Iranian folklore

Iranian folklore, including jokes, legends, games, folklore heroes and beliefs is sophisticated and complex.

folklore Heroes

*"Pourya-ye Vali"
*"Hasan Kachal" "Hasan the Bald"
*"Khaleh Soskeh" "Auntie cockroach"
*"Hossen e Kurd e shabestari" "The Kurdish Hossen of Shabestar"
*"Karim shereyee" "Karim the addict"
*"Baba shammal"
*"Koroghlu" (Iranian Azarbaijan)
*"Mathar Fulad-zereh" "Mother of Fulad-zereh" [ [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v10f3/v10f301.html Encyclopaedia Iranica (article by M. Omidsalar)] ]
*"Otour-khan Rashti"
*"Churchill" used for any mischievous person in oral folklore
*"Jaffar Jenni" or "Zaffar Jenni"
* "Ya'qub-i Laith" is a popular folk hero in Iranian history, and it was at his court that the revitalization of the Persian language began after two centuries of eclipse by Arabic.cite web
url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9077826/Yaqub-ibn-Laith-as-Saffar
title= "Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari"
publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online
accessdate=2007-07-15] .

folklore books

"Dāstān" in Persian means “story". The genre to which they refer may go back to ancient Iran.It was a widely popular and folkloric form of story-telling: dastan-tellers tend to tell their tile in coffee houses.They told tales of heroic romance and adventure,stories about gallant princes and their encounters with evil kings, enemy champions, demons, magicians,Jinns, divine creatures, tricky Robin Hood-like persons (called ayyārs), and beautiful princesses who might be human or of the Peri (“fairy”) race.

*"Samak-e Ayyar":An ancient fictional book about an Iranian ayyār [ [http://www.farsiebook.com/ebook/1348.htm Download the book in Persian] ] (6th century AH) written by Faramaz Ibn Khodad(Faramarz son of Khodad)( _fa. فرامرز بن خداداد بن عبدالله الکاتب الارجانی )
*"Darabnameh":An ancient book of 12th Century A.D, written by Abu Tahir Tarasusi,that's a fictional book about the Alexander and Dara [ [http://www.geocities.com/pieterderideaux/tarsusi.html tarsusi ] ]
*"Firuzshahnama"
*"Dastan-e Amir Hamza" "The adeventure of Amir Hamze" [ [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00litlinks/hamzah/index.html Dastan-e Amir Hamzah or Amir Hamza, extended version ] ] [ [http://amirhamza.blogspot.com/ The Adventures Of Amir Hamza ] ]

folklore oral legends and tales

*"Boz boz ghandi"Suger goat"
*"Shangol o Mangol o Habeh-e-Angur"
*"Maah pishoni" "(the girl with)Moon(sign)in her brow"
*"Kadou ghelghelehzan" "The trundle gourd"
*"Sarma Pirezan"Grand mother COLD"

folklore creatures

*"Karkadann"
*"Davaal paa" ( _fa. دووال پا ) "lasso-leg creature"
*"Aal" [The placenta was cut and immediately it was poked with a pin or a needle to frighten bad spirits such as ‘Al’. These spirits were closely associated with death of the baby or the mother or anything else that could go wrong at this time. Zoroastrians believed in a number of such dark spirits attacking the mother and the newborn and ‘Al’ resembles the ancient spirits [http://www.iranchamber.com/culture/articles/rituals_of_birth_birthday.php] .]
*"Bakhtak" ( _fa. بختک )"Nightmare" A ghost or an evil creature that cause Sleep paralysis [see also [http://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%AA%DA%A9 Persian Wikipedia page about Bakhtak] ]
*"Genie" " elf, goblin"
*"Div" "Daeva "
*"Peri"
*"Zār" ( _fa. زآر) A ritual in some of the south coastal Iranian provinces that is a kind of spiritual "trance" dance. In some cases it can go for a long time,until the dancer drops down of exhaustion [See also [http://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1_(%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C Persian Wikipedia page about Zaar ritual in Iran] ]
*"Takam" "The king of goats", a male goat, in the folklore of Azarbaijan.

folklore games

::folklore Physical games:*"Amo Zangirbaff" "Uncle chain-weaver":*"Attal Mattal Totuleh":*"Ghayyem Moshak":*"Gorgam be Hava":*"Alak dou Lak":*"Bikh divari":*"Ghapp bazi" "knucklebone Playing":*"Khar polis" "Donkey-Cop" :*"Aftaab Mahtab" "Sunshine Moonlight":*"Ganiyeh":*"Laay laay"::folklore Card games:*"Hokm":A game for four players [ [http://www.pagat.com/whist/hokm.html How to play Hokm] ] .:*"Ganjafa" [ [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v4f8/v4f8a009.html Encyclopedia Iranica Ganjafa] ] [ [http://www.mibosearch.com/word.aspx?wName=%da%af%d9%86%d8%ac%d9%81%d9%87 Ganjafa(In Persian)] ] :*"Chahâr barg" (4 cards) is another fishing game,also sometimes known as Pâsur,Haft Khâj(seven clubs)or Haft va chahâr, yâzdah(7+4=11).:*"Âs Nas": Perhaps Âs Nas is the game from which modern Poker may have sprung [ [http://playingcards.freewebpages.org/cards79.htm About Âs Nas] ] [cite encyclopedia |last=Jacoby,Morehead|first=Oswald,Albert|title=pokerOrigin and spread|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=2008-01-18|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-253968/poker:

Poker is virtually indistinguishable from an older Persian game called "as nas", a four-hand game played with a 20-card pack, five cards dealt to each player. This coincidence led some students of games to call poker a derivative of as nas, but this theory has been discredited.

.] ::folklore Verbal games:*"Moshereh" (Poetry Game):Every side has to answer the other side with a poem beginig with the last word of the previous poem.:*"Ye Morgh Darm" ("I have a hen" game)::other folklore games:*"Backgammon"

folklore traditional ceremonies

::folklore Nowruz traditional characters
*"Hajji Firuz "traditional herald of Nowruz.
*"Kouseh Bar Neshin"(کوسه بر نشین)(A Nowruz folklore Tradition)
*"Mir Nowrouzi" "Temporary king of Nowruz times"(A Nowruz folklore Tradition)::folklore religious ceremonies
*"Omar koushoun" "Killing of Umar" .A fest for ceremonical killing of Umar ibn Sa'ad, falsly mistaken with Umar.
* Iranian folklore of Mourning in Muharram and Ashura "Iranian way of folkloric mourning in mourning of Muharram" [cite encyclopedia |last=Chelkowsky |first=Peter | title=THE PASSION (TA'ZIA) OF HOSAYN | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica | accessdate=2008-01-18|url=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v12f5/v12f5036d.html] [cite encyclopedia |last=Calmard |first=J. | title='AZAÚDAÚRÈ | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica | accessdate=2008-01-18|url=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v3f2/v3f2a063.html] [cite encyclopedia |last=MARZOLPH |first=ULRICH | title=FOLKLORE STUDIES | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica | accessdate=2008-01-18|url=http://www.iranica.com/articles/v10f1/v10f116a.html:

"As a result, some topics, especially those of religious relevance (such as the Ta'zieh; see Homayun, 1989; Idem, 1976; Idem, 1998; cf. Waklian, 1991) are prioritized"

] Failed verification|date=January 2008::other folklore traditions
*Taarof

folklore characters in jokes

*"Molla Nasr al din"
*"Dakho" (دخو)

folklore beliefs

*"Ajîleh Moshkel Goshâ" "The problem-solving nuts" of Chaharshanbe Suri [Serving different kinds of pastry and nuts known as Ajîleh Moshkel Goshâ (lit. The problem-solving nuts) is the Chahârshanbe Sûrî way of giving thanks for the previous year's health and happiness, while exchanging any remaining paleness and evil for the warmth and vibrancy of the fire. [http://fz-az.fotopages.com/?entry=1105809] ] [ [http://openlearningcenter.blogfa.com/post-177.aspx دنیای مجازی یا فاجعه مجازی در ایران - قاشق زنی، آجيل مشکل گشا، پريدن از روی آتش، فالگوش ايستادن ] ]
*"Cheshm Nazar"(چشم نظر)and "Nazar Ghorboni"(نظرقربونی): That is a pendant or gemstone or likewise that is used as necklace to protect its owner from Evil_eye [M.Moin:A Persian Dictionary, 3rd edition, Page 4752(In Persian)] .Compare with Nazar (amulet).

folklore music and dance

Pimps, prostitutes and mobs with folkloric significance

*"Fatemeh Arreh" (A character originally in One Thousand and One Nights)
*"Zaal Mamad" (A character, showing a sinister person)

See also

* Shahnameh
*Persian mythology
*Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari a historical Ayyar and Iranian king
*Bazaar

Further reading

*Mohammad-Ali Naqib-al-Mamalek, Amir Arsalan-e Rumi, ed. M. J. Mahjub, Tehran, 1340 sh./1961
*German translation: R. Gelpke as Amir Arsalan: Liebe und Abenteuer des Amir Arsalan, Zurich, 1965
* [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00litlinks/hamzah/index.html Dastan of Amir Hamzah]
*

References

External links

* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-230063/Iran Daily life and social customs] An article by Encyclopedia Britanica Online
* [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v10f1/v10f116a.html Folkore studies of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan] An article by Encyclopedia Iranica
* [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v10f1/v10f115.html Folk Poetry] An article by Encyclopedia Iranica
* [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v12f5/v12f5036d.html The passion (t'azia) of Hussein ibn 'Ali] by Peter Chelkowski, an article of Encyclopædia Iranica.
* [http://www.jadidonline.com/images/stories/flash_multimedia/Iranzamintest/iranzamin_high.html Multimedia of Iranian story telling ("Naghaali" )by children]
* [http://www.pagat.com/national/iran.html Card games in Iran]
* [http://www.geocities.com/pasurbazi/ Pasurbazi (In Persian)]
* [http://www.mibosearch.com/word.aspx?wName=%da%af%d9%86%d8%ac%d9%81%d9%87 Ganjafeh (In Persian)]