Volume 11, Issue 53 (2023)
CFL 2023, 11(53): 37-64 |
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Bagjani A. The Oldest Fortune in Persian Verse. CFL 2023; 11 (53) :37-64
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-68989-en.html
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-68989-en.html
Faculty Member of Lexicography Department, Academy of Persian Language and Literature, Tehran, Iran. , abbas.bagjani@apll.ir
Abstract: (2396 Views)
Introduction
An omen is a sign or a symbol of good or bad future events, and fortune-telling is the prediction of these events based on these signs, which is done with the help of various tools. Fortunes are writings or poems whose sense and content are hints and interpretations based on which the diviner makes people aware of the goodness or badness of what he has decided to do, and for this, he either uses the fortune himself or gets help from fortune-teller.
The subject of this article is the correction and review of the Fortune written by Badr al-Din Jajarmi, one of the well-known poets of the 7th century AH (see Kashani, 999 AH, p. 322; Jajarmi, 1958-1971, 2/837; Samarkandi, 1939 AH, p. 219).
Research background
So far, the Fortune has not been recognized and published as it should be. Bagheri Hasankiadeh and Heshmati have corrected the text of this Fortune based on the manuscript of the National Library and published it in Farhang and Popular Literature magazine. They did not know the author of the poem and considered it to be taken from Iranian texts of the middle period (Bagheri HasanKiadeh, 2014, p. 1). Regardless of this mistake, due to the faulty manuscript, they could not give a correct and revised form of the text of the Fortune.
Objectives and questions
The purpose of this research is to introduce and correct Jajarmi's Fortune and tries to answer these questions: Is the Fortune the work of Badr Jajarmi? What are the surviving manuscripts of it? What is its structure and content? What are its linguistic and literary characteristics?
Fortune has a total of 71 verses and was written in Bahr Hazaj. This poem consists of two parts: introduction and text. The introduction of 21 verses is in the form of a Masnavi, and in it, the poet first praises the Lord and then the Holy Prophet. Afterwards, it mentions one or two moral advices and explains his motivation for writing the Fortune. Then, he explained the method of fortune-telling with finger, and finally he praised Baha'uddin Muhammad.
The next 50 verses are the explanation of omens. According to Jajarmi's explanation, two people are needed to make a fortune with this Fortune. The first person whose fortune is to be taken, after the intention, shows a number between 1 and 5 with the fingers of one hand, and then the second person does the same. In this method, the numbers are put together in 25 ways. Each of these states are explained in a couplet and indicate the goodness or badness of a work or decision and resolve the doubts of the diviner about that work or decision.
Until today, we have known two Manuscripts of Jajarmi's Falnama: 1. Paris National Library Manuscript number 3365 (De slane, 1883-1895: 588; Richard, 2004, p. 72), which is a collection of 198 leaves with 15 lines in Naskh script. An unknown scribe wrote the Fortune in 764 AH; 2. National Library Manuscript number 17816, which was written by a person named Fulad Karb in 1113 in India in Nastaliq script on four pages of different lines.
The handwritten of the National Library of Paris has advantages compared to the version of the National Library: it was written 349 years earlier, its recordings are more accurate, it is healthy and it has not suffered from dampness or termites like the Manuscript of the National Library, it is more complete and has the 21-verses preface; therefore, its superiority is obvious and it is based on the correction of the text. Manuscript of the National Library is also useful in reading some verses and in some places where the recordings of handwritten of Paris were distorted or wronged, it has preserved or led to the correct form of the text.
De Slane, B. (1883–1895). Département des manuscrits: catalogue des manuscrits arabes. Bibliothèque nationale.
Jajarmi, M. (1958-1971). Munis al-Ahrar fi daqaiq al-Ashar. National Art Association.
Kashani, T. (999 AH). Khulasat al-ashar, manuscript number 16769. Library, Museum and Document Center of the Islamic Council.
Richard, F. (2004). Splendeurs persanes: manuscrits du XIIIe au XVIIe siecle, (translated into Farsi by A. Ruhbakhshan). Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Samarkandi, D. (1318 AH). Tazkirat al-shoara (edited by Edward Brown). Brill.
An omen is a sign or a symbol of good or bad future events, and fortune-telling is the prediction of these events based on these signs, which is done with the help of various tools. Fortunes are writings or poems whose sense and content are hints and interpretations based on which the diviner makes people aware of the goodness or badness of what he has decided to do, and for this, he either uses the fortune himself or gets help from fortune-teller.
The subject of this article is the correction and review of the Fortune written by Badr al-Din Jajarmi, one of the well-known poets of the 7th century AH (see Kashani, 999 AH, p. 322; Jajarmi, 1958-1971, 2/837; Samarkandi, 1939 AH, p. 219).
Research background
So far, the Fortune has not been recognized and published as it should be. Bagheri Hasankiadeh and Heshmati have corrected the text of this Fortune based on the manuscript of the National Library and published it in Farhang and Popular Literature magazine. They did not know the author of the poem and considered it to be taken from Iranian texts of the middle period (Bagheri HasanKiadeh, 2014, p. 1). Regardless of this mistake, due to the faulty manuscript, they could not give a correct and revised form of the text of the Fortune.
Objectives and questions
The purpose of this research is to introduce and correct Jajarmi's Fortune and tries to answer these questions: Is the Fortune the work of Badr Jajarmi? What are the surviving manuscripts of it? What is its structure and content? What are its linguistic and literary characteristics?
The main discussion
Jajarmi has explained the method of fortune-telling with his finger in Fortune. In addition to being the oldest Fortune in Persian verse that we know. This work has another advantage, which is a handful of surviving examples of this type of Fortune.Fortune has a total of 71 verses and was written in Bahr Hazaj. This poem consists of two parts: introduction and text. The introduction of 21 verses is in the form of a Masnavi, and in it, the poet first praises the Lord and then the Holy Prophet. Afterwards, it mentions one or two moral advices and explains his motivation for writing the Fortune. Then, he explained the method of fortune-telling with finger, and finally he praised Baha'uddin Muhammad.
The next 50 verses are the explanation of omens. According to Jajarmi's explanation, two people are needed to make a fortune with this Fortune. The first person whose fortune is to be taken, after the intention, shows a number between 1 and 5 with the fingers of one hand, and then the second person does the same. In this method, the numbers are put together in 25 ways. Each of these states are explained in a couplet and indicate the goodness or badness of a work or decision and resolve the doubts of the diviner about that work or decision.
Until today, we have known two Manuscripts of Jajarmi's Falnama: 1. Paris National Library Manuscript number 3365 (De slane, 1883-1895: 588; Richard, 2004, p. 72), which is a collection of 198 leaves with 15 lines in Naskh script. An unknown scribe wrote the Fortune in 764 AH; 2. National Library Manuscript number 17816, which was written by a person named Fulad Karb in 1113 in India in Nastaliq script on four pages of different lines.
The handwritten of the National Library of Paris has advantages compared to the version of the National Library: it was written 349 years earlier, its recordings are more accurate, it is healthy and it has not suffered from dampness or termites like the Manuscript of the National Library, it is more complete and has the 21-verses preface; therefore, its superiority is obvious and it is based on the correction of the text. Manuscript of the National Library is also useful in reading some verses and in some places where the recordings of handwritten of Paris were distorted or wronged, it has preserved or led to the correct form of the text.
Conclusion
In the 7th century, Badr al-Din Jajarmi arranged a Fortune in 71 verses and explained the method of fortune-telling with the finger. His poem is the oldest Persian Poetic Fortune that we know, and other Persian Fortunes that we have, were written or composed since the 8th century. In addition, the remaining examples of this type of Fortune are few and this doubles the value of Jajarmi's work. Until today, two manuscripts of this Fortune have been obtained, one of which is kept in the National Library of Paris and the other in the National Library of Iran. Of these two, the manuscript of the National Library of Paris is more valid and valuable due to its privileges.References
Bagheri Hasankiadeh, M., & Heshmati, M. (2013). Prophecy and astrology in middle Iranian texts. Popular Culture and Literature, 3, 1-24.De Slane, B. (1883–1895). Département des manuscrits: catalogue des manuscrits arabes. Bibliothèque nationale.
Jajarmi, M. (1958-1971). Munis al-Ahrar fi daqaiq al-Ashar. National Art Association.
Kashani, T. (999 AH). Khulasat al-ashar, manuscript number 16769. Library, Museum and Document Center of the Islamic Council.
Richard, F. (2004). Splendeurs persanes: manuscrits du XIIIe au XVIIe siecle, (translated into Farsi by A. Ruhbakhshan). Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Samarkandi, D. (1318 AH). Tazkirat al-shoara (edited by Edward Brown). Brill.
Keywords: Badr al-Din Jajarmi, fortune, animal’s fortune, finger’s fortune, Persian poetic fortune, 7th century poetry.
Article Type: پژوهشی اصیل |
Subject:
Popular literature
Received: 2023/05/9 | Accepted: 2023/08/5 | Published: 2023/11/21
Received: 2023/05/9 | Accepted: 2023/08/5 | Published: 2023/11/21
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