Document Type : Research Paper

Author

• zahra jamshidi

Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature at Hakim Sabzevari University

Abstract

People's view of death and its special rites and ceremonies in different cultures reveal many intellectual and cultural infrastructures of different peoples, which can be studied and analyzed from different perspectives. One of these viewpoints is the mythological analysis of various rituals related to death from the moment of death to burial and after burial in various cultures and ethnic groups. In this essay, the author has investigated and analyzed the mythology of four post-burial rituals in Kermanshah province using descriptive-analytical method as well asfield study. Since holding rituals among nomads and villagers is more serious than urban residents, the main focus in the interviews was on the nomads and tribes of Kermanshah, including the Sanjābi tribe. The studied rituals are: breaking a jar or pottery at dawn on the first day after burial, planting a tree, especially a cypress, on the grave of the deceased, asking for a good look from the deceased by offering sacrifice, and holding a Nū Ayd ceremony. The result of the research shows that the roots of these rituals are linked to mythological thoughts in ancient Iran. The ritual of breaking a jar or pottery is related to the magic of transferring evil and destruction, Planting a tree on a grave, in connection with the mythological thoughts about trees, is a ritual seeking a good look and concern for the deceased's emotions with the belief in forohers and its ceremonies, and the ritual of Nū Ayd is a repetition of the Zoroastrian Nowruz porseh.

Keywords

• Mythological beliefs
• popular culture
• post-burial rituals
• Kermanshah