Some Reflections of the Iranian Manichaean fictional elements on the Folkloric Iranian Literature A Comparative Study of the Parables

This paper aims to examine the extent and specificities of the relation between Manichaean and Persian literature through an in-depth analysis of Manichaean tales which recur in the folkloric Iranian literature. In the first stage of the paper, we selected 30 parables by analyzing Iranian Manichaean manuscripts. We, then, explored some well-known Iranian folkloric tales to find similar examples. The quantity and characteristics of similarities in the literary elements, plots, and subplots showed that the Manichaean literature has had more chances to be represented in folkloric literature than in the official literature. Furthermore, analyzing folkloric literature provides a better tool for tracking the path the Manichaean thought has left behind in different cultures. Finally, we argued that similar versions of tales may help us reconstruct some of the damaged Manichaean fragments