Analyzing the action of Pahlevan's Dragon and Genius in "Haft-Khan" Based on the opinion of "Georges Domzil"
Subject Areas : Research in Iranian classical literatureREZA MOVASSELI 1 , Ebrahim Mohammadi 2 , akbar shayan seresht 3
1 - Ph.D Student of Persian language and literature, Birjand University.
2 - Associate Professor Department of Persian Language and Literature, Birjand University
3 - Associate Professor Department of Persian Language and Literature, Birjand University.
Keywords: Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, Haft Khan, Rostam, the dragon, and Georges Dumzil's three acts.,
Abstract :
Dragon slaying is one of the special acts of a warrior to prove his valor, and in Iranian epic poems, many warriors go to battle with the dragon and kill him. This action can be analyzed based on different points of view. This research analyzes the aforementioned action based on Dumzil's point of view in the writing "Gods of Action" and shows that Rostam and Esfandiar's dragon killing has outstanding features, especially in their Haft Khans. The first feature of both stories is the metamorphosis of the dragon myth. In Haft Khane Rostam, the dragon is no longer the well-known snake-like creature, but a demon who acts like a dragon; It means that the existence and life of the Shah of Iran and the soldiers are imprisoned in the darkness of death and the warrior must leave it. In Haft Khan, Esfandiar is forced to go through seven difficult trials to free "woman", which is the symbol and symbol of fertility and pure existence, so that he can free them from the clutches of the dragon. And he brought fertility and blessings with him. Finally, it can be said that the warrior destroys the dragon by passing through Haft Khan, and this action of his becomes the creator of fertility and manna of existence and living.
Keywords: Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, Haft Khan, Rostam, the dragon, and Georges Dumzil's three acts.
The ending of both known Haft Khans of Shahnameh is amazing. Both Haft Khans are filled with water and greenery and the freshness of spring. In other words, in both of them, life itself is born from the hearts of the hero with all his evil, darkness, and destruction.
At the end of Haft Khane Rostam, we read:
The land was full of greenery and water
and moisture Bring me to the garden
(Ferdoosi, 1996, Vol. 2: 64)
Also, at the end of Esfandiar's Haft Khan:
when arrive near that cold place
Leave all your wishes
Pleasant weather and lush landscape
It seemed that spring had come in midwinter
(Ibid., Vol. 5: 286(
Why has the epic given such an end to these two Haft Khans? Where is its origin? In response, it can be assumed that in Iranian mythology, the demon of cold and deadly, which brings death and nothingness, is considered to be a demon that brings destruction with itself.
In Iranian mythology, cold has been the demon of death and nothingness, which is interpreted as Malkus or Mergos. "One of the demons in ancient Iranian mythology is Malkus or Markus. He is the demon who created the cold and harsh winter at the end of the Ushidar millennium" (Heinz, 1385: 161). In such cases, someone with special functions must come and fight with the demon of death and nothingness. Who can handle such a task better than an epic warrior? The position of the warrior in the epic is very high and he has "extraordinary arts and does things that cannot be done by ordinary people" (Khalaghi Mutlaq, 2007: 45).
These epic heroes "have superhuman powers that begin their heroic journey after winning the father's approval" (Mohammadi， Afshar, 1401: 266). One of the ways to develop and transform a mythical warrior into a superhero is to confront a warrior with a mythical creature called a dragon. The dragon has kidnapped the fertility factor and the hero must do a great job to reach and get rid of it. This article tries to analyze Haft Khan based on the theory of "triple actions of the gods" by Georges Dumzil.
According to Dumzil's point of view, all Indo-European peoples benefit from a specific social structure or action. He believes that "all these myths follow a common pattern that goes back to the beliefs of the ancient Aryan people" (Qasimi Firouzabadi, 2023: 313). According to Domzil's research, Aryan ethnic groups have three actions or functions from a class perspective.
He considered three groups of myths.
- Although the gods of the first group had different names, they were all celestial and cosmic reflections of ruling humans such as priests, princes, kings, ministers, and so on.
- Although the gods of the second group had different names, they were all reflections of war and fighting in the atmosphere of the earth, which reflected the forces of war and valor.
- The gods of the third group were all reflections of government, wealth, health, fertility, abundance, and material blessings on earth. The gods of this action were mostly ordinary people.
Based on this, Dumzil named the first group Shahriari gods, the second group Salahshuri gods, and the third group Pishevari gods.
In the table below, it is possible to express better and more fully the actions of the three gods with their important features.
|
action |
Indicator |
|
Shahriari |
Creation, organization of worldly affairs, religiosity, intelligence, dedication and truth, judicial affairs, support and guidance, ordering affairs |
|
combative |
Physical strength, courage, heroism, warrior |
|
fertility |
Abundance, abundance, luck, youth and wealth, health, beauty, attachment to the earth, lust, peace, crowd of people |
Quoted from (Namvar Mutlaq and Avazpour, 2016: 61-100).
According to this theory, there are two types of heroes. First, the hero who represents one of the actions; Another hero represents two or three acts (ibid: 86). In this theory, the hero of the second act is always useful, puts himself in danger, and is not afraid of his life (Domzil, 2004: 47).
It is necessary to point out this important point that this article seeks to clarify another function of the warrior in epic literature and use Dumzil's theory to clarify that Haft Khan's epic warrior is like other warriors based on Dumzil's theory, although in action placed in the second group, it can have a positive effect on the action of the other group. The result of the present research seeks to show that the epic heroes, passing through Haft Khan, become the cause of greenness and freshness of nature and finally fertility, which is in the third group based on Dumzil's theory, and this importance cannot be achieved except with the cooperation of the three gods. The main goal of the current research is this issue.
Haft Khane Rostam
The most important feature of Rostam's personality is his popularity and durability. "Rostam is the representative of the people... the representative of a nation that only thinks about the freedom of its people" (Mohammadi, 2005: 109). That is why he takes the dangerous path of Haft Khan. On the way, great dangers threaten him, but knows that he has to fight with the demon of death and nothingness. Victory over this deadly and terrible conflict is a blessing and an abundance for the land of Iran. Rostam, is thinking about one thing; The liberation of the Shah and the Iranian army from the hands of the dragon. From the heart of this victory, the element of life comes out. To pass Haft Khan, in addition to his physical strength, which is the main essence of a wrestler, he takes help from his other dimension, "wisdom" (Ibid.: 112).
Rostam uses Zal's guidance to reach Haft Khan, and he is the one who sends Rostam through a dangerous path. Although Zal is one of the warriors of the Shahnameh and according to Dumzil's theory, he is placed in the second group - that is, the gods of war - based on his various actions, he can be considered as one of the advisors related to Action is the first group.
As Namvar Mutlaq writes, "Guidance and advice are considered one of the characteristics of the first action" (Namvar Mutlaq and Avaz-Pour, 2016: 108-109). But an important issue that should be pointed out is that "distinction between actions does not prevent any god from cooperating with other gods and possibly acting in the domain of other gods. For instance, Indra, who is the god of physical strength, war, and conflict, is also the god who bestows wealth and blessings.Therefore, what we consider in the field of conflict in actions is from the category of conflict in concepts and meanings, and not conflict in conflict and action. (Stari, 2000: 22-23).
Since Iranians are captured by the dragon, only Rostam can untie the knot. "Therefore, every battle of Tahamtan is to protect Iran-City from the attack of a force of dragons" (Shahroui and Rahimi, 2022: 24). Zal asks Rostam - who represents the second group - to express himself armed with a tiger.
Make it hard for you to tell the tiger to Stop dreaming and thinking
(Ferdoosi, 1996, Vol. 2: 18)
As mentioned, Rostam is sent by Zal - the god of wisdom. A warrior must do a great job to release and create fertility. Rostam asks Zal for directions. Zal shows Rostam two ways, But he wants Rostam to choose a short way.
One path is that which Kāvus took,
The other, mountains and heights spanning two sevens.
Choose the shorter path, witness the wonders,
For the Creator of the world shall be your ally.
(Ferdowsi, 1996, Vol. 2: 19)
Since Pahlavani and Razm-Avari are placed in the second group based on Dumezil's theory (Dumezil, 1977: 55; quoted by: Namvar Mutlaq and Awadpour, 2015: 68), Rostam also classified Dumezil in the second act. is placed himself refers to this issue.
I am neither Arzhang nor the White Demon,
Neither Sanja, nor Kulād Ghandi, nor Bid.
(Ibid.: 19)
You choose short and see the surprise
May he be your friend, world creator
(Ibid.: 19)
Since Pahlavani and Razm-Avari are placed in the second group based on Dumezil's theory (Dumezil, 1977: 55; quoted by: Namour Mutlaq and Awadpour, 2015: 68), Rostam also classified Dumezil in the second act. is placed himself refers to this issue.
Not Arjang Manem, not the White Devil
No Sanjeh, no Kolad Ghandi, no Willow
(Ibid.: 19)
He sees himself in the service of the first group: "I will sacrifice my body and soul to the lieutenant general" (ibid: 119); He agrees to this way and to help the Iranians and create fertility, he starts Haft-Khan and by killing the dragon, he brings fertility with himself.
Haft Khane Esfandiar
Among the heroes of Shahnameh, Esfandiar is one of the characters who can be placed in various actions. According to Domzil, Esfandiar should be placed in the first act due to being a prince. But he is also close to the gods of other actions, i.e. fertility and war. Esfandiar is a character who comes out of his main class - the first class - and approaches the god of the third act, and according to Dumzil, he has committed the first crime.
No one should see my feet in a rug unless
I make a hundred laces in the desert
I shall dig wells, ten thousand in number,
And in every dry land, I shall set up a water source!
(Ferdoosi, 1996, Vol. 2: 18)
Esfandiar commits a great crime and claims the royal throne. Of course, he has a very average character and even though his father has tied him up and treated him badly, he still bows to his father - first act. His father wants him to do a great job. He must save the sisters, who are a sign of fertility, from the clutches of the dragon. This problem is better shown when we know that Arjasab is described as a dragon in Shahnameh.
I have accepted this from the exalted Creator,
That if you go to Tūrān unharmed,
And face the dragon with your bravery,
Freeing your sisters from the hands of the Tūranians,
I shall grant you the royal crown,
Along with endless treasures and the majestic throne.
(Ferdoosi, 1996, Vol. 5: 200)
In this research, the text will be analyzed with two main goals. First of all, since Haft Khan of both fighters have many commonalities, both Haft Khans will work together in order to prevent repetition and to better see the distinction of both Haft Khans. Second, in a grouping and confrontation in Haft Khans, we will face two axes: death and life. On the axis of death, you can consider the presence of a dragon, lion, thirst, demon, cold, darkness, etc., and on the axis of life, warrior, water, brunette, woman, etc. In a sense, "the confrontation between the warrior and the dragon can be an interpretation of the confrontation of thousands of conflicting and dual realities of life and destiny in the human mind. The opposition of light and darkness, youth and old age, violence, freedom and slavery, and finally, the most glorious warrior and the most terrifying dragon of all dragons, that is death and life" (Sarkarati, 2006: 137). This is exactly what the writers will be trying to show in this confrontation: the opposition of death and life/life.
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