نشریه فرهنگ و ادبیات عامه
پیاپی 44 (خرداد و تیر 1401)

For many centuries, there has been a myth of a creature with a female head and snake body called Shamaran among the Iranian Kurdish people. Respect for this myth has always been associated with special rituals. In the book One Thousand and One Nights, which is one of the most important literary and cultural works of the Orient, there is a story called "Queen of Snakes and Haseb Karimuddin", which is very similar to the story of Shamaran. The traits of these two stories are also a recalling of the myths. Undoubtedly, many folk tales, beliefs and cultures are deeply connected with ancient myths. The main aims of this study is to investigate the role of Shamaran myth in the formation of the story of the "Queen of Snakes" and to find the common roots of the two. Therefore, the main theme of this story, which is human-snake, is examined. The findings of this research, which has been done in a descriptive-analytical way, showed that the story of the "Queen of Snakes" is based on the myth of Shamaran, and this myth is rooted in religion and myth of the most important Iranian civilizations, the ancient Elam.

Proverbs represent the ethnic culture of any society, and by reflecting on them, a deeper and clearer picture of that society can be achieved. In this regard, the aim of the present study was to compile and interpret a set of Balochi proverbs related to the values, beliefs and convictions of the Baloch people in the field of family and in particular gender relations. For this purpose, two methods of library and field studies have been used. We have also used an interpretive approach to analyze the research materials. The analysis of proverbs collected in this field, shows seven central categories: 1) Sovereignty and continuity of the patrilineal and patriarchal system; 2) Ethnocentric kinship and continuity of tribal structure; 3) Sanctifying and honoring the role of parents in the education and socialization of children; 4) Hospitality and the responsible social communication; 5) Respect to the elderly; 6) Emphasis on the importance of motherhood; 7) Looking at women in the shadow of men. Overall, the research findings show that among the Baloch people, due to the lack of widespread Balochi written language, popular literature and especially proverbs have a significant role in socialization, generational education, intergenerational transmission, identification, reproduction and strengthening of kinship and gender values; and in this sense, it is one of the cultural tools for preserving and perpetuating the identity and culture of the Baloch people.

Women have long been the subject of much philosophical, political, social, cultural and literary discussions in various cultures and civilizations. This issue has been studied many times from different perspectives, especially in the field of classical and official Iranian literature. Folk songs and chansons as an important part of folklore and one of the important aspects of popular culture has many contradictory and sometimes thought-provoking themes that have not been seriously addressed so far. The present article intends to retrieve, explain and sociologically analyze the roles of women in these poems in a descriptive-analytical manner and through the analysis of the content of these chansons in the geographical area of   Shahroud city. Accordingly, it was found that the position of women in such eulogies are in the role of lover, wife, and mother.  From a sociological point of view, although sometimes the female element sits in the "other inferior" row, it is generally a manifestation of cooperation and assistance as well as a symbol of generationalism.  From a literary point of view, women have received high reflections and roles such as the subject of the pain of shame and distance, the symbol of piety and loyalty, the symbol of love, and finally the unattainable beloved

Girl in a Fur Coat is the name of a motif in which a girl escapes her father's harassment. She is looking for a way to escape and find the solution in a skin that covers her from head to toe. This motif, which is classified in the Arne-Thompson list under number 510B, is called "donkey skin". In the classification of Iranian tales, it is called "Cinderella" and in the classification of Arabic tales it is called "shirt like the sun, shirt like the moon and shirt like the stars". This article tries to introduce the mentioned type because it is not well-known among Iranian researchers of folk literature. In addition, by using the collection of works in which the folk tales of Iran as well as the lands of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Sudan, Palestine, Iraq and Jordan are gathered, the Iranian and Arabic narratives are analyzed. To this aim, these narrations can be divided into several categories. Studies show that based on the girl's solution to escape from her father's house, the narrations of this motif can be divided into three categories: 1-510B: The girl hidden in the object; 2-510B: Girl in a fur coat / wooden mannequin; 3-510B: The girl and her brother. Also, this research, based on Propp's hypertext model, seeks to find the beliefs and customs that make up the "fur-clad girl". Myths and customs found in Zurvanism and Zoroastrianism can be considered as the origin for this type in Iranian stories, because it mentions the intercourse of Ahura Mazda with his mother, sister and daughter, and considers "xᵛaētuuadaθa" a ritual and sacred act.

Jokes are commonly known as one of the most popular forms of humor. Although joke has many features such as brevity, pervasiveness, and simplicity at the same time, it is full of mysteries, to the extent that it reflects the thought and culture of the nations. Jokes are mostly stories about a person, situation or incident which are based on the connection of real rings, and the rupture in each of these rings causes the joke to fall apart and not achieve to one of its goals that is a surprise and laughter. The current research first provides a general definition of the joke, its history and structure, and then introduces one of the most famous characters of Iranian jokes, Mollanasreddin, with a literary and research perspective. On the other hand, the great theorist of humor, Melvin Helitzers, has presented six comic elements in the discussion of humor. According the following questions is aimed to explore, evaluate and analyze Heliters’s six elements theory in Mollanasreddin’s jokes, aiming at making the best use of the jokes in play. After introducing Helitzers’s six elements, the study has used the samples of Mollanasreddin’s jokes through random selection in order to be analyzed based on descriptive-analytical method. The data collection in this research has been performed with reference to books, articles, and authoritative scientific sources. What can be pointed out as a result is the confirmation of Helitzers’s six elements in Mollanasreddin’s jokes in various ways.

The story of Amir-Arsalan is one of the most important folk tales of the Qajar period. This story, which was written and narrated directly for Nasser al-Din, can be a good example for analyzing the discourse of the Qajar era. In the Qajar period, despite the deposition of the discourse of tradition in Iranian society, gradually with the influence of the presuppositions of modernity, the discourse of modernity emerged. In this research, we have examined the story of Amir Arsalan from the perspective of the discourse of modernity as well as the discourse struggle between tradition and modernity. The research is based on one of the recurring propositions of the discourse of modernity in the political sphere, "consultation is decisive." Using the method of discourse analysis, we have examined the parts of the text that have been formed based on this proposition. We have also referred to cases in which the discourse of tradition has been meaningful while examining the discourse of modernity in the text.

The Razavi praises of the Safavid period, in addition to the praise and manqabat, also have historical and social benefits, and among them some of the social customs, pilgrimage and pilgrimage of the shrine of Imam Reza (AS) can be found in the two tenth to twelfth centuries. Based on the findings of this research, in these praises, some rites and traditions of pilgrimage, such as enlightenment, funeral, carrying coffins, packing, thresholding, offering recommended prayers in the Razavi shrine, intercession, among others are mentioned. Another point worthy of attention in intercession in the Razavi praises of this period is the expression of material and spiritual needs and desires and a kind of request of poets to the eighth Imam, which in the poem of this period, entitled "Alias in praise of Shah Khorasan or Imam Reza Come". Regarding the condition of the pilgrims, points such as the crowd of pilgrims, the dusty heads and faces of the pilgrims, the breaking of the hands and feet of the pilgrims due to the crowd, the burial of a large number of people in the shrine, etc. are mentioned in these eulogies. This article using the descriptive-analytical method has shown the religious customs and traditions of visiting the Razavi shrine and the condition of the pilgrims in Mashhad in the Safavid period along with its representation in the Razavi praises. The reflection of these customs shows that the poetry of this period supports and continues the line of thought and religious policy of the Safavids against Sunni religious rivals such as the Uzbeks and the Ottomans.

This research has been carried out based on an analytical-descriptive method focusing 4391 couplets common among the folklore of Fars province. This study also analyzes the frequencies of the elements including the one who curses, the one who is cursed and the cause of curse. Then, they are analyzed from the statistical point. Finally, the reflection of these elements and gender has been heeded in the field of the folklore culture. The findings of this research indicate that in the poems considered in this study, all the ones who curse are human and half of the beings who are cursed are non- human. This could be as a result of the connection between the curse reaction and human speech against human factors, obstacles, and the projection of guilt on non-humans. In the couplets, the lover has the most reflection (82%) out of the nineteen groups of the ones who curse and the ones who are loved have got 34% of the ones who are cursed. From the gender perspective, women are the ones who are cursed the most. The aim specification of the male oriented society is that men are arrogant and are weak against the obstacles, whereas women are patient and are loyal toward their romantic relationship. Nonetheless, it may reveal the denial of woman's right to complaint. It also confirms the one sidedness of romantic relationship in a male oriented society