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moradi S, Karami M. The Animal Groom Tales in the Culture of Legends of the Iranian People. CFL 2020; 8 (35) :93-132
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-43460-en.html

  Abstract
The animal groom a theme of folk tales. In these stories, the protagonist (girl) goes through a series of events in the struggle to bond or escape from marriage with a creature called the animal groom. This study employs a method of content analysis and analytical-descriptive approach. While comparing the stories of the groom's animal in terms of structure, it explains the frequency of different types of animal grooms, the structural pattern of this type of stories and the analysis of some data. The findings of this study show that in a total of 89 stories of animal groom, the demon, with 40 cases, has the highest frequency among different types of animal grooms, and these stories follow the same pattern from a total of 18 groups of similar stories.
Introduction
Research background
Despite the attractiveness of the animal-groom theme, research on this subject is scarce. Bruno Bettelheim in The Enchantment of Legends and Marzelf in The Classification of Persian Tales devoted a chapter to animal-groom tales. Sadeghi (2016) in an article gives the representation of the animal-groom theme in a Sufi anecdote. Heidari et al. (2019), examining the joint work of several animal-groom tales from different nations, have also discussed the reasons for the emergence and transformation of these tales.
Aims, questions, and assumptions
Marriage is one of the sacred rituals in the social life of people. In the meantime, the different treatment of animal-groom stories and animal-shaped faces to the groom offer different concepts and images of the culture, beliefs and realities of society, which emphasize the capacity and research potentials of these stories in the sociological, psychological and other studies. Therefore, considering the social origin and also the need to establish a connection between literature and society and the application of valuable information contained in the literary texts, such research is necessary. On the other hand, the lack of a coherent and comprehensive source of Iranian animal-groom tales makes such studies more imperative.
This study, considering the 19-volume collection of the culture of legends of the Iranian people by Ali Ashraf Darvishian and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, seeks to answer these questions: In Iranian stories, how many stories are there with the theme of the animal-groom? In these stories, the creature of the animal-groom appears in the presence of what creatures and with what frequency? How many patterns do the animal-groom tales have according to components such as the initial situation, the way of courtship, the girl's satisfaction, the family's satisfaction, and the relationship with the groom?
Results and discussion
Animal-groom tales are the tales in which the mate first appears in the form of an animal and then regains its human form after marriage. In Persian stories, in addition to the appearance of an animal, the animal-groom also appears in the forms of demons, giants, elves and fairies. An examination of 89 tales in a total of Iranian folk tales shows that in the tales of the animal-groom, the groom appears in the form of 17 non-human beings. From scary creatures such as demons, giants and elves to snakes, dragons, wolves, bears, leopards, crows, lions and camels, they all play a role in the common themes in terms of content. It seems that the creators of these stories, based on their perception of the ignorance of each of these creatures, use their hatred, disgust and fear of describing the animal-groom to draw the hidden half of the creature. According to their point of view, the creators separate the girl from the safe haven of the family.
In the study of animal-groom tales in the collection of Iranian folklore culture, there are 18 groups of similar stories in terms of personality and narrative course, considering the components of girl satisfaction, family satisfaction, the girl's fate after bonding with the groom animal and finally the final status of the story. By aggregating the data of 18 groups of animal-groom stories, the structure of these stories based on components such as initial status, girl's satisfaction, family satisfaction and final status can be presented in 7 identical models. Based on these patterns, in group A, with a frequency of 9 cases in which both the girl and the family are satisfied with the marriage, life goes on happily. In the three groups of D, E and G, with the dissatisfaction of the girl and the family, life with the animal-groom is not formed. Group B is an exception, but in group F, where the girl agrees to marry the animal-grooms with the family's dissatisfaction, not only life does not continue, but the girl and the animal-groom are punished arbitrarily for the marriage. Group C, with the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of both the girl and the family, shows a happy life with the animal-groom.
Conclusion
The animal-groom as one of the common themes of folk tales shows the groom in an animal form with a different perspective. In the stories of the animal-grooms, a different narrative of marriage is formed in the midst of the actions and reactions of the girl and the animal-groom. Analyzing such stories, this research has found a total of 89 stories in the collection of legendary culture of the Iranian people, which have been collected and studied for the first time. According to the findings of this study, the demon with 40 repetitions is the most frequent animal in all species. Also, the aggregation of data from 18 groups of animal-groom stories shows that the structure of these stories based on the components such as initial status, the girl's satisfaction, the family satisfaction, and the final status can be presented in 7 identical models. Based on these patterns, according to the consent or dissatisfaction of the girl and the family towards the marriage of the girl with the animal-groom, three forms of life could be categorized: The formation of an ideal life, the escape of the girl and her acquaintance with the prince, and her marriage or return to her home. Meanwhile, the girl's secret marriage with the animal-groom without the consent of the family leads to the punishment and killing of the girl and the animal-groom.
References
Bettelheim, B. (1989). The uses of enchantment: the meaning and importance of fairy tales. (translated into Farsi by Akhtar Shariatzadeh) (2002). Hermes.
Darvishian, A. A., & Khandan Mahabadi, R. (2009). The legendary culture of the Iranian people (in Farsi). Books and Culture.
Heidari, A. Haddadian, S., & Sahraei, Q. (2019). Investigation and analysis of animal-groom stories. Children's Literature Studies, 1, 1-22.
Marzolph, U. (2012). Typologie Des Persischen Volksmarchens (translated into Farsi by Kaykavoos jahandari). Sorush.

Sadeghi, M. (2016). Representation of the myth of the animal-groom in a Sufi anecdote. Literary Criticism, 35, 165-183.