Volume 13, Issue 62 (2025)
CFL 2025, 13(62): 187-218 |
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Shahroodi M. The Silent Cry of the Women of Sistan in "â?i:ka" (Lullabies of Sistan). CFL 2025; 13 (62) :187-218
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-77107-en.html
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-77107-en.html
sistan & baluchestan university , mahmood.shahroodi24@gmail.com
Abstract: (58 Views)
â?i:ka is a type of lullaby sung in the Sistan region. Given that â?i:ka is usually sung by mothers to their children, the mother’s concerns and feelings are reflected in â?i:ka. This study seeks to find what issues and concerns a mother as a woman in a traditional society has. This investigation argues that â?i:ka has numerous other functions in addition to calming the child and putting him to sleep, which are examined in four general categories. The function of the â?i:ka is in relation to the child, where the mother expresses her feelings and mood towards the child. Another function of the â?i:ka is in relation to the mother's love and spiritual concerns, where the speaker of the â?i:ka expresses her feelings and talks about her past failures. The third function of the â?i:ka is in relation to others, where the speaker conveys her complaints to others. Its last function is in relation to animals. This article uses two research methods. Some of the images were collected through library research and most of them were collected through field research. After that, they were analyzed via MAXQDA software and it was concluded that the image is a female media in a traditional society where women as mothers can speak and shout their pains without fear.
Research background
No independent book has been published on “â?i:ka” yet; however, some sources of popular culture in Sistan have mentioned a few â?i:ka. In the songs of Nimrooz by Nikokari (1973), a number of “â?i:ka” have been mentioned. Golestaneh (2007) in addition to collecting a few “â?i:ka”, has written about its function and role in the popular literature of Sistan. The article "Melodiousness and Softness in the” â?i:ka” (Lullabies of Sistan)" written by Shahroodi and Khalili (2022) is the only article published about â?i:ka that examines the role of different types of music in the pleasure of â?i:ka.
Research questions
The questions raised in this study were: What other functions did the â?i:ka have besides its main function? what do they show us about women?
The present research shows that examining the â?i:ka as the only medium of Sistan women reveals their thoughts and inner feelings.
Purpose and significance of the Research
This research was written to investigate the lullaby of Sistan. "â?i:ka" is one of the most well-known types of folk literature in the land of Sistan, which is related to folklore on the one hand and includes children's literature on the other. This research is based on the idea that by carefully examining folk literature in a region, one can gain insight into the attitudes and beliefs of the people of that region.
Methodology
Two methods of field and library study have been used in this research to provide the sources and data for this research. After that, the content of the data collected from field studies and library sources has been analyzed using MAXQDA software.
Main discussion
â?i:ka is a kind of melodious poem that a mother sings to put her child to sleep (Mirhadi and Jahanshahi, 1997, vol. 2/p. 164). Therefore, its main function is clear; but the singer of â?i:ka also conveys some of her thoughts to others. Therefore, â?i:ka is the only way to listen to the words of women in traditional society and to search for their thoughts and emotions through it.
The mother combines music and dance with her singing along with the impulses she gives to the child. This poetry and music create a vibration in the bodies of both of them that becomes a source of comfort for the mother and the child (Shahroodi & Khalili Jahantigh, 2021, p. 160). In a patriarchal society, talking about love is clearly unpleasant. The idiom is a way for the lover to overcome the barriers of social awkwardness and sing his love to the child and other listeners.
From the â?i:ka that express the mother's feelings, it can be seen that she has always been in search of love, a love that she has had with her since her youth. Sometimes, this love is the result of that child who sang a love song to her and sometimes it is an unrequited love that remains in her mind. The important issue is that in a patriarchal society, a woman is not even allowed to decide for her future. The opposition of the family, and usually the father, to the girl's decision causes the girl's fate to change; but that love remains in her mind forever, a love that even expressing it now carries great risks. This is what Spivak refers to as “the inferior cannot speak” (Spivak, 1988, p. 308). From Spivak’s perspective, a woman in a patriarchal society is inferior and is not allowed to express herself or speak, and her voice is not heard by anyone. Spivak states that the voices of inferior women are not heard in society and that only literary texts are an alternative to express the history of inferior women (Morton, 2013, p. 90). She considers literary texts, including novels, as a place where the cries of inferior women in society can be heard. Here, it is the literary text in which the unspoken words of women can be heard.
Conclusion
In addition to the traditional functions of the â?i:ka that distinguish it from other regions, four general functions can be considered for it. By examining these functions, the following conclusions are obtained: In the lullaby, the girl child is addressed; but in no case is the boy child the addressee. This could be because the mother prepares her daughter for the future and life through the â?i:ka; because she considers her daughter a repetition of her life and tries to teach her the ways and customs of life from early childhood. Another issue is that in no â?i:ka is the word husband, wife or its equivalent found; even in a few â?i:ka the mother mentions the father of her child. Of course, there are many instances where the speaker talks about her love and lover, but it is not clearly clear that this love is the child's father. This means that a woman who, due to patriarchal dominance, is not even allowed to determine her own destiny, is expressing her concerns in the â?i:ka. Another point is that some of the verses address animals, especially cows, as if the speaker was speaking to his animal. These verses are the same as those used by animals during farming, and the farmer or farmer's wife would sing to her cow.
References
Mirhadi, T., & Jahanshahi, A. (1997). Children and youth dictionary. Children and Youth Dictionary Production and Publishing Company.
Morton, S. (2013). Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (translated into Farsi by N. Ghabeli). Bidgol.
Shahroodi, M., & Khalili Jahantigh, M. (2021). Melodiousness and softness in the â?i:ka (Lullabies of Sistan). Culture and Folk Literature, 38, 147-181.
Spivak, G. (1988). “Can the Subaltern Speak?” in Marxism and the interpretation of culture. Macmillan, pp. 271 - 313.
Research background
No independent book has been published on “â?i:ka” yet; however, some sources of popular culture in Sistan have mentioned a few â?i:ka. In the songs of Nimrooz by Nikokari (1973), a number of “â?i:ka” have been mentioned. Golestaneh (2007) in addition to collecting a few “â?i:ka”, has written about its function and role in the popular literature of Sistan. The article "Melodiousness and Softness in the” â?i:ka” (Lullabies of Sistan)" written by Shahroodi and Khalili (2022) is the only article published about â?i:ka that examines the role of different types of music in the pleasure of â?i:ka.
Research questions
The questions raised in this study were: What other functions did the â?i:ka have besides its main function? what do they show us about women?
The present research shows that examining the â?i:ka as the only medium of Sistan women reveals their thoughts and inner feelings.
Purpose and significance of the Research
This research was written to investigate the lullaby of Sistan. "â?i:ka" is one of the most well-known types of folk literature in the land of Sistan, which is related to folklore on the one hand and includes children's literature on the other. This research is based on the idea that by carefully examining folk literature in a region, one can gain insight into the attitudes and beliefs of the people of that region.
Methodology
Two methods of field and library study have been used in this research to provide the sources and data for this research. After that, the content of the data collected from field studies and library sources has been analyzed using MAXQDA software.
Main discussion
â?i:ka is a kind of melodious poem that a mother sings to put her child to sleep (Mirhadi and Jahanshahi, 1997, vol. 2/p. 164). Therefore, its main function is clear; but the singer of â?i:ka also conveys some of her thoughts to others. Therefore, â?i:ka is the only way to listen to the words of women in traditional society and to search for their thoughts and emotions through it.
The mother combines music and dance with her singing along with the impulses she gives to the child. This poetry and music create a vibration in the bodies of both of them that becomes a source of comfort for the mother and the child (Shahroodi & Khalili Jahantigh, 2021, p. 160). In a patriarchal society, talking about love is clearly unpleasant. The idiom is a way for the lover to overcome the barriers of social awkwardness and sing his love to the child and other listeners.
From the â?i:ka that express the mother's feelings, it can be seen that she has always been in search of love, a love that she has had with her since her youth. Sometimes, this love is the result of that child who sang a love song to her and sometimes it is an unrequited love that remains in her mind. The important issue is that in a patriarchal society, a woman is not even allowed to decide for her future. The opposition of the family, and usually the father, to the girl's decision causes the girl's fate to change; but that love remains in her mind forever, a love that even expressing it now carries great risks. This is what Spivak refers to as “the inferior cannot speak” (Spivak, 1988, p. 308). From Spivak’s perspective, a woman in a patriarchal society is inferior and is not allowed to express herself or speak, and her voice is not heard by anyone. Spivak states that the voices of inferior women are not heard in society and that only literary texts are an alternative to express the history of inferior women (Morton, 2013, p. 90). She considers literary texts, including novels, as a place where the cries of inferior women in society can be heard. Here, it is the literary text in which the unspoken words of women can be heard.
Conclusion
In addition to the traditional functions of the â?i:ka that distinguish it from other regions, four general functions can be considered for it. By examining these functions, the following conclusions are obtained: In the lullaby, the girl child is addressed; but in no case is the boy child the addressee. This could be because the mother prepares her daughter for the future and life through the â?i:ka; because she considers her daughter a repetition of her life and tries to teach her the ways and customs of life from early childhood. Another issue is that in no â?i:ka is the word husband, wife or its equivalent found; even in a few â?i:ka the mother mentions the father of her child. Of course, there are many instances where the speaker talks about her love and lover, but it is not clearly clear that this love is the child's father. This means that a woman who, due to patriarchal dominance, is not even allowed to determine her own destiny, is expressing her concerns in the â?i:ka. Another point is that some of the verses address animals, especially cows, as if the speaker was speaking to his animal. These verses are the same as those used by animals during farming, and the farmer or farmer's wife would sing to her cow.
References
Mirhadi, T., & Jahanshahi, A. (1997). Children and youth dictionary. Children and Youth Dictionary Production and Publishing Company.
Morton, S. (2013). Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (translated into Farsi by N. Ghabeli). Bidgol.
Shahroodi, M., & Khalili Jahantigh, M. (2021). Melodiousness and softness in the â?i:ka (Lullabies of Sistan). Culture and Folk Literature, 38, 147-181.
Spivak, G. (1988). “Can the Subaltern Speak?” in Marxism and the interpretation of culture. Macmillan, pp. 271 - 313.
Article Type: پژوهشی اصیل |
Subject:
Popular child literature
Received: 2024/09/20 | Accepted: 2025/04/6 | Published: 2025/05/31
Received: 2024/09/20 | Accepted: 2025/04/6 | Published: 2025/05/31
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