Lullabies are one of the most important and valuable branches of popular culture in any ethnic group. The theme of lullabies is the reflection of thoughts, beliefs, spiritual reflections, social and political concerns, emotions, prayers and individual and social aspirations that can affect the geographical, cultural, social, and political conditions of a society. Because lullabies are not specific to a particular culture or country, they can have a lot in common, which may be in terms of rhythm, theme, concepts, as well as religious topos, natural, social, geographical, and political motifs and themes. In this descriptive-analytical study, 40 written Sabzevari lullabies have been collected by the library method to be examined. While identifying the method of the motif formation in them, the most commonly used motifs are presented in order to introduce the native lullabies of Sabzevar and to understand the reflection of religious ideas, social conditions and personal concerns of mothers of that time. After examining the various motifs in these lullabies, we were able to divide them into four categories: religious motifs, nature, places and relatives. Among the motifs used, the motif "flower" (the name of different types of flowers) with 26 items and the motif "Baba" with 16 items had the highest frequency. The results of this study show that the speakers of these lullabies have used a variety of motifs to enrich the theme of their lullabies because their poets have based the existing images and themes on various motifs, most of which form a network of images, their intellectual and emotional themes. Without analyzing them, recognizing the main peculiarities of the concepts in these lullabies could not be understood.
Literature Review
Many studies have been done on lullabies from different aspects, some of which are done by Hasanli (2003), and the book Lullaby in Peoplechr('39')s Culture by Jamali (2007). Many efforts have been made to collect native lullabies, one of which is Sabzevar childrenchr('39')s songs by Kashmari (2014). In this work, the author collected a number of Sabzevar native childrenchr('39')s songs, analyzed their content and structure, and examined the most frequent themes in these songs. In addition to the mentioned studies, in the field of Sabzevar dialect and popular culture, some researchers have tried to focus on this dialect such as Mohtasham (1994; 1996), Boroughni (2002), and Mahmoud Beyhaghi (2000; 2004).
Aims and research questions
In the present study, we examine the common motifs in 40 lullabies of Sabzevari dialect in order to get acquainted with the culture of one of the Iranian tribes as well as the individual and social characteristics of the people of that tribe. The research questions are:
1. How is the motif formed in the lullabies under investigation?
2. What are the most common motifs used in these lullabies?
 
 
Discussion
The use of motifs in a literary work is sometimes conscious and the owner of the work intends to mention it for a particular purpose. For example, an author might aim to express an opinion, say something or do something that draws the readerchr('39')s attention to a particular subject. Sometimes, it is considered a literary trick (Taghavi and Dehghan, 2009, p. 20). Sometimes, the motif is repeated completely accidentally and unconsciously in various works. As in lullabies, sometimes the poets have used it in the form of recitation without any special purpose of these repetitions. Hence, similarities can be found in them lexically and thematically. Since motif is a recurring element in a work of art, it plays a prominent role in analyzing the work and the personality dimensions of the owner of the work. Although lullabies cannot be considered a work of art, they are an important part of the culture of the people of a country. By analyzing them, one can get acquainted with a part of the culture of that country. Motif has two forms in terms of presence in the mind of the author, and appearance in the text of the work: the former known as "Motifeme" (Motifeme) and the latter known as "Motif" (Motife). Motifeme is present in the mind of the author, but the motif is its objective manifestation in the literary work (Taghavi and Dehghan, 2009, pp. 18-19). In fact, Motifeme is expressed by the motif in the works. In many cases, the motif is manifested in the form of several motifs in one work. Although in this case the recognition of Motifeme becomes complicated, this transformation, or the aesthetic value of the work increases and adds to its analytical potential as well as the pleasure of the reader. Sometimes, Motifeme is expressed only via motif. For example, in lullabies, the word "flower" is a motif, and in lullabies motifs such as "tulip flower", "mint flower", "yellow flower", "plain flower", "poppy flower", "hazelnut flower" "Sugar flower", "Almond flower", "Narum flower", "Pistachio flower", "Jasmine flower" and so forth have been expressed. In fact, these motifs, which are mostly used as additional or descriptive combinations express the motif of "flower" which is a metaphor of "child" in the mind of the lullaby speaker.
According to Todorov, "the system of motifs constitutes the interior of a work. Hence, the motifs of the work must represent an aesthetic unit. If the motifs in a work are not well coordinated, we say that this collection does not fit in the work, and if all the parts of the work are not well coordinated, the work will fall apart” (Todorov, 1939/2013, p. 313). In this sense, lullabies often have the necessary coherence. The owner of the work must have a justification for using any special motif or any set of motifs in his work. The system of processes that justifies specific motifs and their set is called "motivation". The lullabies of every dialect are part of the popular, enduring and ancient Iranian songs that have their roots in the distant past. "Sabzevar, which was called Beyhaq in the past, is one of the cities of Khorasan Razavi province. The dialect of the people of this city is Sabzevari, which is not much different from Persian except for the phonetic and lexical differences. Of course, this dialect has a great variety in the villages of Sabzevar. The main difference among them and the types in Sabzevar is the phonetic difference, especially the difference in vowels (Estaji, 2006, p. 31). Many motifs can be seen in Sabzevar lullabies. In this article, we tried to identify the motifs in the lullabies in question and provide a regular classification of them.
Conclusion
Lullabies are a collection of popular literature which can show the beliefs of each people to others along with customs, food, and clothing. The lullabies of each dialect are part of the popular, enduring and ancient songs of Iranian culture that have their roots in the distant past. Due to the similarities that may exist among them, various motifs can be observed. In the present study, the pattern formation of lullabies was introduced, recurring motifs in Sabzevar lullabies were identified, and then their types were classified by the content analysis method. We obtained these results from a total of 40 Sabzevari lullabies that were studied; the motifs in these lullabies are divided into four general categories: religious, place, nature, and relative motifs. We found that many of these lullabies have common themes and motifs, and each can fall into several categories we have in mind. For example, a mother may have mentioned a family member in a lullaby and at the same time made her child look like a flower. The speakers of Sabzevari lullabies, using different motifs and considering their desired moral, educational and training goals, have also created simple and ultimately concise images. These speakers are more inclined to tangible and natural motifs and have based the images and themes of lullabies on these types of motifs, most of which form a network of images and their intellectual and emotional themes. The use of various motifs in the lullabies in question is one of the characteristics and advantages of this type of poetry. The motifs created in these lullabies have shown the mentality and sensitivity of their speakers towards these issues and phenomena. We have observed many of the motifs prevalent in these lullabies in the works of others, but the speakers of these lullabies, through artistry, have manifested these elements in childish language, which is the result of their creation. Therefore, the motifs used in lullabies are in line with the taste of their speakers. There is no particular symbolism, ambiguity, or complexity in these motifs because the speakers of lullabies have expressed their emotions, feelings, and thoughts in the form of motifs which are in simple and clear language. Hence, such motifs are effective and their simplicity and mentality have made children interested in lullabies.
 
Reference
Beyhaqi, M. (2000). Sabzevar is the city of awakened scholars (in Farsi). Ferdowsi University.
Beyhaqi, M. (2004). Sabzevar large Encyclopedia (in Farsi). Agenda.
Boroughni, A. (2002). Linguistic study of Sabzevar dialect (in Farsi). Ibnimin.
Estaji, A. (2006) Vowel coordination in Sabzevari dialect. Dialectology, 1-2, 31-40.
Hasanli, K. (2003). Velvet lullabies: A look at the origins and themes of Iranian lullabies. Persian Language and Literature, 1, 61–80.
Jamali Sosfi, A. (2007). Lullaby in the culture of the Iranian people (in Farsi). Soroush.
Kashmari, N. (2014). Sabzevar childrenchr('39')s songs (in Farsi). Ibnimin.
Mohtasham, H. (1994). Sabzevar Indigenous Dictionary (in Farsi). Azad University.
Mohtasham, H. (1996). Dictionary of Sabzevar Proverbs (in Farsi). Azad University.
Taqwi, M., & Dehghan, A. (2009). What is a motif and how is it formed? Literary Criticism, 8, 7-31.
Todorov, T. (2013). Literary theory: texts by Russian formalists (translated into Farsi by Tahaei). Dot.