give more acceptable results by investigating similar stories in the Persian literature. In this research, we try to answer the following questions:
Which Iranian regions does Hani and Shaimorid's story belong to? What is the place of this story in Baluchi literature? What are the main motifs of the story?
Main discussion
In literary criticism, motif is one of the important items discussed in the motif field studies when studying the works and thoughts of the author and understanding the relationship between form and content as well as many other different performances. In addition to literature, it is also used in other fields (Jafarpour & Alavi Moghadam, 2012, p. 42). According to the motifs of the stories, the stories can be classified into wonderful stories, love stories, dignity stories, epic stories, etc. (Parsa Nasab, 2009, p. 27).
The main motif of Hani and Shaimorid's story is love. Both heroes love each other and this motif brings about other incidents and motifs. In the classification of different stories, it is regarded as a love story due to its main motif, i.e. love, but it also has some features of epic, dignity, and mystical stories. According to the classification offered by Mirsadeghi, in terms of motif and content, this story has a love and emotional motif and a justice-seeking content. To reach his beloved, the hero of the story undergoes different incidents, and in fact, the hero fights the evils for the sake of love. An important point of such stories is the single beloved (Mirsadeghi, 2015, pp. 103-114). While loving Hani, Shaimorid fights against Mir Chaker's oppression and calls him an oppressor, and Hani warns Mir Chaker of his dirty job in her forced marriage, and seeks for justice until the end of his life.
Conclusion
Hani and Shaimorid's story is the most famous Baluchi poetic and love story. Examining this story, it can be concluded that the story has various motifs, the most important of which are: love, heroic, dignity, and mystical motifs. The story begins with the heroic motif "keeping the promise". Meeting the promise, another heroic motif "generosity" forms, and due to the rival's deception, Shaimorid is forced to give up his unseen fiancée to protect his "reputation". After seeing Hani, his love begins and the story continues with various love motifs. The most important love motifs of the story are as follows: Lover's love at first sight, two-way constant love, hidden meetings, lover's insanity, sending letters and messages, love rival, a wicked woman, virginity, and writing poetry; other motifs include: heroic motifs such as keeping the promise, generosity, tolerating difficulties, being nocturnal, disguising, war skills, traveling and leaving the homeland, chastity; some of the dignity motifs are eternal life, youth revival, capture in nature and prediction; the mystical motifs are mendicant and reprehensible appearance, nicknames of the aged, disciple and the sanctity believed by people after disappearing.
References
Jafarpour, M., & Alavi Moghaddam, M. (2012). The structure of Amir Arsalan's fictional themes. Journal of Persian Literature Textbook, 2, 39-60.
Mirsadeghi, J. (2015). Fiction. Sokhan Publications.
Parsansab, M. (2009). Motifs: definitions, types, directions, etc. Literary Criticism Quarterly, 2(5), 7-41
No article is published on the analysis of Hani and Shaimorid's story. Of course, some books have reported its poems. In addition to giving an account of the first edition of the story, the book Baluchi Romances in verse written by Jahandideh (2011) has also offered the related poems. Faqirshad (2016) has offered poems of the first story together with a report of the story in the book Legacy quoting the musicians' songs. He has published them in Karachi, Pakistan. Rakhshani (2015) has published some poems of the second edition of the story known as Baluchi culture and epic literature in Karachi.
Objectives, questions, and assumptions
Baluchi poem stories are a part of Iranian literature being unknown for non-Baluch Persians and Iranians. In addition to discussing Baluch culture and literature, the publication of these poems can give more acceptable results by investigating similar stories in the Persian literature. In this research, we try to answer the following questions:
Which Iranian regions does Hani and Shaimorid's story belong to? What is the place of this story in Baluchi literature? What are the main motifs of the story?
Main discussion
In literary criticism, motif is one of the important items discussed in the motif field studies when studying the works and thoughts of the author and understanding the relationship between form and content as well as many other different performances. In addition to literature, it is also used in other fields (Jafarpour & Alavi Moghadam, 2012, p. 42). According to the motifs of the stories, the stories can be classified into wonderful stories, love stories, dignity stories, epic stories, etc. (Parsa Nasab, 2009, p. 27).
The main motif of Hani and Shaimorid's story is love. Both heroes love each other and this motif brings about other incidents and motifs. In the classification of different stories, it is regarded as a love story due to its main motif, i.e. love, but it also has some features of epic, dignity, and mystical stories. According to the classification offered by Mirsadeghi, in terms of motif and content, this story has a love and emotional motif and a justice-seeking content. To reach his beloved, the hero of the story undergoes different incidents, and in fact, the hero fights the evils for the sake of love. An important point of such stories is the single beloved (Mirsadeghi, 2015, pp. 103-114). While loving Hani, Shaimorid fights against Mir Chaker's oppression and calls him an oppressor, and Hani warns Mir Chaker of his dirty job in her forced marriage, and seeks for justice until the end of his life.
Conclusion
Hani and Shaimorid's story is the most famous Baluchi poetic and love story. Examining this story, it can be concluded that the story has various motifs, the most important of which are: love, heroic, dignity, and mystical motifs. The story begins with the heroic motif "keeping the promise". Meeting the promise, another heroic motif "generosity" forms, and due to the rival's deception, Shaimorid is forced to give up his unseen fiancée to protect his "reputation". After seeing Hani, his love begins and the story continues with various love motifs. The most important love motifs of the story are as follows: Lover's love at first sight, two-way constant love, hidden meetings, lover's insanity, sending letters and messages, love rival, a wicked woman, virginity, and writing poetry; other motifs include: heroic motifs such as keeping the promise, generosity, tolerating difficulties, being nocturnal, disguising, war skills, traveling and leaving the homeland, chastity; some of the dignity motifs are eternal life, youth revival, capture in nature and prediction; the mystical motifs are mendicant and reprehensible appearance, nicknames of the aged, disciple and the sanctity believed by people after disappearing.
References
Jafarpour, M., & Alavi Moghaddam, M. (2012). The structure of Amir Arsalan's fictional themes. Journal of Persian Literature Textbook, 2, 39-60.
Mirsadeghi, J. (2015). Fiction. Sokhan Publications.
Parsansab, M. (2009). Motifs: definitions, types, directions, etc. Literary Criticism Quarterly, 2(5), 7-41
Volume 10, Issue 44 (5-2022)
Abstract
Girl in a Fur Coat is the name of a motif in which a girl escapes her father's harassment. She is looking for a way to escape and find the solution in a skin that covers her from head to toe. This motif, which is classified in the Arne-Thompson list under number 510B, is called "donkey skin". In the classification of Iranian tales, it is called "Cinderella" and in the classification of Arabic tales it is called "shirt like the sun, shirt like the moon and shirt like the stars". This article tries to introduce the mentioned type because it is not well-known among Iranian researchers of folk literature. In addition, by using the collection of works in which the folk tales of Iran as well as the lands of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Sudan, Palestine, Iraq and Jordan are gathered, the Iranian and Arabic narratives are analyzed. To this aim, these narrations can be divided into several categories. Studies show that based on the girl's solution to escape from her father's house, the narrations of this motif can be divided into three categories: 1-510B: The girl hidden in the object; 2-510B: Girl in a fur coat / wooden mannequin; 3-510B: The girl and her brother. Also, this research, based on Propp's hypertext model, seeks to find the beliefs and customs that make up the "fur-clad girl". Myths and customs found in Zurvanism and Zoroastrianism can be considered as the origin for this type in Iranian stories, because it mentions the intercourse of Ahura Mazda with his mother, sister and daughter, and considers "xᵛaētuuadaθa" a ritual and sacred act.
Volume 10, Issue 46 (9-2022)
Abstract
History of the research
The present research is conducted based on Baloch oral narratives and songs of minstrels known as "Pahlavans". The main source of the story is the narrative of the minstrel known as "Kamalan Hout" popular mainly at the center and south of Balochistan. In the present article, we have stated the content and analyzed the main motifs of the story using the descriptive and analytical methods and sometimes using the comparative study according to the existing poems and narrations and collection of data extracted by library studies.
Aims, questions, and hypothese:
Balochi verse stories are a part of Iranian literature being unknown for non-Baloch and Iranians. In addition to popularization of Baloch culture and literature, publication of these poems can result in more acceptable conclusions in research adapting some similar stories in Iranian literature. In this research, we try to answer the following questions:
1. Which Iranian nations the Bālāč epic belong to?
2. What is the place of the story in Balochi literature?
3. What are the main motifs of the story?
Introduction of Bālāč story
The story has four main heroes: Dōdā, Bālāč, Nakibō and Bibagr. In Balochi culture and literature, Dōdā is the symbol of dedication and protection, Bālāč is the symbol of retaliation, Nakibō is the symbol of loyal friend, and Bibagr is the symbol of dictatorship and depredation.
Dōdā and Bālāč were brothers and Dōdā was older and newlywed, and Bālāč was 12 years old. To revenge his brother's death killed to defend him, Bālāč only had Nakibō by his side, his butler. Hence, they agreed to revenge his death. They first resorted to the famous Sufi "Osman Marvandi" known as "Qalandar Laal Shahbaz". They both went to his tomb in Sēvan. To attract the cooperation of Nakibō, Bālāč made a big promise to him: he swore in Laal Shahbaz court that if Nakibō helps to kill the murderer of his brother, he will give Dōdā's widow wife, horse, clothe, and throne to him.
Bālāč asked Laal Shahbaz once to give him a power to run so fast to take the deer. His prayer was granted and he could take deer in the plain. Therefore, Bālāč trusted his power and asked the permission of Shahbaz to leave there to take part in battle. After bearing many hardships, Bālāč and Nakibō could revenge the brother's death finally. Sometime later, Nakibō said to Bālāč: "you promised me to let me marry Dōdā's widow after overcoming the enemy. Now, it's the time to do as you promised".
Bālāč thought if Dōdā's widow married Nakibō, he would be reprimanded by people saying: Bālāč made Dōdā's widow marry his butler. To get rid of the irritating thoughts of Nakibō's good deeds, Bālāč put an arrow in the bow and shot it at Nakibō's chest and he died. Betraying his loyal friend, Bālāč broke his oath in Laal Shahbaz court, he picked his arrow and bow to return to his homeland. However, due to breaking his oath, his eyes came out of his sockets and fell on the soil when he had only taken about seven steps. Then, he crawled toward Nakibō and regretted it. Finally, he died beside him due to the pain and sorrow.
Main discussion
Epic is one of the main types of literature of which various definitions are offered by researchers. Epic is a narrative poem with the heroic theme and national feature in which unusual events are happening (Shafiei Kadkani, 1993, p.9). Bālāč epic is one of the most famous Balochi epic stories existing for hundreds of years.
Today, in literature studies and research, motifs and their function are the most important issues to study and analyze the literary works. A motif is the element, event, speech, subject or theme repeated in literary works and is often evident in one or more stories concurrently or non-concurrently in the stories of one age or different ages, the stories of one nation or different nations, and sometimes in special types of stories (Parsanasab, 2009, p. 23)
Motifs are similar in the world's literature, because the circulation of literature works originates from common needs of audiences and is affected by the unconscious collective fact of humans in different eras so that common archetypes lead to similar motifs (Dori, 2019, p. 82)
According to the definition, motifs of Bālāč story are very diverse, but since the story is epic, heroism and epic motifs are more prominent.
Conclusions
Bālāč story is the most famous Balochi epics. Over time, narrators have used epic, heroic, dignified and wonderful motifs to narrate it and have made it dynamic. The story includes supernatural and miracle features so that the story's events are mixed with supernatural themes. In the story, epic and heroic motifs are more frequent due to their epic. Motifs of Bālāč epic include: epic motifs such as hero, bravery, revenge, fast run, deception, night battles, unique horse, bearing hardships, swearing, warfare skills, taking an oath and fraternity; dignity motifs such as meeting the saints, hearing revelations and prediction, prayer and its granting, dream; wonderful motifs such as Bālāč's eyes coming out of his sockets after breaking his oath, and Bālāč and Nakibō being invincible against the powerful enemy. The main motif of the story is taking revenge.
Bibliography
Dori, N., & Zareapour, P. (2019). Comparative study of common motifs in court love literature (Tristan and Iseult Romance and Khosro and Shirin Poem). Farhangestan Comparative Literature Review, 9(1), 81-105.
Parsanasab, M. (2009). Motif: definitions, types, functions. The Quarterly Journal of Literary Criticism, 5, 7-41.
Shafiei Kadkani, M. (1993). Types of literature. Persian Language and Literature Education Review, 32, 4-9.