iii. In Iranian Folktales The dragon is a well-attested motif in the lore of the Indo-European peoples (see Hartland; Róheim,…

KĀVA, the name of a heroic blacksmith in the Šāhnāma who rebels against the tyrant Żaḥḥāk and helps Ferēdun wrest the…

BŪZĪNA, monkeys. Other names for monkeys are: meymūn (common), ʿantar (vulgar), kappī (Mid. Pers. kabīg, borrowed from Indian kapí, Mayrhofer,…

Cats are not mentioned in literary Persian sources until late Sasanian times. In Zoroastrian mythology the cat (gurbag) is said…

MAGIC ii. IN LITERATURE AND FOLKLORE IN THE ISLAMIC PERIOD General Introduction. Magic can be briefly described as the art…

SOFRA, in the most common usage of the term, a piece of cloth that is spread on the floor, and…

FABLE, a kind of story often defined as “an animal tale with a moral” (Funk and Wagnalls, s.v. “Fable”; cf….

ḠUL, designation of a fantastic, frightening creature in the Perso-Arabic lore. It is a hideous monster with a feline head,…

FOX (Av. raopi-, Mid. Per: rōbāh; NPers. rūbāh; Figure 1). ii. IN PERSIA In pre-Islamic Iran, the fox was considered…

QAZVINI, MOḤAMMAD B. ʿABD-AL-WAHHĀB (محمد عبدالوهاب قزوینی, b. Tehran, 15 Rabiʿ I 1294/30 March 1877; d. Tehran, 6 Ḵordād 1328…

MINOVI, MOJTABA (Mojtabā Minovi, b. Tehran, 19 Bahman 1282 Š./9 February 1903; d. Tehran, 6 Bahman, 1355 Š./26 January 1977),…

KALILA WA DEMNA ii. The translation by Abu’l-Maʿāli Naṣr-Allāh Monši The 6th century hejri marks the appearance of a style…

Broadly speaking, Persian histories may be divided into three groups:  universal (e.g. Jāmeʿ al-tawāriḵ-e rašidi), dynastic (e.g., Tāriḵ-e Bayhaqi), and…

KAŠVĀD, the name of the ancestor of the Gōdarziān clan (q.v.) of heroes in the Šāh-nāma.  Based on Ṭabari’s rendition…

MAHJUB, MOHAMMAD JA ’ FAR (Moḥammad Jaʿfar Maḥjub, b. Tehran, 1 Šahrivar 1303  Š./23 August 1924; d. Los Angeles, 27…

JAMŠID ii. JAMŠID IN PERSIAN LITERATURE The name Jamšid often alternates in Persian poetry with the short form Jam in…

CHILDREN ii. In Modern Persian Folklore Childbirth (zāymān, formal ważʿ-e ḥaml) in traditional Persian society, as in many other cultures,…

FALAKA (also falak, čūb o falak), one of the most common instruments of corporal punishment in Persia. The victim would…

ESFAND (sepand, sepanj, espanj < Proto-Ir. *svanta; Ar. háarmal, Lat. Peganum harmala; wild rue), a common weed found in Persia,...

DŪḠ-E WAḤDAT “beverage of unity,” concoction made from adding hashish extract (jowhar-e ḥaīš) to diluted yogurt (Šahrī, VI, pp. 412,…

DONKEY i. In Persian tradition and folk belief The donkey (Equus hydrunitinus, Equus asinus asinus, etc.; Pers. ḵar, darāz-gāš), domesticated species…

Bibliography: J.-P. Digard, Techniques des nomades Baxtyâri, Cambridge and Paris, 1981. L. Dupree, Afghanistan, Princeton, N.J., 1978; repr. Princeton, N.J., 1980. i….

DIVINATION (Per. morvā, morḡvā, šogūn zadan, fāl, fāl gereftan/zadan, tafaʾʾol), the art or technique of gaining knowledge of future events…

DĪV (demon, monster, fiend), often confused with ḡūl (orge, ghoul) and jinn in both folk and literary traditions (Massé, Croyances,…

DĀYA, wet nurse (Mid. Pers. dāyag, Av. daēnu-, “female animal,” Kurdish dā, dī, dīa “mother,” Sanglechi dāya “nurse”; cf. Oss….

CROYANCES ET COUTUMES PERSANES, by the French orientalist Henri Massé (q.v., b. Lunéville, France, 2 March 1886, d. Paris, 9…

COCK, the male of the subfamily Phasianinae (pheasants), usually having a long, often tectiform tail with fourteen to thirty-two feathers….

CIRCUMCISION, Pers. ḵatna, sonnat (formally also taṭhīr or ḵetān), ḵatnakonān, and sonnatkonān; the last two terms also refer to the…

CHARMS (< Lat. carmen “song, verse, incan­tation”; Pers. afsūn, “incantation,” damdam < Ar. damdama “disturbance”; Pers. and Ar. doʿā “prayer,”...

ČERĀḠĀNĪ (also čerāḡān, čerāḡbānī, čerāḡbārān), the decoration of buildings and open spaces with lights during festivals and on occasions like…

ČERĀḠ, lamps (Man. Mid. Pers. crʾh, Man. Parth. crʾγ, Pahl. čirāγ, So. crʾ(ʾ)γ, Khot. cärau, etc., see Bailey, Dictionary, p….

CEMETERIES (qabrestān, gūrestān) in Persian folklore. Cemeteries are found both inside and outside cities and villages, usually close to a…

ČELLA, term referring to any forty-day period. i. In Persian folklore. ii. In Sufism.   i. In Persian Folklore In…

ČAŠM-ZAḴM (lit. “a blow by the eye”), the evil eye (čašm also occurs alone with the same meaning; cf. čašm-e…

CANDLE (Pers.-Ar. šamʿ). The Arabic word (Ar. also šamaʿ) literally means “beeswax” (Ebn Manẓūr; Dehḵodā), for which Persian uses mūm…

PALM READING (chiromancy or palmistry; Pers. Kaf-bini), a form of physiognomy that deduces personal characteristics from the form of the…

CAMEL, šotor. i. Etymology. ii. In Persian history and economy. iii. In modern Persia. iv. Camel terminology. v. Šotor-qorbānī.  …

ISFAHAN xvi. ISFAHAN IN THE MIRROR OF FOLKLORE AND LEGEND Systematic collection of the folklore of Isfahan is mostly due…

ḤĀTEMṬĀʾI, the epitome of generosity and munificence in Arabic and Persian anecdotal traditions. Ḥātem b. ʿAbd-Allāh b. Saʿd Abu Saffāna…

ḤĀJI FIRUZ, the most famous among the traditional folk entertainers, who appears in the Persian streets in the days preceding…

GENIE (Ar. andPers. jenn; incorrect plural, ajenna, used in Persian), name of a cathegory of supernatural beings believed to have…

GANJ-E BĀDĀVARD (the treasure brought by the wind), name of one of the eight treasures of the Sasanian Ḵosrow II…

FŪLĀD-ZEREH “[possessing]steel armor,” is the name of a hideous demon in the story of Amīr Arsalān (q.v.). This name was…

KARSĪVAZ (Garsivaz), Av. Kərəsauuazdah; Pahl. Karsēwazd, in the old Iranian epic tradition the brother of Av. Fraŋrasiian, Pahl. Frāsiyāb (Frāsyāw, Afrāsiyāb)….

HELL ii. Islamic Period Duzaḵ (Mid. Pers. dušox, Av. dušaŋhu; AirWb., col. 756) and jahannam are the terms commonly used…