Volume 8, Issue 34 (2020)                   CFL 2020, 8(34): 125-155 | Back to browse issues page

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amini K. Interpreting the Romantic Gouranis of Hourami. CFL 2020; 8 (34) :125-155
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-41858-en.html
Senior Researcher in Hawrami Language, Culture and Literature , amini.koorosh@yahoo.com
Abstract:   (1759 Views)
Falling in love is one of the main concepts which is central in almost all ethnicities and folklore literature. In this study, Gourani is defined as the native poems of Hourami, not in the sense of lyrics. Gourani is mostly in the form of single-verse poem. Each verse embeds all the meaning independently. Falling in love, besides praising the nature and to some extent the national epics, is the main theme of Hourami’s anthology. The study borrows a descriptive-analytic research method based on the survey data and the analysis of the individual folklore verses of Hourami. The aim of the study is to investigate the themes of romantic Gouranis of Hourami. To this end, 50 verses were selected from Noudsheh city and analyzed accordingly. The findings suggest that women of Hourami have such a significant place in a large number of romantic Gouranis that they are sometimes on the same ground to that of the verses about men. One of the main aspects of Gouranis is the sadness evoked because of the distance from the beloved. In these poems, women cry out their bitter and sad love songs in the chaotic conditions of their native land. In these single-verse poems, love has a material and worldly meaning. The poet praises the beloved so much that the creator is praised instead, but this is merely for praising the worldly beloved. This shows the underlying issues in the social relation and the general cultural paradigm of the society.
Introduction
The culture of each nation can be consider its biography and the nature of its people. It reflects the features, customs, and habits of the people as well as the intellectual changes and social development they have gone through (Anjavi-Shirazi, 1992, p. 10). Folklore poems have been common among Houramis for a long time. Most of the folklore Gouranis of Hourami are in the form of romantic single-verse poems.
Women of Hourami have such a significant place in a large number of romantic Gouranis that are sometimes on the same ground to that of the verses about men. Some people believe that lyrics is a means of expressing pure poem. However, this study does not take lyrics in that particular meaning and focuses instead on the single-verse folklore poems of Hourami.
This study will content-analyze 50 verses in order to figure out the themes in the romantic Gouranis of Hourami and investigate the social manners of Houramis in such poems.
Background
Many researchers from Iran such as Bahar, Hedayat, Shamlou, Tabari, among others, as well as European researchers such as Zhukovsky, Henry Masse, Alexander Chodzko, de Gobineau have investigated ethnic lyrics and literature. Some such as Ayoub Rostam (2007), Jamal Habib-Allah (2008), Shiri, Faryad, and Rauf Saidian (2008), Fatahi and Vali (2017) have conducted studies on the same topic.
Aims and research questions
The aim of this study is to analyze the major themes of romantic Gouranis of Hourami. Fifty verses from thousands of verses are content-analyzed to figure out the themes of romantic Gouranis of Hourami considering the geographical situation of Houraman and the effect of the customs, male-female relations, and their general culture.
Hypotheses
  1.  The geographical situation of Houraman has a significant effect on the themes of Gouranis of Hourami.
  2.  The culture of Houramis, particularly the female customs, has a significant role in the poems.
Data analysis
This study employs a library-based approach. Fifty verses from the single-verse poems of Hourami are selected and investigated descriptively and analytically. To gather the poems, old men and women were interviewed, and the researcher was also considered as a source of data. The poems were selected from Noudsheh city.
Discussion
Generally, the verses could be classified into two parts: women’s verses describing men, and men’s verses describing women. Among Houramis, Gourani poems are those songs and lyrics which express the feelings of Hourami people, of which men, and to some extent women, sing in celebrations such as wedding ceremonies, in gardens, mountains, deserts, landscapes, mourning ceremonies, plays, works, among others. Women have a significant role in the folklore literature of Hourami. Love, either explicit or implicit, has always been a part of their poems. Its expression is a reminiscent of young people’s happiness and excitement. The idea of love is mostly material and worldly in these single-verse poems. It seems that the ancestors of Hourami people experienced love sooner than their contemporary counterparts in terms of inter-personal relations and expression of love.
Conclusion
Most of the Gouranis of Hourami are single-verse. The themes of these songs are mostly related to love, feelings of falling in love, distance, complaint, lovers’ dialogue, and sadness of distance, among others. They are mostly used in ceremonies or solitude. Rarely is there any religious words or themes included in them.
The descriptions in the poems concern the appearance of the beloved in an ethnic manner. There are many similes such as comparing the breast of the bride to a red apple, her height to cedar, eyelashes to arrows, etc. Some other themes are: the lost love, distance and sadness, attracting the beloved, describing the beloved, and an imaginary dialogue with the beloved.
References
  • Anjavi-Shirazi, A. (1992). A survey of people’s culture (in Farsi). Tehran: Asparak.
  • Ayoub, R. (2007). Religious and social songs of Houraman people (in Farsi). Soleymanieh: Cultural Centre of Houraman.
  • Jamal, H. (2008). Oral literature of Houraman: Collection of single-verse folklore of Houraman (in Farsi). Soleymanieh: Author.
  • Shiri, F. and Rauf, S. (2008). 100 Sia-o-Chamaneh: The original and the Farsi translation text of 100 single-verse Hourami (in Farsi). Tehran: Meshki.
  • Fatahi, V. (2017). Ahura song (in Farsi). Marivan: Zayaleh.
Full-Text [PDF 869 kb]   (1217 Downloads)    
Article Type: پژوهشی اصیل | Subject: Folklore
Received: 2020/04/6 | Accepted: 2020/07/29 | Published: 2020/10/1

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