Volume 13, Issue 62 (2025)
CFL 2025, 13(62): 252-286 |
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tashakori M, Rezaei dasht arzhaneh M, vatanparast M. The Study and Analysis of the Functions of Magic and Fantasy Elements in the Folk Tales
of Bahar -e- Danesh. CFL 2025; 13 (62) :252-286
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-71734-en.html
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-71734-en.html
1- Assoc.Professor of Persian language and literature of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz , tashakori_m@yahoo.com
2- Dep. of persian language and literature faculty of letters and Humanities Shiraz University Iran
3- Ph.D. student of Persian language and literature, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz
2- Dep. of persian language and literature faculty of letters and Humanities Shiraz University Iran
3- Ph.D. student of Persian language and literature, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz
Abstract: (755 Views)
Bahaar-e-Daanesh is one of the folk and ancient Indian legends in Persian language with the theme of love,written by Inaayatullaah Kanabweh Laahoori(died 1088 AH)who authored it in the year(1061 AH)under the name of Shah Jahaan Gurkaani. This book is part of fiction literature, that is,the intersection of folk and literary stories and in the Indian storytelling style, a story within a story. Its main and long story is fictional and its theme is the love of "Bahre-Varbaanu and Jahaandaarshaah" and the theme of the main story and its main sub-stories are stories about women's tricks. In the spring of knowledge, themes such as shape-shifting, spells, magic, incarnation in a shape-shifting state, awareness of the science of dismembering the body,and the transfer of the soul from one body to another can be seen throughout the stories. In addition, the presence and conquest of Divan and ghouls,talking with magical animals, using the magic in the elements of nature,etc. are present in all the stories. In this article, the functions of magic and its helpers,objects and tools of magic and the ways of using them, magical trips and places and surreal beings,ways to achieve magic factors and nullifiers. Magic and talismans in the stories of Bahaar-e-Daanesh have been examined and analyzed to emphasize the importance of studying,knowing and preserving the cultural and social background of folk tales,which is the most important platform for the presence and manifestation of mythological and ancient themes among the masses. It is the people - to be emphasized.
Introduction
Bahar-e- Danesh (Spring of Knowledge) is a folk and ancient Indian tale in Persian with a love theme, written by Inayatullah Kanabweh Lahori (died 1088 AH) who composed it in 1061 AH under the name Shah Jahan Gurkani. This book is a part of fictional literature, that is, the intersection of folk and literary tales, and in the Indian storytelling style, a story within a story. Its main and long story is fictional and its subject is the love of “Bahreh-ur-Rabano and Jahandar Shah” and the theme of the main story and its most important sub-stories are tales of women’s cunning. In the Spring of Knowledge, themes such as shapeshifting, spells, magic, incarnation in a state of shapeshifting, awareness of the science of disembowelment and the transfer of the soul from one body to another are seen throughout the stories. The presence and possession of demons and ghouls, speaking with magical animals, taking advantage of the magic found in the elements of nature, etc. are present in all the stories. In this study, the functions of magic and its helpers, magical objects and tools and methods of using them, magical journeys and places and supernatural beings, ways to achieve magic factors and nullifiers of magic and spells in the stories of the Spring of Knowledge are examined and analyzed in order to further emphasize the importance of studying, being aware of, and preserving the cultural and social background of folk tales - which are the most important basis for the presence and manifestation of mythological and ancient motifs among the masses of people.
Research Background
Until now, no independent research has been written about the book Bahar Danesh from the perspective of examining and analyzing the functions of magic and magic and fantasy elements. However, the following researches are noteworthy. Zolfaghari (2013) has studied the text of the book and examined some of its stylistic and content values. Reyhaneh (2001) has examined the structure and characteristics of the literary style of the book. Qanbili (2019) has examined the characters of this work from the perspective of a social approach and relies more on the opinions of social criticism.
Goals, questions, and assumptions
Folk tales are treasures of human culture and civilization, and spells and enchantments are created based on unreal matters that contain moral advice and confront the audience with an imaginary and imaginary world. "Mass literature is a product of the lives of the common people, both in terms of the subject matter of stories and songs and in other aspects." (Khalatbari-Sultani, 2012, p. 32). On the other hand, the stories of Bahar Danesh are full of strange events, in them imaginary creatures such as demons, fairies, and ghouls have a great impact, and there is a lot of talk about magic and sorcery. “Magical tools are tools and devices with extraordinary and magical power, and their owner can perform miraculous deeds or protect himself from dangers” (Jahanshahi Afshar and Jihadi. Hosseini, 2017, p. 120).
Main discussion
In Indian stories, especially Bahar Danesh, connection with supernatural beings and references to their supernatural powers have been raised alongside the presence of Indian ascetics and Brahmins. The existence of roots of a philosophical trend in India that considers supernatural beings to have personality and perception has imperceptibly attributed women to magic and witchcraft in the misogynistic Indian culture. Even today, traces of such behaviors can be found among the general public. "By resorting to these ideas, man tried to somehow escape from the unbearable suffering and to shift it onto someone else's shoulders" (Fraser, 2007, p. 593).
After examining Bahar Danesh from the perspective of the function of magic and fantasy motifs, it became clear that the dominant aspect of this work is magic; to the extent that sometimes the realistic aspect of the work is greatly diminished, and this is in contrast to Iranian folk tales, which, although one of the fundamental motifs of these works is magic, this issue has been used in a more balanced way in Iranian tales. In Bahar Danesh, one can find many ancient motifs in the thought of early man, such as animism, personalization of objects and phenomena, the ability to speak with animals and plants, metamorphosis, etc. This indicates that the world before the creation of humans was occupied and roamed by supernatural beings. With the creation of humans, they inevitably rushed to the underworld and lived in the neighborhood of humans. From here, their eternal enmity, bloody conflicts, and revenge against humanity began.
Conclusion
Magic and fantasy elements are seen in Bahar Danesh with themes such as spells or magic and incarnation in the form of changing one's appearance to help the hero of the story, the science of disrobing and transferring the soul, stealing the bride, deceiving the hero, traveling to the world of magic, tricking women, attracting the hero of the story, meeting the beloved, hiding the identity, etc. Spells and magic are used with goals such as punishing, seducing the hero of the story's girl and marrying her, envying the hero, deceiving others, helping, among others. Reincarnation is also used with the aim of revealing the secret of murder, compensating the hero for his kindness and helping him, punishing, and so on.
On the other hand, in these stories, every phenomenon, including real, imaginary, and imaginary animals, plants, imaginary and real objects, and humanoids, has a magical function. Some of these tools are fixed, while others change with time, place, and situation. Some are magical in their essence, and others are given magical properties by human magic that has spiritual dimensions or by the hands of a magician through a spell. They are often used to help the protagonist and to guide the forces of good and evil. The emergence of supernatural factors and forces, magical journeys and places such as mysterious palaces, enchanted gardens, wells and dark spaces, demons, fairies, dragons, magic, anesthetics, sand and astrolabes, magical fruits, etc. are among the main and constructive elements of the stories of the Spring of Knowledge. Some magical tools are activated by functions such as fire (a sacred element in India and a particularly important aspect of symbolism in Indian philosophy), and fire plays a role as the initial actor in performing magic.
References
Jahanshahi Afshar, A., & Jihadi Hosseini, A. (2017). Magic and sorcery in the story of the famous Amir Arsalan. Popular Culture and Literature, 18, 114-131.
Khalatbari Soltani, S. (2012). The element of imagination in illustrating folk tales. Master's Thesis. Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch.
Fraser, J. (2007). The Golden bough (A study in magic and religion) (translated by K. Firouzmand). Aghah.
Introduction
Bahar-e- Danesh (Spring of Knowledge) is a folk and ancient Indian tale in Persian with a love theme, written by Inayatullah Kanabweh Lahori (died 1088 AH) who composed it in 1061 AH under the name Shah Jahan Gurkani. This book is a part of fictional literature, that is, the intersection of folk and literary tales, and in the Indian storytelling style, a story within a story. Its main and long story is fictional and its subject is the love of “Bahreh-ur-Rabano and Jahandar Shah” and the theme of the main story and its most important sub-stories are tales of women’s cunning. In the Spring of Knowledge, themes such as shapeshifting, spells, magic, incarnation in a state of shapeshifting, awareness of the science of disembowelment and the transfer of the soul from one body to another are seen throughout the stories. The presence and possession of demons and ghouls, speaking with magical animals, taking advantage of the magic found in the elements of nature, etc. are present in all the stories. In this study, the functions of magic and its helpers, magical objects and tools and methods of using them, magical journeys and places and supernatural beings, ways to achieve magic factors and nullifiers of magic and spells in the stories of the Spring of Knowledge are examined and analyzed in order to further emphasize the importance of studying, being aware of, and preserving the cultural and social background of folk tales - which are the most important basis for the presence and manifestation of mythological and ancient motifs among the masses of people.
Research Background
Until now, no independent research has been written about the book Bahar Danesh from the perspective of examining and analyzing the functions of magic and magic and fantasy elements. However, the following researches are noteworthy. Zolfaghari (2013) has studied the text of the book and examined some of its stylistic and content values. Reyhaneh (2001) has examined the structure and characteristics of the literary style of the book. Qanbili (2019) has examined the characters of this work from the perspective of a social approach and relies more on the opinions of social criticism.
Goals, questions, and assumptions
Folk tales are treasures of human culture and civilization, and spells and enchantments are created based on unreal matters that contain moral advice and confront the audience with an imaginary and imaginary world. "Mass literature is a product of the lives of the common people, both in terms of the subject matter of stories and songs and in other aspects." (Khalatbari-Sultani, 2012, p. 32). On the other hand, the stories of Bahar Danesh are full of strange events, in them imaginary creatures such as demons, fairies, and ghouls have a great impact, and there is a lot of talk about magic and sorcery. “Magical tools are tools and devices with extraordinary and magical power, and their owner can perform miraculous deeds or protect himself from dangers” (Jahanshahi Afshar and Jihadi. Hosseini, 2017, p. 120).
Main discussion
In Indian stories, especially Bahar Danesh, connection with supernatural beings and references to their supernatural powers have been raised alongside the presence of Indian ascetics and Brahmins. The existence of roots of a philosophical trend in India that considers supernatural beings to have personality and perception has imperceptibly attributed women to magic and witchcraft in the misogynistic Indian culture. Even today, traces of such behaviors can be found among the general public. "By resorting to these ideas, man tried to somehow escape from the unbearable suffering and to shift it onto someone else's shoulders" (Fraser, 2007, p. 593).
After examining Bahar Danesh from the perspective of the function of magic and fantasy motifs, it became clear that the dominant aspect of this work is magic; to the extent that sometimes the realistic aspect of the work is greatly diminished, and this is in contrast to Iranian folk tales, which, although one of the fundamental motifs of these works is magic, this issue has been used in a more balanced way in Iranian tales. In Bahar Danesh, one can find many ancient motifs in the thought of early man, such as animism, personalization of objects and phenomena, the ability to speak with animals and plants, metamorphosis, etc. This indicates that the world before the creation of humans was occupied and roamed by supernatural beings. With the creation of humans, they inevitably rushed to the underworld and lived in the neighborhood of humans. From here, their eternal enmity, bloody conflicts, and revenge against humanity began.
Conclusion
Magic and fantasy elements are seen in Bahar Danesh with themes such as spells or magic and incarnation in the form of changing one's appearance to help the hero of the story, the science of disrobing and transferring the soul, stealing the bride, deceiving the hero, traveling to the world of magic, tricking women, attracting the hero of the story, meeting the beloved, hiding the identity, etc. Spells and magic are used with goals such as punishing, seducing the hero of the story's girl and marrying her, envying the hero, deceiving others, helping, among others. Reincarnation is also used with the aim of revealing the secret of murder, compensating the hero for his kindness and helping him, punishing, and so on.
On the other hand, in these stories, every phenomenon, including real, imaginary, and imaginary animals, plants, imaginary and real objects, and humanoids, has a magical function. Some of these tools are fixed, while others change with time, place, and situation. Some are magical in their essence, and others are given magical properties by human magic that has spiritual dimensions or by the hands of a magician through a spell. They are often used to help the protagonist and to guide the forces of good and evil. The emergence of supernatural factors and forces, magical journeys and places such as mysterious palaces, enchanted gardens, wells and dark spaces, demons, fairies, dragons, magic, anesthetics, sand and astrolabes, magical fruits, etc. are among the main and constructive elements of the stories of the Spring of Knowledge. Some magical tools are activated by functions such as fire (a sacred element in India and a particularly important aspect of symbolism in Indian philosophy), and fire plays a role as the initial actor in performing magic.
References
Jahanshahi Afshar, A., & Jihadi Hosseini, A. (2017). Magic and sorcery in the story of the famous Amir Arsalan. Popular Culture and Literature, 18, 114-131.
Khalatbari Soltani, S. (2012). The element of imagination in illustrating folk tales. Master's Thesis. Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch.
Fraser, J. (2007). The Golden bough (A study in magic and religion) (translated by K. Firouzmand). Aghah.
Article Type: پژوهشی اصیل |
Subject:
Folklore literature
Received: 2023/09/26 | Accepted: 2024/02/17 | Published: 2025/05/31
Received: 2023/09/26 | Accepted: 2024/02/17 | Published: 2025/05/31
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