Shahnameh-khani

Shahnameh-khani,[1][a] also romanized Shahnama-khwani[2][b] (lit. 'recitation of the Shahnameh'),[3] is a specialized form of naqqali (the traditional Iranian art of dramatic storytelling), consisting of the public recitation of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. These performances are typically delivered by naqqals (professional storytellers who recite the Shahnameh as well as other Iranian folktales and mythologies).[3] Naqqals who specialize in the recitation of the Shahnameh are known as Shahnameh-khans[4][c] or Shahnama-khwans.[5][d]

Shahnameh-khani has been described as "an art form altogether different from drama and film, in which the reciting performer only narrates the myth and does not impersonate it."[6] It ranks among "the most popular forms of epic and heroic story-telling" in Iran.[7]

History

The tradition of Shahnameh-khani has been practiced for centuries in the cities and villages of Iran.[8] According to Anthony Shay, sacred Iranian performative practices such as rowzeh-khani and ta'ziyeh "have direct roots to the related and corresponding non-sacred practices of shah-nameh-khani, naqqali, and siyah-bazi theatre."[9]

Significance

In response to Roy Mottahedeh and other scholars' claim that Iranian identity may have been limited to educated elites in earlier historical periods, Anthony Shay has suggested, in contrast, that the long-standing traditions of naqqali and Shahnameh-khani indicate that this identity was more widely shared, "among several classes of the urban milieu at least, if not the peasantry".[10]

Regional variations

A similar yet distinct form of this tradition exists in Kurdistan with oral performances of the Kurdish Shahnameh which contains only parts of Ferdowsi's work alongside original stories.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ Modern Iranian Persian: شاهنامه‌خوانی, romanized: Šâhnâme-xâni, pronounced [ʃɒːɦ.nɒː.me.xɒː.ˈniː].
  2. ^ Classical Persian: شاهنامه‌خوانی, romanized: Šāhnāma-xwānī, reconstructed pronunciation: [ʃaːh.naː.ma.xʷaː.ˈniː].
  3. ^ Modern Iranian Persian singular: شاهنامه‌خوان, romanized: Šâhnâme-xân, pronounced [ʃɒːɦ.nɒː.me.ˈxɒːn].
  4. ^ Classical Persian singular: شاهنامه‌خوان, romanized: Šāhnāma-xwān, reconstructed pronunciation: [ʃaːh.naː.ma.ˈxʷaːn].

References

  1. ^ Dabashi 2007, p. 139; Jahandideh & Khaefi 2013; Karimi 2022, p. 12.
  2. ^ Yamamoto 2017, p. 121.
  3. ^ a b Dabashi 1993, p. xiii.
  4. ^ Jahandideh & Khaefi 2013, p. 80.
  5. ^ Yamamoto 2017, p. 120.
  6. ^ Hamid Amjad (2013). "From the Land of the Pure, in Search of the Lost Origin: An Interview with Bahram Beyzaie on Siyavush-Khani (Siyavush Recitation) and its Mythological and Literary Roots". Iranian Studies. 46 (5): 721–736. doi:10.1080/00210862.2013.789739.
  7. ^ Heinz Dietrich Fischer, Stefan R. Melnik (1979). Entertainment, a Cross-cultural Examination. p. 48.
  8. ^ Djalili 2005, p. 136.
  9. ^ Shay 1999, p. 101.
  10. ^ Shay 1999, p. 99: "Some scholars, such as Roy Mottahedeh, have suggested that this identity may have been shared only by the elite and he would "emphasize that we are talking only about educated Iranians who could record their opinions, not about peasants whose feelings of group identity are lost to history" (1976: 181). In contrast, I would suggest that the long-standing art of nagqali [sic] and shah-nameh-khani, in which story-teller recite and enact the episodes of the Shah-nameh with which their often illiterate audiences are very familiar, would indicate an Iranian identity that is widely shared among several classes of the urban milieu at least, if not the peasantry."
  11. ^ Ghaderi 2017, p. 48.

Sources

Further reading

  • Nanquette, Laetitia (2021). Iranian Literature After the Islamic Revolution: Production and Circulation in Iran and the World. Edinburgh University Press.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.