@article { author = {Satari, Reza and Haghighi, Marzeie}, title = {A Critical Analysis of Patriarchy and Exogamy in Shahnameh of Ferdowsi Based on the Myth of Creation}, journal = {New Literary Studies}, volume = {48}, number = {1}, pages = {87-108}, year = {2015}, publisher = {Ferdowsi University of Mashhad}, issn = {2783-252X}, eissn = {2783-252X}, doi = {10.22067/jls.v48i1.48723}, abstract = {Abstract: Introduction: Exogamy or marriage outside a tribe or clan that one belongs to is a type of marriage in which the people of a tribe or land are not able to marry women belonging to the same tribe. In order for them to marry, they have to move to another tribe or alien land. According to some historical sources, this kind of marriage stands in contrast to the marriage that was common in Iran. In Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, marriage inside one's tribe or clan was immensely popular and many of the outstanding kings and heroes of Shahnameh married women who belonged to tribes and clans outside their own. The authors of the current research paper believe that considering the mythological structure of Shahnameh and the fact that Shahnameh received influences from mythologies and beliefs of other countries, this can be investigated in light of the myth of creation. Since the myth of creation has a patriarchic structure, similar to the Iranian epic poem, one can find traces of patriarchic culture in the stories of Shahnameh. The current research is thus based on the following hypotheses: a. The marriage between Iranian men and Tourani women has a mythological deep structure. Such relations can be further studied through studying the different phases of Gomishen and Vichareshn (marriage and freedom). b. The marriage of Iranian heroes with non-Iranian women has a patriarchal deep structure. Mythology essentially has a patriarchal nature. Research Method: The research method used is descriptive-analytical and the data were collected from library and digital resources. The current paper attempts to provide a picture of the myth of creation in Iranian mythology and tries to give a picture of exogamous marriages in Shahnameh based on some of the major patriarchal features of mythology reflected in such marriages. Discussion: According to the myth of creation, the history of the world comprises a period of 12000 years which is itself divided into four three-thousand year cycles. The first phase is that of heavenly creation which only happens in the mind of Ahuramazda. In the second phase, which is known as Bondeheshn (the beginning of creation). The third three-thousand year cycle is known as Gomicheshn through which the agents of evil will attack Ahuramazda and will throw the world into chaos. The world is a place where there are constant clashes between these two hostile and opposing forces. During the last phase which is known as Vichareshn (freedom) the impure creation will take back its former purity; this phase of existence is comparable to death in the life of an individual. In the exogamous marriages of Shahnameh, there are motifs that can be assessed with this mythology. In such marriages, men wonder off during their hunts and enter alien lands where they meet their future wives. In many instances, the hero faces strong opposition from the father or mother of the girl. The girl will however and eventually marry the hero. Afterwards, the bride will move and live in the motherland of the hero; she may in some stories stay in her homeland. The child born out of such a marriage is often a boy who stays with his mother. Such marriages that more than often end with disaster are so abundant in the stories of Shahnameh of Ferdowsi that one can strongly claim that most of the women of Shahnameh have non-Iranian parents. The approach of Shahnameh, the Iranian epic poem, to such relations can be studied from different perspectives. The first one believes that according to Shahnameh, Iran is a heavenly land and stands in opposition to non-Iranian lands which are evil. This reminds us of the opposition between Ahriman and Ahuramazda in the myth of creation. The second important point is that in many such marriages, the marriage proposals are given by the girls or their families. In this phase, which in the myth of creation is called "Gomicheshn" or marriage, heavenly and evil forces intermarry and the whole world becomes the scene of battles between uncompromising elements. The third point says that in most such marriages, clashes and battles are accompanied with the deaths of the bridegroom of the son child. This phase can be compared and contrasted with Vichareshn (freedom) in the myths of creation that is the phase in which heavenly forces are liberated from the raids of evil forces. Therefore, marriages between Iranian men and non-Iranian women are a reflection of the opposition between these two opposing forces and their eventual unification. According to this myths of creation, the world is a production of this opposition. In other words, the world is constructed on the solidarity and coherence between opposing forces. Conclusion: This paper concludes that in ancient beliefs, it was thought that woman were symbols of dependence on the world and thus impure. All women under discussion in this study are women. The presence of different types of marriage in Shahnameh is a demonstration of the evolution of marriage tradition from ancient times until the time of Ferdowsi. The idea behind this research is to investigate the features of democratic culture in exogamous marriages based on the myth of creation.}, keywords = {national epic,Ahura and Ahriman,Shahnameh,myth of creation exogamy,patriarchy}, title_fa = {تحلیل مردسالاری و برون همسری در شاهنامه بر اساس اسطورۀ آفرینش}, abstract_fa = {در شاهنامه، پادشاهان و یلان برجستۀ ایرانی با زنانی غیرایرانی و عموماً تورانی ازدواج می کنند که از این ازدواج ها با عنوان برون همسری یا ازدواج برون قبیله ای یاد می شود. در نمادشناسی باستانیِ شاهنامه، ایران سرزمین مقدّس و اهورایی و توران سرزمین آلودگی ها و نیروهای اهریمنی است. از سوی دیگر، در باورشناسی باستانی، زنان کانون های آمیختگی و وابستگی به زمین هستند و در مقابل، مردان موجوداتی اهورایی، آسمانی و فارغ از آلودگی های زمینی به شمار می آیند. همچنین اسطوره زیرساختی مردسالارانه دارد و حماسۀ ملّی ایران نیز که برآمده از اسطوره است، از این دیدگاه متأثّر شده است. این مقاله کوششی است برای بررسی پیوندهای برون همسری در شاهنامه بر اساس اسطورۀ آفرینش و تحلیل عواملی که نشان دهندۀ زیرساخت مردسالارانۀ این داستان هاست}, keywords_fa = {حماسۀ ملّی، اهورا و اهریمن,شاهنامه,اسطورۀ آفرینش,برون همسری,مردسالاری}, url = {https://jls.um.ac.ir/article_33916.html}, eprint = {https://jls.um.ac.ir/article_33916_006782ecdabd4433023c360af2d94f44.pdf} }