Iranian folklore#Creatures

{{Short description|Folk traditions that have evolved in Greater Iran}}

Iranian folklore encompasses the folk traditions that have evolved in Greater Iran.

Oral legends

File:Singing storytelling performance of the story of Shahnameh in Qazvin 2.jpg, the Iranian national epic, in Qazvin, Iran]]

=Folktales=

Storytelling has an important presence in Iranian culture.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/dastan-sarai |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=DĀSTĀN-SARĀʾĪ |volume=VII |pages=102–103 |date=November 18, 2011}} In classical Iran, minstrels performed for their audiences at royal courts and in public theaters.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gosan |title=GŌSĀN |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=Xi |pages=167–170 |date=February 17, 2012}} A minstrel was referred to by the Parthians as gusans in Parthian, and by the Sasanians as {{Transliteration|pal|huniyāgar}} in Middle Persian. Since the time of the Safavid dynasty, storytellers and poetry readers have appeared at coffeehouses.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/coffeehouse-qahva-kana |title=COFFEEHOUSE |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=VI |pages=1–4 |date=October 26, 2011}}

The following are a number of folktales known to the people of Iran:{{cite book |author-link=Farrokh Ghaffari |first=Farrokh |last=Gaffary |chapter=Iranien (folklore) |title=Dictionnaire universel des litteratures |volume=2: G-O |location=Paris |publisher=Presses universitaires de France |date=1994 |page=1703 |language=FR |quote=Parmi les contes les plus célèbres [de Iran], citons: ... «La Citrouille qui roule» (Kaduy-e qelqelehzan), «Tante Scarabée» (Khâleh suskeh), ... «Orange amère et bigarade» (Nârendj va torandj) ... «Le Poulain marin» (Korre-ye daryâ’i) ... «Fronte de lune» (Mâh-pishâni) ...}}

{{Transliteration|fa|Kadu Qelqelezan}} ("Rolling Pumpkin"){{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rITYAAAAMAAJ |title=Celebrate the World |chapter=The Old Woman in a Pumpkin Shell |location=New York |first=Margaret Read |last=McDonald |year=1994 |publisher=H.W. Wilson |pages=61–70|isbn=9780824208622 }}
{{Transliteration|fa|Māh-pišāni}} (fa) ("Moon-brow"){{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=33AYDAAAQBAJ |first=J. |last=Zipes |title=The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World 2e |year=2016 |publisher=Springer |page=190|isbn=9781137098733 }}{{cite journal |url=http://liar.ui.ac.ir/article_21405.html |title=Explanation and Analysis of Mythical Themes in the Structure of the Tale of "MahPishani" |first=Morteza |last=Heidari |year=2017 |journal=University of Isfahan |volume=9 |issue=1 |doi=10.22108/LIAR.2017.21405}}
The Love for Three Oranges (fairy tale)#Iran ("Bitter Orange and Bergamot Orange"){{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/fiction-iid-the-post-revolutionary-short-story |title=FICTION |trans-title=ii(d). THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY SHORT STORY |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=IX |pages=597–599 |date=January 26, 2012}}
{{Transliteration|fa|Sarmā ye Pirezan}} ("Old Woman's Cold"), a period in the month of Esfand, at the end of winter, during which an old woman's flock is not impregnated. She goes to Moses and asks for an extension of the cold winter days, so that her flock might copulate.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Omidsalar |first=Mahmoud |title=ČELLA In Persian Folklore |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=December 21, 2011 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cella-term-referring-to-any-forty-day-period#pt1}}
The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats ("Shangul and Mangul"){{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hedayat-sadeq-iii |title=HEDAYAT, SADEQ |trans-title=iii. Hedayat and Folklore Studies |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=XII |pages=121–135 |access-date=October 1, 2017}}
{{Transliteration|fa|Xāle Suske}} ("Auntie Cockroach"){{cite news |url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/43593/New-films-to-hit-Iranian-silver-screens |work=Mehr News Agency |title=New films to hit Iranian silver screens |date=December 18, 2010 |quote=(...) the story of Auntie Cockroach, as narrated by grandmas and published in storybooks over the years (...)}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2014/oct/28/iran-best-childrens-books |first=Golbarg |last=Bashi |date=October 28, 2014 |work=The Guardian |title=The best children's books on Iran}}
The Wonderful Sea-Horse
The Black Colt
The Horse of the Cloud and the Wind

Below are a number of historical tale books that contain Iranian folktales.

Amir Arsalan ("Amir Arsalan the Famous"), a popular legend that was narrated to Naser-ed-Din Shah.
Darab Nama ("Book of Darab"), a 12th-century book by Abu Taher Tarsusi that recounts a fiction about Alexander the Great and Darius III.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ofPBAAAQBAJ |publisher=BRILL |title=Farāmarz, the Sistāni Hero: Texts and Traditions of the Farāmarznāme and the Persian Epic Cycle |first=Marjolijn |last=van Zutphen |year=2014 |page=70|isbn=9789004268289 }}{{cite encyclopedia |last= HANAWAY |first= WILLIAM L | title=ĀBĀN DOKHT | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica | access-date=2009-01-25|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abandokt}}
{{Transliteration|fa|Eskandar-nāme}}, also known as "The Persian Alexander Romances", an Iranianized version of The Romance of Alexander.{{cite encyclopedia |last=HANAWAY |first=WILLIAM L |title=ESKANDAR-NĀMA |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=2009-01-25 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eskandar-nama}} Not to be confused with the classic book of Nezami.
One Thousand and One Nights, the frame-story of which derives from the now lost Middle Persian work {{Transliteration|pal|Hazār Afsān}} ("Thousand Nights").
Samak-e Ayyar, a folktale about an Iranian {{Transliteration|fa|ayyār}} that was written down during the 12th century.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/samak-e-ayyar |title=SAMAK-E ʿAYYĀR |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=July 20, 2009}} {{Transliteration|fa|Ayyār}}, at times synonymous with Javānmardi ("young man"), referred to a member of a class of warriors in Iran from the 9th to the 12th century.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyar |title=ʿAYYĀR |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |pages=159–163 |volume=III |date=August 18, 2011}}
Shahnameh ("Book of Kings"), the national epic of Iran, written by 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi, based on {{Transliteration|pal|Xwadāynāmag}}, a Middle Persian compilation of the history of Iranian kings and heroes from mythical times down to the reign of Chosroes II.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdowsi#ref69128 |title=Ferdowsī |author=Boyle, John Andrew |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=July 18, 2017}}
{{Transliteration|fa|Vāmeq o Ozrā}}, a derivation from the Greek romance of Metiochus and Parthenope that was written down by Persian poet Onsori in the 11th century.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Davis |first=Richard |title=Greece ix. Greek and Persian Romances |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=February 23, 2012 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/greece-ix}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwVkAAAAMAAJ |first1=Tomas |last1=Hägg |first2=Bo |last2=Utas |title=The Virgin and Her Lover: Fragments of an Ancient Greek Novel and a Persian Epic Poem |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill Publishers |year=2003|isbn=9789004132603 }}

=Heroes=

File:Sa'dabad Palace Darafshs (2).jpg at Saadabad, Tehran]]

==Heroes in {{Transliteration|fa|Šāhnāme}}==

Arash the Archer ({{Transliteration|fa|Āraš-e Kamāngir}}), who shot his arrow from the peak of Damavand to settle a land dispute between Iran and Turan. The festival of Tirgan is linked to this epic, besides having roots in the ancient myth of archangel Tishtrya.
Garshasp ({{Transliteration|fa|Garšāsp}}), a dragon-slaying hero in Iranian legends, now honored as {{Transliteration|fa|jahān-pahlavān}} ("chief hero").{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azdaha-dragon-various-kinds |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=III |pages=191–205 |date=August 18, 2011|title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica }}
Gordafarid ({{Transliteration|fa|Gordāfarid}}), praised for her daringly martial role in the tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab ("Rostam and Sohrab").
Kaveh the Blacksmith
Rostam, a celebrated marzban ("border-guardian"), best known for his mournful battle with his son Sohrab. He was the son of Dastan.
Zahhak

==Other heroes==

Hossein the Kurd of Shabestar ({{Transliteration|fa|Hoseyn Kord-e Šabestari}}), a Kurdish warrior from Shabestar who devoted his life to fighting for justice, representing a Javānmardi ("young man").{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hosayn-e-kord-e-sabestari |title=ḤOSAYN-E KORD-E ŠABESTARI |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=XII |pages=515–516 |date=March 23, 2012}}
Koroghlu, a legendary hero who seeks to fight against the unjust, in the oral traditions of the Turkic-speaking peoples.
Pourya-ye Vali, a 14th-century champion from Khwarezm, regarded as a role model by zurkhane athletes.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zur-kana |title=ZUR-ḴĀNA |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=August 15, 2006}}
Yaʿqub-e Leys, under the court of whom the Persian language reemerged after two centuries of eclipse by Arabic ("Two Centuries of Silence").{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9077826/Yaqub-ibn-Laith-as-Saffar |title= Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |access-date=2007-07-15}}

=Characters in jokes=

Molla Nasreddin
Dakho

=Creatures=

File:Shahnameh - The Div Akvan throws Rustam into the sea.jpg miniature painting, depicting a demon ({{Transliteration|fa|div}}) throwing Rostam into the sea]]

File:Homa.JPG

Al (folklore): a scrawny old woman with a clay nose and red face who attacks pregnant women when they are alone and interferes with childbirth. It is believed that she carries a basket in which she puts the liver or lung of the mother,{{cite journal |last=Asatrian |first=Garnik |year=2001 |title=Āl Reconsidered |journal=Iran & the Caucasus |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=150 |publisher=Brill Publishers |location=Leiden |issn=1609-8498 |doi=10.1163/157338401X00189 |jstor=4030855}} although a variety of other descriptions exist as well.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/al-folkloric-being-that-personifies-puerperal-fever |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=ĀL |volume=I |pages=741–742 |date=July 29, 2011}}
Night hag ({{Transliteration|fa|baxtak}}): a ghost or an evil creature that causes sleep paralysis.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baktak-a-folkloric-she-creature-of-horrible-shape-personifying-a-nightmare |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=BAḴTAK |volume=III |page=539 |date=December 15, 1988}} It is believed that the creature knows about hidden treasures, and one would be told of one of them by grabbing the creature's nose. One can rescue oneself from the creature by wiggling one’s fingers.
Himantopodes ({{Transliteration|fa|davālpā}}): an evil creature that uses its flexible, leather-like legs as tentacles to grip and capture human beings. The captives will be enslaved and forced to carry the creature until they die of fatigue.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/daval-pay |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=DAVĀL-PĀ(Y) |volume=VII |pages=128–129 |date=November 18, 2011}}
Huma: a Griffin-like mythical bird said to never come to rest, living its entire life flying invisibly high above the earth, and never alighting on the ground (in some legends it is said to have no legs){{citation|last=Nile|first=Green|title=Ostrich Eggs and Peacock Feathers: Sacred Objects as Cultural Exchange between Christianity and Islam|journal=Al Masaq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean|volume=18|issue=1|year=2006|pages=27–78|doi=10.1080/09503110500222328|s2cid=154129150 }}.
Demon ({{Transliteration|fa|div}}; from Avestan daeva): an evil being, devil, ogre, or giant.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Omidsalar |first=Mahmoud |title=DĪV |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=November 28, 2011 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/div |volume=VII |pages=428–431}}
Ghoul ({{Transliteration|fa|ğul}}): a hideous monster with a feline head, forked tongue, hairy skin, and deformed legs that resemble the limp and skinny legs of a prematurely born infant.{{cite encyclopedia |first1=Mahmoud |last1=Omidsalar |first2=Teresa P. |last2=Omidsalar |title=ḠUL |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=February 24, 2012 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gul |volume=XI |pages=393–395}}
Genie ({{Transliteration|fa|jenn}}): a supernatural creature, comparable to the elves and the goblins, that is believed to have been created from smokeless fire and to exist invisibly alongside the visible world.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/genie- |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=GENIE |volume=X |pages=418–422 |date=February 7, 2012}}
Manticore ({{Transliteration|fa|mardxâr}}: from Middle Persian {{Transliteration|pal|martyaxwar}}), a man-eater with the head of a human and the body of a lion, similar to the Egyptian sphinx.
Amen Bird ({{Transliteration|fa|morğ-e āmin}}): a mythical bird in Persian literature that flies continuously and fulfills people's wishes.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wX5Kprcd6gUC |title=Essays On Nima Yushij: Animating Modernism In Persian Poetry |publisher=Brill Publishers |year=2004 |first1=Ahmad |last1=Karimi-Hakkak |first2=Kamran |last2=Talattof |page=128 |quote=...reflexivity defines the amen bird's mythic role: the bird verbalizes the people's wish and they respond with "Amen" ("So shall it be"), thereby echoing the bird's name and making the wish come true... |isbn=9004138099}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jwhkAAAAMAAJ |title=Recasting Persian Poetry: Scenarios of Poetic Modernity in Iran |publisher=The University of Utah Press |year=1995 |page=268 |isbn=0874804922 |author=Karimi-Hakkak, Ahmad |quote=He does so initially by setting up a series of connections between the amen bird and other mythical birds known or imaginable to the poem's readers.}}
Peri: a type of exquisite, winged fairy-like spirit ranking between angels and evil spirits.
Reera, Rayra or Raira: was a beautiful supernatural female who was believed to have brought beauty to the Northern jungles of Iran.
The Patient Stone ({{Transliteration|fa|sang-e sabur}}): the most empathetic of listeners, which is believed to absorb the sorrows and pains of the person who confides in it.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Habibi |first=Faranguis |title=SYNGUÉ SABUR: PIERRE DE PATIENCE |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=August 30, 2011 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/syngue-sabur}} It is said that when the stone can no longer contain the pain it harbors, it bursts into pieces. It is also a very famous folktale.{{cite journal |last1=Saadat |first1=Mostafa |last2=Khosrawy |first2=Ahmad Reza |title=Clustering of narratives of the 'Sang-e Saboor' folktale |journal=Journal of Iranian Studies |date=22 August 2020 |volume=19 |issue=37 |pages=163–184 |doi=10.22103/jis.2020.13108.1891 |doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 |url=https://jis.uk.ac.ir/article_2664.html?lang=en }}{{cite book |author-link=Farrokh Ghaffari |first=Farrokh |last=Gaffary |chapter=Iranien (folklore) |title=Dictionnaire universel des litteratures |volume=2: G-O |location=Paris |publisher=Presses universitaires de France |date=1994 |page=1703 |language=FR |quote=Parmi les contes les plus célèbres [de Iran], citons: «La Pierre patiente» (Sang-e sabur)...|trans-quote=Among the most famous tales [of Iran], we cite: "The Stone of Patience"...}}
Shahmaran ("Chief of the Snakes"): the intelligent queen of snakes who has human features above her waist and those of a serpent below.
Shahrokh
Simurgh (from Middle Persian {{Transliteration|pal|Sēnmurw}}, Avestan {{Transliteration|ae|mərəγō saēnō}}; "raptor"): a benevolent mythical bird.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/simorg |title=SIMORḠ |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |first=Hanns-Peter |last=Schmidt |date=July 20, 2002}}
Takam: the king of goats, in the folklore of the Turkic-speaking people of Azerbaijan. Traditionally, the stories of takam are recited in public theaters by a minstrel called takamchi.
Zār: an evil spirit in the folklore of Iran's southern coastal regions who possesses individuals and harms them.

=Locations=

Social beliefs and practices

File:Cheshm-Nazar.JPG]]

Evil eye ({{Transliteration|fa|češm-zaxm}}; {{langx|pal|{{Transliteration|pal|duščašm}}}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8i0lDwAAQBAJ |title=The Indo-European Languages |first1=Mate |last1=Kapovi |first2=Anna Giacalone |last2=Ramat |first3=Paolo |last3=Ramat |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2017 |page=447|isbn=9781317391531 }}), a curse believed to be cast by a malevolent glare.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Šakūrzāda, Omidsalar |first=Ebrāhīm, Mahmoud |title=ČAŠM-ZAḴM |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=June 30, 2009 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/casm-zakm-lit}} To protect one from it, a pendant, gemstone or likewise that depicts an eye is used as an amulet.{{cite book |first=M. |last=Moin |title=A Persian Dictionary |edition=3rd |page=4752 |language=fa}} Another way believed to protect one from an evil eye is to release a fragrant smoke of esfand (peganum harmala) and waft it around the head of those exposed to the gaze of strangers. As this is done, an ancient prayer is also recited.{{cite web |url=http://www.cgie.org.ir/shavad.asp?id=123&avaid=3410 |title=اسفند |trans-title=Esfand |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218100703/http://www.cgie.org.ir/shavad.asp?id=123&avaid=3410 |archive-date=December 18, 2010 |publisher=Great Islamic Encyclopedia |language=fa}}
Divination ({{Transliteration|fa|morvā}}, {{Transliteration|fa|šogun}}, {{Transliteration|fa|fāl}}), including interpretation of objects which appear haphazardly, interpretation of involuntary bodily actions (sneezing, twitching, itches, etc.), observing animal behavior, playing cards or chick-peas, bibliomancy (e.g., using the poetry of Hafez Shirazi), mirrors and lenses, observation of the liver of a slain animal, the flame of a lamp, etc.
{{Transliteration|fa|Nāz o niyāz}} ("coquetry and supplication"), a tradition between a lover and a beloved based on which the beloved hurts their lover by coquetry and the lover's response is supplication and insistence in love.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Orsatti |first=Paola |title=ḴOSROW O ŠIRIN |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=2011-02-13 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kosrow-o-sirin}}{{cite book |first=Charles-Henri |last=de Fouchécour |title=Nâz-o niyâz, ou l'amour et l'Orient |publisher=Luqmân |edition=5/2 |year=1989 |pages=77–86}}
Taarof, a sort of etiquette, defined as "the active, ritualized realization of differential status in interaction".{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/taarof |title=TAʿĀROF |edition=online |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=December 5, 2017}}
In Iranian wedding tradition, it is customary to buy a silver mirror and two candles and place it on the wedding sofra (a piece of cloth), next to foods and other traditional items. The first thing that the bridegroom sees in the mirror should be the reflection of his wife-to-be.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Omidsalar|first=Mahmoud | title=SOFRA | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica | access-date=November 15, 2006|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sofra}}

Ceremonies

File:West Vancouver, Chaharshanbe Suri, 19 mars 2008, 2.jpgs on the occasion of Chaharshanbe Suri]]

Nowruz ("new day"), the Iranian New Year's day, celebrated on the vernal equinox.
Traditional heralds: Amu Nowruz and Haji Firuz
Chaharshanbe Suri ("Red Wednesday"), celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz by performing rituals such as jumping over bonfires and lighting off firecrackers and fireworks.{{cite news |url=http://financialtribune.com/articles/people/61234/call-for-safe-yearend-celebration |title=Call for Safe Yearend Celebration |date=March 12, 2017 |publisher=Financial Tribune |quote=The ancient tradition has transformed over time from a simple bonfire to the use of firecrackers...}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missile-toward-east-sea-official-says-n779401 |title=Light It Up! Iranians Celebrate Festival of Fire |date=March 19, 2014 |publisher=NBC News}}
Problem-solving nuts ({{Transliteration|fa|ājil-e moškel-gošā}}){{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TicTAQAAIAAJ |title=Encyclopaedia of Great Festivals |first1=Jain |last1=Chanchreek |first2=K. L. |last2=Chanchreek |first3=M. K. |last3=Jain |year=2007 |publisher=Shree Publishers & Distributors |page=150|isbn=9788183291910 }}
Fāl-gūsh, an act of fortune-telling on the occasion of {{Transliteration|fa|Čāršanbe Suri}}.{{cite encyclopedia |last=OMIDSALAR |first=MAHMOUD |title= DIVINATION |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=2009-04-05 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/divination}}
Sizdah Be-dar, celebrated 13 days after Nowruz (Farvardin 13, usually coincided with April 1 or 2) by picnicking.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
{{Transliteration|fa|Mir-e Nowruzi}} ("prince of Nowruz") or {{Transliteration|fa|Padešāh-e Nowruz}} ("king of Nowruz"), a festival that used to be held six days after Nowruz for a period of one to five days, during which a temporary commoner was elected to rule over the country.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mir-e-nowruzi |title=MIR-E NOWRUZI |first=Michèle |last=Epinette |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |edition=online |date=September 15, 2014}}
Yaldā Night,{{cite news |url=http://en.mehrnews.com/news/112907/Yalda-Iranian-celebration-of-winter-solstice |author=Rezaian, Lachin |publisher=Mehr News Agency |date=December 20, 2015 |title=Yalda: Iranian celebration of winter solstice}} marking "the longest night of the year" and commemorating the birth of the ancient goddess Mithra on the eve of the winter solstice ({{Transliteration|fa|čelle-ye zemestān}}; usually falling on December 20 or 21).{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yonOicJi5BEC |title=No More "us" and "them": Classroom Lessons and Activities to Promote Peer Respect |author=Roessing, Lesley |date=2012 |page=89 |publisher=R&L Education |isbn=9781610488129}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-adv-persian-winter-solstice-20131221-story.html |title=In ancient tradition, Iranians celebrate winter solstice |author=Hamedy, Saba |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 20, 2013}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ti24AwAAQBAJ |title=Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present |author=Foltz, Richard |author-link=Richard Foltz |publisher=Oneworld Publications |date=October 22, 2013 |page=29 |isbn=9781780743073}}

Folk-games

Alak Dolak ("peg [and] bat"), identical to tip-cat.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alak-dolak-the-game-of-tipcat-played-for-centuries-in-iran-afghanistan-and-surrounding-countries |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=ALAK-DOLAK |edition=online |date=July 29, 2011}}
{{Transliteration|fa|Amu zanjirbāf}} ("uncle chain-maker"){{cite web |url=https://www.irunesco.org/images/baziha-lowdpi.pdf |publisher=Iranian National Commission for UNESCO |title=بازی‌های بومی و محلی ایران |page=42 |year=2011 |language=fa |access-date=2018-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020094311/http://www.irunesco.org/images/baziha-lowdpi.pdf |archive-date=2016-10-20 |url-status=dead }}
{{Transliteration|fa|Atal matal tutule}}, a counting-out game, used as a children's nursery rhyme.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SwDaAAAAMAAJ |title=Contemporary master's lesson from Darius Safvat |volume=1 |first1=Jean |last1=During |first2=Zia |last2=Mirabdolbaghi |first3=Dariush |last3=Safvat |publisher=Mage Publishers |year=1991 |page=89|isbn=9780934211222 }}
{{Transliteration|fa|Āftāb-mahtāb}} ("sunshine-moonlight")
As-Nas, a card game that is identical to poker.{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Jacoby |first1=Oswald |last2=Morehead |first2=Albert |title=poker Origin and spread |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=January 18, 2008 |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-253968/poker |quote=(...) Poker is virtually indistinguishable from an older Persian game called as nas, a four-hand game played with a 20-card pack, five cards dealt to each player. This coincidence led some students of games to call poker a derivative of as nas, but this theory has been discredited. (...)}}
Tag ({{Transliteration|fa|bālā-bolandi}}, {{Transliteration|fa|gorgam-be-havā}}){{cite book |url=https://www.cgie.org.ir/fa/publication/379 |title=دانشنامۀ فرهنگ مردم ایران |publisher=Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia |language=fa |year=2014 |page=56}}{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bazi-games |title=BĀZĪ |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=IV |pages=60–65 |date=December 15, 1989}}
Ganjifa, a trick-taking card game.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/card-games-ganjafa-bazi-waraq-bazi |title=CARD GAMES |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=IV |pages=802–803 |date=December 15, 1990}}
Court piece ({{Transliteration|fa|hokm}}), a trick-taking card game that is identical to whist.
Hopscotch ({{Transliteration|fa|ley-ley}})
Backgammon ({{Transliteration|fa|nard}}), a two-player board game.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/board-games-in-pre-islamic-persia |title=BOARD GAMES in pre-Islamic Persia |first1=Ulrich |last1=Schädler |first2=Anne-Elizabeth |last2=Dunn-Vaturi |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |edition=online |year=2016}}
Pasur (card game), a fishing card game.
Knucklebones ({{Transliteration|fa|qāp-bazi}})
Hide-and-seek ({{Transliteration|fa|qāyem-mušak}})
Shelem, a trick-taking card game that is identical to rook.
{{Transliteration|fa|Ye-qol-do-qol}}

Brooklyn Museum - As or Ace Playing Card for the Game of Nas.jpg|As-Nas cards. Brooklyn Museum, New York City.

گنجفه.jpg|Ganjifa cards. Moghadam Museum, Tehran.

Backgammon test.JPG|Backgammon ({{Transliteration|fa|nard}}) dice and beads

References

External links

[https://www.britannica.com/place/Iran/Daily-life-and-social-customs Iran: Daily life and social customs]. From the Encyclopædia Britannica.
[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/folklore-index Folklore studies of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan]. From the Encyclopædia Iranica.
[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/folk-poetry- Folk poetry]. From the Encyclopædia Iranica.
[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hosayn-b-ali-iii The passion (taʿzia) of Ḥosayn] by Peter Chelkowski. From the Encyclopædia Iranica.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110712214427/http://www.homasarshar.com/ArticlesEnglish.cfm?Num=4 Lee Lee Hozak], on Iranian folkloric songs among Iranian Americans, from Homa Sarshar's In The Back Alleys of Exile (vol. 2; p. 304).

Category:Culture of Iran

Category:Folklore by country