Simorgh (mythology)
Simorgh or Simurgh ( Persian سيمرغ, DMG Sī-morġ / Sī-murġ , also Simurg , Simorg or Senmurv in Middle Persian ) is a mythical creature in Persian mythology . The name derives from the Avestan mərəγō Saēnō ( "the bird Saena") and is related to Sanskrit Syena and Persian / Turkish names like Schahin and Şahin . Simorgh can also be found in the mythology of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia and the Bashkirs and is called Kerkés, Semrug, Semurg, Samran or Samruk.
meaning
Simorgh is considered the king of birds as well as the guardian bird and is said to have supernatural powers. A mythical giant bird comparable to Simorgh is Anqa ( Arabic عنقاء, DMG 'Anqā' ), to which no distinction is often made. Furthermore, the Phoenix and the Indian Garuda have a mythical relationship. Simorgh's model Saēna was an eagle or a falcon . Which bird Simurgh is connected to cannot be clearly stated. There are ostriches , vultures or eagles up for discussion ; they are certainly a big bird. He is often depicted as a mix of bat and dog with peacock feathers on its tail. The Simorgh shares an affinity for the rainy seasons with the dog.
According to Iranian mythology, Simurgh's nest is said to be behind the Kūh-e Qāf ( Persian كوه قاف), the destination of truth and self-knowledge. There are several mountain ranges identified with the Kuh-e Qaf, including the Caucasus ( Persian قفقاز, DMG Qafqāz ), but also the Elburs Mountains with the Damavand and the Hindu Kush . The mountain was brought to Fariduddin Attar in connection with the “Seven Cities of Love” . These seven cities, actually wadis , have a pessimistic- nihilistic and an optimistic side. They represent the efforts of a being to perfect. According to Attar, the sufferings or passions are: desire, love, education, abstinence, monotheism , amazement or consternation, misery or dissolution. Attar names the seventh wadi as Fānī ( Arabic - Persian فانى, 'Transient').
How the mythological Simurgh achieved self-recognition, wrote Fariduddin Attar in his " Bird Conversations " (under the Arabic title Manṭiq aṭ-Ṭair ), an important work of Islamic mysticism ( Sufism ).
In Zoroastrian texts it is said that the Simurgh sits on the tree of all seeds, the Saena or Simurgh tree , and by flapping its wings causes its seeds to be scattered , whereupon they are spread on the earth by wind and rain. According to recent legends, Saena is to be equated with the later Simurgh bird.
In Ferdousīs Shāhnāme , the Book of Kings, the Simorgh with his supernatural powers plays an important role in the story of Zāl and his son Rostam : Zal's pregnant wife has serious problems with the birth of her child. Zal calls Simorgh, the "Lion of the Skies", and asks his advice. Simorgh predicts the birth of a son for Zal who will go down in Iranian history as a hero. Simorgh then gives advice on how the birth should go. Ferdousī then describes in detail the procedure for a perineal or caesarean section :
He does not come into the world in the birth path,
As it pleases the giver of the good.
Bring a shining dagger,
And one who knows magic
...
He will split the softness of the slender cypress
, she will not feel it painfully.
He pulls out the brood of men,
And sets the moon's side in blood.
Then he sews up the tear again;
You remove the fear from the heart!
A herb that I say, mash that
with milk, and in the shade let it dry;
Rub and stroke it on that wound,
and you will see it healthy at the hour.
Then rub a pen on it,
my power will be healing to you.
In Kurdish fairy tales, a related bird is called Sīmīr . Similar in meaning to the Simurgh of Iranian mythology is the king or lucky bird Homa ( Avestisch Humāya ), also Humai or Humá , which occurs in fairy tales from Anatolia to North India and is similar to the "griffin" in a certain way. Old Iranian mythology passed into Islamic-Persian mysticism, so that the Simurgh received an equivalent in India via the Indus Valley culture with the peacock , where a peacock-shaped string instrument called mayuri vina was developed in the 17th century . Peacock called in Sanskrit mayur and in Arabic-Persian ṭā'ūs (طاؤوس). Melek Taus , the “angel peacock”, is the highest revered being of the Yazidis .
Others
The novel Grimus by Salman Rushdie also refers to this mythical creature. In the 1972 film adaptation of the fairy tale The Miracle Bird Semurg , Simurgh, in the form of a woman dressed in white, helps a shepherd to endure numerous adventures and in the end to defeat an evil wizard. Olga Grjasnowa mentions the Simurgh bird as a metaphor for the protagonists' journey in her 2014 novel The Legal Blurriness of a Marriage . The main prize of the Crystal Simorgh International Fajr Film Festival is named after this mythical creature.
literature
- Werner Heiduczek (with the assistance of Dorothea Heiduczek): The most beautiful legends from Firdausi's book of kings retold (based on Görres, Rückert and Schack. Expert advice and epilogue: Burchard Brentjes). Der Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-7684-5525-4 , new print (Werner Daustein) Hanau o. J., pp. 26–47 ( second book: Destan Zal ... is raised by the miracle bird Simurg ... ), here: pp. 26–31, and pp. 48–50 ( Third book: Rustam, born with the help of the miracle bird Simurg ... ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ebrahim Purdawud: The eagle: a sign of Old Iran , compiled by M. Tehrani, In: Borsuye. Journal for Medicine a. Culture 10, 1998, 39, pp. 22-24
- ↑ Juan Eduardo Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols, Courier Dover Publications, 2002, p 253rd
- ↑ The article "Samran" in the Encyclopedia of Bashkortostan ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Article Simorg in the Encyclopædia Iranica
- ↑ http://www.irania.eu/Gedichte/attarmanteq.htm ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Friedrich Rückert: Firdosi's King Book (Schahname) Sage I-XIII. Edited from the estate by EA Bayer. Reprint of the first edition. epubli, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86931-356-6 . (Details) , p. 220.
