Investigating the manifestation of love in folk couplets of the Afghan Hazaras
Document Type : پژوهشی اصیل
Authors
1
Ph.D. candidate, Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
2
Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to investigate the manifestation of love in folk couplets of Afghan Hazaras. In this research, using the descriptive-analytical method, a total of 1200 couplets from the millennia were examined. Documentary and field findings show that the theme of most couplets of Afghanistan's Hazaras is love, because out of 1200 couplets, 1100 couplets, that is, approximately 92%, are related to love and emotional issues. Also, in the manifestation of love, you can see the effects of livelihood, environmental conditions and religious symbols. Among the prominent romantic concepts in these couplets, the description of the beauty of the beloved, the desire to connect and meet, the loyalty to the beloved, the restlessness and burning of love and the lover waiting for the beloved are repeated the most. The mentioned concepts as well as burning and melting, moments of sadness and happiness and internal inflammation are among the factors of composing this couplet. In these couplets, simple, attainable, earthly and physical love is reflected more than heavenly and spiritual love. It was also seen that the poet Hazaragi used religious symbols to justify his love.
Research literature
Folk literature includes all aspects of the material and spiritual life of all ethnic groups of a nation (Goya Etemadi, 1957, p. 1). It is a science for knowing people's customs and beliefs, which includes couplets, stories, legends, beliefs, proverbs, and Sistan (Saravi, 2014, p. 179). It is the greatest heritage and spiritual capital and support for the survival of any nation and an important pillar of that nation's culture (Zulfaqari, 2010, p. 1).
Research questions
The following research questions were raised:
1. What are the contents of the most couplets of the Hazaras of Afghanistan?
2. With what concepts is the theme of love manifested in folk couplets of Afghan Hazaras?
3- What factors have caused the composition of folk couplets of the millennium?
4. Why did the poet use religious symbols in these couplets?
5. What kind of love is most expressed in Hazara couplets?
Main discussion
The theme of most Afghan Hazara couplets is "love". The creators of these couplets are native and nameless poets who are fully aware of the culture of society, nature and their place of residence and express their sadness, joy and inner inflammation in a simple language. The description of the beloved, the longing for connection and meeting, and the restlessness and burning of love are prominent concepts. Love in folk couplets of Afghan Hazaras is simple, virtual and attainable.
bēya beldâra az qalam kašda / un tor bēya ra yed âdam nadida
qâš-e bârik kamân-e rostam-e zâl / dil-e âšuqa kada mayda mayda
(Khawari, 2003, p. 298)
Translation: The height of the lover is so balanced as if it was painted with a pen. No one had seen the tall and beautiful Rana. Her thin eyebrow is like Rostam's bow and with this beauty and charm, she has torn the lover's heart to pieces. In this couplet, the lover's height and body are compared to a painting and his eyebrow to Rostam's bow.
alef qadd-o ruxat lâlas rafiq jân / ba ruye nâzukat xalas rafiq jân
aga rōzi du se barat nabinōm / daqiqa ši saram sâlas rafiq jân
(Mousavi, 2000, p. 123)
Translation: Rafiq Jan (dearer than my soul), your height is expressive and your cheeks are like Lal (made of precious red stones), beautiful and attractive, and at the same time soft and thin with moles. I am so infatuated with you that if I don't see you two or three times a day, a minute seems like a year has passed. In this couplet, the species of the lover is compared to Lal, which is rare and rare. Because in official Persian literature, the lover's lips are usually compared to the mute.
Conclusion
The results obtained from the present research indicate that the theme of most folk couplets of Afghan Hazaras is love, and in the light of love, the effects of livelihood, climatic and geographical conditions, and religious symbols are also manifested. In these couplets, attainable, earthly, physical and virtual love is reflected more than heavenly and spiritual love, the love of an ordinary person for an earthly lover of his own kind and the love that any ordinary person can have. Also, the authors of these couplets are local and nameless poets who are fully aware of the culture of their society, nature and place of residence and express their moments of sadness and joy by using the local language and environmental phenomena. In these couplets, the description of the beauty of the beloved, the desire to connect and meet, loyalty to the beloved, and the restlessness and burning of love are prominent concepts of love. Also, this research shows that in the Hazara society, love outside of marriage is forbidden and disrespectful, therefore, the Hazara lover poet uses religious symbols as his basis in these couplets and thus justifies and legitimizes love.
References
Goya Etemadi, S. (1937). Folklore guide. Public Press.
Khawari, M. (2003). Folk couplets of the Hazaras. Irfan.
Mousavi, S. (2000). Hazaras of Afghanistan (translated into Farsi by A. Shafaye). Naqsh Simorgh.
Sarvi, V. (2024). Analysis of the concept of expectation in Mazandaran folk literature couplets. Folk Culture and Literature, 11(54), 173-208.
Zolfaghari, H. (2014). Iranian folk language and literature. Samt.
Research literature
Folk literature includes all aspects of the material and spiritual life of all ethnic groups of a nation (Goya Etemadi, 1957, p. 1). It is a science for knowing people's customs and beliefs, which includes couplets, stories, legends, beliefs, proverbs, and Sistan (Saravi, 2014, p. 179). It is the greatest heritage and spiritual capital and support for the survival of any nation and an important pillar of that nation's culture (Zulfaqari, 2010, p. 1).
Research questions
The following research questions were raised:
1. What are the contents of the most couplets of the Hazaras of Afghanistan?
2. With what concepts is the theme of love manifested in folk couplets of Afghan Hazaras?
3- What factors have caused the composition of folk couplets of the millennium?
4. Why did the poet use religious symbols in these couplets?
5. What kind of love is most expressed in Hazara couplets?
Main discussion
The theme of most Afghan Hazara couplets is "love". The creators of these couplets are native and nameless poets who are fully aware of the culture of society, nature and their place of residence and express their sadness, joy and inner inflammation in a simple language. The description of the beloved, the longing for connection and meeting, and the restlessness and burning of love are prominent concepts. Love in folk couplets of Afghan Hazaras is simple, virtual and attainable.
bēya beldâra az qalam kašda / un tor bēya ra yed âdam nadida
qâš-e bârik kamân-e rostam-e zâl / dil-e âšuqa kada mayda mayda
(Khawari, 2003, p. 298)
Translation: The height of the lover is so balanced as if it was painted with a pen. No one had seen the tall and beautiful Rana. Her thin eyebrow is like Rostam's bow and with this beauty and charm, she has torn the lover's heart to pieces. In this couplet, the lover's height and body are compared to a painting and his eyebrow to Rostam's bow.
alef qadd-o ruxat lâlas rafiq jân / ba ruye nâzukat xalas rafiq jân
aga rōzi du se barat nabinōm / daqiqa ši saram sâlas rafiq jân
(Mousavi, 2000, p. 123)
Translation: Rafiq Jan (dearer than my soul), your height is expressive and your cheeks are like Lal (made of precious red stones), beautiful and attractive, and at the same time soft and thin with moles. I am so infatuated with you that if I don't see you two or three times a day, a minute seems like a year has passed. In this couplet, the species of the lover is compared to Lal, which is rare and rare. Because in official Persian literature, the lover's lips are usually compared to the mute.
Conclusion
The results obtained from the present research indicate that the theme of most folk couplets of Afghan Hazaras is love, and in the light of love, the effects of livelihood, climatic and geographical conditions, and religious symbols are also manifested. In these couplets, attainable, earthly, physical and virtual love is reflected more than heavenly and spiritual love, the love of an ordinary person for an earthly lover of his own kind and the love that any ordinary person can have. Also, the authors of these couplets are local and nameless poets who are fully aware of the culture of their society, nature and place of residence and express their moments of sadness and joy by using the local language and environmental phenomena. In these couplets, the description of the beauty of the beloved, the desire to connect and meet, loyalty to the beloved, and the restlessness and burning of love are prominent concepts of love. Also, this research shows that in the Hazara society, love outside of marriage is forbidden and disrespectful, therefore, the Hazara lover poet uses religious symbols as his basis in these couplets and thus justifies and legitimizes love.
References
Goya Etemadi, S. (1937). Folklore guide. Public Press.
Khawari, M. (2003). Folk couplets of the Hazaras. Irfan.
Mousavi, S. (2000). Hazaras of Afghanistan (translated into Farsi by A. Shafaye). Naqsh Simorgh.
Sarvi, V. (2024). Analysis of the concept of expectation in Mazandaran folk literature couplets. Folk Culture and Literature, 11(54), 173-208.
Zolfaghari, H. (2014). Iranian folk language and literature. Samt.
Keywords
Subjects
References
Aghamohammadi, S., Gudari Esfahani, Z. and Khanzadeh, M. (2022). The components of conversational love from the perspective of
the Qur'an. Recent Advances in Behavioral Sciences, 7(55), 62-72.
Dehkhoda, A.A. (1994). Dehkhoda dictionary. Under the supervision of
J. Shahidi and M. Moeen. C10. Rozeneh.
Foroghi, M. (2014). Millennium couplets. Accessed on:
06/05/ 2024 http://foroughi.rozblog.com/post/242
Goya Etamadi, S. (1937). Folklore guide. Public Press.
Kazemi, A. (2020). Hazargi couplets, a treasure of Dari folk literature.
Accessed at: 08/04/2024 https://anthropologyandculture.com
Khademian, T. (2003). Shamim Khorasan in Georgian songs.
Jahan Kitab, (174), 12-12.
Khavari, M. (2003). Folk couplets of the millennium. Ch1. Irfan.
Mousavi, S. (2000). Afghanistan's millennials. Translation of A. healing
Ch1. Naqsh Simorgh.
Nabizadeh Kargar, M. (1986). Ethnography of the millennials.
Government Press.
Nasiri, A. (2008). Virtual love, its nature and damages. Epistemological
Studies in Islamic University, 12 (4), 43-64.
Qahraman, M. (2014). Genealogy of Molavi's love and Krishna's love.
Comparative Literature, 6 (10), 255-272.
Rustayar, S. (2017). Coordinates of folk couplets. Khorasan,
3 (133-134), 1-13.
Sakhizadeh, H. (Singer). (2024). It's just a torn black cloud. [image file].
Accessed on: 30/04/2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85JeE5NW6Zg
Safdari, M. (2008). Folk couplets of the millennium. Accessed on:
17/03/2024 http://hazaragy.blogfa.com
Sarvi, and (2024). Analysis of the concept of expectation in the couplets of public literature of Mazandaran. Popular Culture and Literature,
11 (54), 173-208.
Shariati, H. (2010). Description of the lover's body in millennial couplets. Accessed on: 10/03/2024
https://www.hazarainternational.com/fa/?p=4329
Shueor, A. (1974). Kehsar songs. C1. Ministry of Information and
Culture.
Vakhshuri, A. (2003). Folk culture of Afghan people (with emphasis on common stories among the people). Iranian People's Culture,
(1), 135-122.
Zia, Z. (2006). Local folklore literature. Matabah Siddiqi.
Zulfiqari, H. (2014). Iran's public language and literature. Ch1, Samt.
Aghamohammadi, S., Gudari Esfahani, Z. and Khanzadeh, M. (2022). The components of conversational love from the perspective of
the Qur'an. Recent Advances in Behavioral Sciences, 7(55), 62-72.
Dehkhoda, A.A. (1994). Dehkhoda dictionary. Under the supervision of
J. Shahidi and M. Moeen. C10. Rozeneh.
Foroghi, M. (2014). Millennium couplets. Accessed on:
06/05/ 2024 http://foroughi.rozblog.com/post/242
Goya Etamadi, S. (1937). Folklore guide. Public Press.
Kazemi, A. (2020). Hazargi couplets, a treasure of Dari folk literature.
Accessed at: 08/04/2024 https://anthropologyandculture.com
Khademian, T. (2003). Shamim Khorasan in Georgian songs.
Jahan Kitab, (174), 12-12.
Khavari, M. (2003). Folk couplets of the millennium. Ch1. Irfan.
Mousavi, S. (2000). Afghanistan's millennials. Translation of A. healing
Ch1. Naqsh Simorgh.
Nabizadeh Kargar, M. (1986). Ethnography of the millennials.
Government Press.
Nasiri, A. (2008). Virtual love, its nature and damages. Epistemological
Studies in Islamic University, 12 (4), 43-64.
Qahraman, M. (2014). Genealogy of Molavi's love and Krishna's love.
Comparative Literature, 6 (10), 255-272.
Rustayar, S. (2017). Coordinates of folk couplets. Khorasan,
3 (133-134), 1-13.
Sakhizadeh, H. (Singer). (2024). It's just a torn black cloud. [image file].
Accessed on: 30/04/2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85JeE5NW6Zg
Safdari, M. (2008). Folk couplets of the millennium. Accessed on:
17/03/2024 http://hazaragy.blogfa.com
Sarvi, and (2024). Analysis of the concept of expectation in the couplets of public literature of Mazandaran. Popular Culture and Literature,
11 (54), 173-208.
Shariati, H. (2010). Description of the lover's body in millennial couplets. Accessed on: 10/03/2024
https://www.hazarainternational.com/fa/?p=4329
Shueor, A. (1974). Kehsar songs. C1. Ministry of Information and
Culture.
Vakhshuri, A. (2003). Folk culture of Afghan people (with emphasis on common stories among the people). Iranian People's Culture,
(1), 135-122.
Zia, Z. (2006). Local folklore literature. Matabah Siddiqi.
Zulfiqari, H. (2014). Iran's public language and literature. Ch1, Samt.
