Mytho-Mystic Literature Quarterly Journal: 4 (48)

Open Access Article

1 - Techniques of Contraction and Expansion of Narration in Masnavi Manavi (The Case Study: Daquqi Story)
mehrdad Akbari Gandomani Mahdireza Kamali Baniyani

The analysis of narrative functions is one of the most important methods of understanding a story. Series of events that occur naturally or unnaturally in a story lay the foundations of it. The course of events in many stories is a transition from one state to another o More

The analysis of narrative functions is one of the most important methods of understanding a story. Series of events that occur naturally or unnaturally in a story lay the foundations of it. The course of events in many stories is a transition from one state to another one and then returning to the previous situation. Accordingly, anything that keeps suspended the reader at the end of the story, leads to narrative contraction, and anything that causes to openness and continuation of the story, leads to narrative expansion. Since Masnavi Manavi has a nested structure and uses the style of” story-in-story”, it is one of the most notable samples of this technique’s application. In this paper, the story of Daquqi (in the third book of Masnavi) is analyzed. It seems that MulānāJalāl-al Din Rumī, is influenced by internal factors and his own education, has created a kind of allegorical narration; and from the beginning of the story and with regards to the mystical space, the method of story-in-story and etc., he has made his narration a place for successive association of ideas and images. The created narrative contractions and expansions in the story lead to suspensions that creating the enthusiasm of readers for reaching to the end of the story as an obvious result of it. After considering the method of fiction in Masnavi, and explaining the association and its important indices, the present research attempts to divide all verses into three stages of beginning, middle, and end of the story, and to analyze the formation of narrative contraction and expansion in these three stages.   Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

2 - Tileworks of Houses of Shiraz in the Qajar Era: A Mythological Study
Effat-alsadat Afzal Tousi Golnaz Selahi Ladan Selahi

The art of Qajar era has many unique features and characteristics regarding to materials, subjects and execution techniques. One of the notable art products of Qajar period is the tileworks used in private and semi-private sites of palaces and houses of&n More

The art of Qajar era has many unique features and characteristics regarding to materials, subjects and execution techniques. One of the notable art products of Qajar period is the tileworks used in private and semi-private sites of palaces and houses of aristocrats; the use of these tiles peaked especially in the Nasseri era. These tiles reflect the interests and tastes of the people of this period; regarding to themes, execution techniques and depicting the subjects, the tiles show special characteristics. They refer to the simultaneous presence of Iranian, Islamic and western elements in this period. To understand this, we need to know the concept of "archi-myth" and the functions of the myths in the semantic space of art and culture of Qajar era. After explaining the concept of archi-myth, the present article, first, tries to study the dominant myths in the Qajar's art and culture based on the tiles used in the houses of Shiraz; and then some of these tiles are analyzed. The main purpose of the research is to study the visual documents that explain the contemporary theory of archi-myth. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

3 - Leopard in Mythological Beliefs of Semnan Province; Based on the Folklore Legends of Parvar and Shahmirzad Districts
Neda Imani Khoshkhoo Esmat Esmaili

Folklore legends are on the border of imagination and reality; they have a common border with world of myth and are neighbor of real world. The common themes of folklore legends indicate their mythological common contents. Analysis of secrets and signs of legends and my More

Folklore legends are on the border of imagination and reality; they have a common border with world of myth and are neighbor of real world. The common themes of folklore legends indicate their mythological common contents. Analysis of secrets and signs of legends and myths helps to know their cultural development and formation. In the present article, we try to analyze a symbol in legends and myths of Semnan province, and to examine a common symptom in eastern myths. There is a strong resemblance between stories of goddesses and two legends belong to Shahmirzad and Parvar (in Semnan province) in symbol of "leopard". In these legends, leopard distances from its wild nature and becomes a guardian, and accompanies symbolically the main character of the legends that is a "woman". The legends show the mythological beliefs of people of this district about the animal. Given the relationship between leopard and goddesses in the myths, we can say that leopard is a symbol of a goddess in the legend of Parvar, and in the legend of Shamirzad, it is a symbol of guard as well as goddess. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

4 - Hafez's Mystical Experience and Meta-Historical Time
Hātef Siyāh koohiyān

Hafez's mystical experience of sacred and meta-historical time has influenced his imaginations and poetry power. Speaking about extroverted and introvert time as well as chronicle time shows that Hafez has noticed to different areas of time in his ghazals (poems). He be More

Hafez's mystical experience of sacred and meta-historical time has influenced his imaginations and poetry power. Speaking about extroverted and introvert time as well as chronicle time shows that Hafez has noticed to different areas of time in his ghazals (poems). He believes that his poems are a heritage of "the time of Alast" or eternal time. By examining the meanings of eternal time in his poems, we can consider his mystical thoughts from mythological point of view. In his poems, symbolic and mythological images about eternal time refer, aesthetically, to incredible mythological events, like The Creation of Adam. These images show that the poet is present in meta-history and eternal time. In his poems, the characters cross the borders of history and secular time, and become mythological figures. In his ghazals, time is not an extroverted phenomenon, but it is the internal and mental experience of the poet in the space of mythology. In this mythological attitude the historical and meta-historical times are involved in one another, and the poet, as a mediator between invisible universe and sensible world, informs his internal experiences. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

5 - Mystical Symbolism in "Bokaeiya ela Hafez Al- Shirazi": The Influence of Hafez on Abdolvahab al-Bayati
Mohsen Seifi Mahvash Hasanpour

  Islamic mysticism has the power to express indirectly and symbolically the truths and Muslim poets have used this power. The present article tries to study the poem of “Bokaeiya ela Hafez Al- Shirazi”, composed by Abdolvahab al-Bayati, and to compare More

  Islamic mysticism has the power to express indirectly and symbolically the truths and Muslim poets have used this power. The present article tries to study the poem of “Bokaeiya ela Hafez Al- Shirazi”, composed by Abdolvahab al-Bayati, and to compare it with the mystical symbols used in Hafez's poems. Based on the principles of French school of comparative literature and analytical-descriptive method, the authors have come to this conclusion that Bayati has used some of mystical symbols of Hafez's poems, symbols like cup, bowl, wine, fawn, cage, and wine – house. For both poets, nature is a suitable space for meditation on the nature of God; they have chosen their symbols from the elements of the nature. In other words, Hafez and Bayati used these symbols not in their real meaning but only in their figurative meaning. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

6 - The Tale of Euhemerus and Euhemerism
Sirous Shamisā Shoobāneh Sarrāf

One of the oldest and most important schools in mythology, without doubt, is Euhemerism which considers myths as distorted accounts of historical events. Although, for a long time, this theory has had many supporters in Iran, there has been little research attempted on More

One of the oldest and most important schools in mythology, without doubt, is Euhemerism which considers myths as distorted accounts of historical events. Although, for a long time, this theory has had many supporters in Iran, there has been little research attempted on it. In the present article, we examine the history of Euhemerism from the time of publication of Euhemerus’s Sacred History in 300 BC to the 18th century when it became an established school in mythology. We demonstrate how and why Euhemerus's point of view, a theory about ancient gods, has gradually turned into a school of thought in modern mythology. In this regard, we utilize original texts and have translated a part of Sacred History to Persian. Finally, we attempt to find reflections of Euhemerus's work in Persian literature and to show that a part of Kush-nama can be considered as an adaptation of his work. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

7 - Abdelkader El Djezairi: The Brave Mystic and the Founder of Resistance Poetry of Algeria
Nazanin Farzad Abdolhosein Farzad

From the first centuries of Islam, many great Sufis have been involved in protecting the borders of Islamic territories to stand against the enemy attack. During the Timurid and Safavid periods, Sufis, as one of the most important forces against social injustice, abando More

From the first centuries of Islam, many great Sufis have been involved in protecting the borders of Islamic territories to stand against the enemy attack. During the Timurid and Safavid periods, Sufis, as one of the most important forces against social injustice, abandoned seclusion and were directly involved in political affairs. In recent centuries, when European colonialists invaded and occupied Islamic countries, especially North Africa, many leaders of the resistance movements were piouses and Sufi masters. Algeria was under the brutal rule of the French for nearly a century and a half (1830-1962). Among warriors in Algeria, it must be pointed to Abd-el-Kader El Djezairi who was a prominent poet, mystic, warrior and outstanding politician that even his enemies admired his chivalry. In the present article, the thoughts of Abd-el-Kader Djezairi as the first resistance poet-mystic of Algeria in 19th and early 20th centuries are studied. One of the important parts of Abd-el-Kader's mysticism is uprising against cruelty and injustice. In other word, the mysticism of Amir Abd-el-Kader El Djezairi is a bravery and revolutionary mysticism. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

8 - Re-description of Spiritual Journey in Fictional Literature: (The Case Study: Tuesdays with Morrie)
Leila Hāshemiyān Nasrin Nisi

Spiritual journey (suluk) has been noticed in fictions from classic to modern age, and it has been put forward in all countries with different literary styles. Many books have paid attention to spiritual journey of man towards God and have re-described it. Tuesdays with More

Spiritual journey (suluk) has been noticed in fictions from classic to modern age, and it has been put forward in all countries with different literary styles. Many books have paid attention to spiritual journey of man towards God and have re-described it. Tuesdays with Morrie, by American author Mitch Albom, is a story that entertains the levels of perfection in a real-fictional context. In the present article, by using descriptive and library methods, mystical motifs and topics that definitely are foundation of the process of a spiritual journey (suluk) are considered and compared with traditional mysticisms. We have come to the conclusion that the process of spiritual journey (suluk) has transformed in the mind of the author. The concepts, like old man, awakening and consciousness, have definite meaning in classic mysticism, but in the modern age, while keeping the same meanings, they have been presented in new form and style. In the present article, the stages of spiritual journey of the main character of the story have been classified, and it has been emphasized on capacities of contemporary fictional literature. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

9 - Transformation of Sudabeh's character in the Siyavash story of Shahnameh
Aghdas Fātehi

The present article discusses the process of transformation of the character of an ancient goddess of water. In the age of prehistory and as a result of interaction of myths, the beliefs and rites about the water goddess were propagated in Mesopotamia. In Iran and in th More

The present article discusses the process of transformation of the character of an ancient goddess of water. In the age of prehistory and as a result of interaction of myths, the beliefs and rites about the water goddess were propagated in Mesopotamia. In Iran and in the process of formation of the character of the water goddess, this myth adapted herself to male-dominated patterns of Indo-Iranian tribes and to the current social traditions of Iran; on the other hand, according to the Gussāns (poets and story-tellers) of Parthian (Arsacids) and Kushans, she lost her situation and descended from her divine place. Her roots and divine origin were forgotten, and, finally, for belittling women and other various changes, she acquired new characteristics and was put in the limelight as Sudābeh. Also, Dumuzi, the god of vegetation and connected with the Mesopotamian water goddess, transformed to two characters in Iranian mythology: Siyāvash that his role is like the Mesopotamian murdered god, and Kei-Khosrow that, as a god, gives new life to Siyāvash. These characters, manifest in Shahnāmeh of Abumansuri in the story of Siyāvash and Sudābeh, and then through that book they appear in Shahnāmeh of Ferdowsi.  Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

10 - The Myth of Hero and Invulnerability in the Story of Rostam and Esfandyar: a Psychological Analysis Based on the theories of Adler and Radin
Yadolāh Nasrolāhi Ātefeh Jangali

Psychology and its branches are means that can be used to study many behaviors of man in the passage of history. With the help of this science, it can be known the hidden corners of characters and their individual psychology can be theorized. The present article attempt More

Psychology and its branches are means that can be used to study many behaviors of man in the passage of history. With the help of this science, it can be known the hidden corners of characters and their individual psychology can be theorized. The present article attempts to analyze the look and feel of two famous heroes of Shahnāmeh, Rostam and Esfandyar, based on psychological analysis. Both characters are heroes that have been equipped with extraordinary powers to fight with nature and various natural forces. According to Adler, the formation of these myths is a kind of compensation for inferiority against compulsion of nature and environment; and overcoming natural and environmental barriers by these two heroes confirms the theory of Adler. Also, in the process of evolution of myth of hero, Paul Radin distinguishes four periods. Based on his ideas, the myth of Rostam and Esfandyar can be called the evolution of "twins cycle". Another issue is the tragic end of Esfandyar that indicates his lack of affection from his father and family. According to Shahnāmeh, this complex (lack of affection) leads him to death.   Manuscript profile

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