The Forgotten Ritual of Dastband Dance in Iranian Epahomene Feast based on Ancient Arabic Texts

In ancient Iran, the five extra days of the twelve thirty-day months (in English: Epahomene) was named Panjeh, Behizak, Andargāh, Panjeh Dozdideh for Iranians, and Khamseh Mostaraqeh for Arabs. Iranians and Arabs were holding many feasts and rituals on this occasion, mostly forgotten now, and merely through historical accounts or the ancient poetry we can find their names. One of the rituals practiced in Iranian Epahomene during the early Hijri centuries was a type of dance named “Dastband”, which means hand-in-hand, and apparently, it was the most significant part of these rituals. There is almost no trace of this dance in the Persian texts or ritual books; the dancers held each other’s hands to perform this dance and danced together in a circle to the music of the instruments. In Arabic dictionaries, other names such as “Fanzaj”, “Banjakān”, “Daʻkaseh”, “Mehzām”, and “Nazawān” are mentioned for this dance, which easily connote “Dastband”. This paper first examines the texts in which the word “Dastband” has appeared, and then refers to other synonyms used by the lexicographers. Results show that the dance was gloriously performed in various cities of Iraq during the first centuries AH. Some texts referred to the synchronization of this dance with Iranian Epahomene on the eve of Nowruz; conceivably, that is why the dance was called Panjeh.