Tus Festival
The Tus Festival is a festival dedicated to the Persian national epic Shahnameh of Firdausi . This makes it the only festival in the world that promotes the scientific discussion of the reception and influence of Firdausi's work on Persian literature, painting and culture, as well as on world literature and world culture, and keeps the tradition of epic lecture alive. Part of the festival are exhibitions and competitions to bring the “national poem of the Persians” to a broader public. The festival was organized by the Schahname Foundation (now the Firdausi Foundation), founded in 1971 . The Schahname Foundation was a scientific foundation that was connected as a research institution to the Ministry of Art and Culture. The name Tus Festival is derived from the birthplace of Firdausis, the north-eastern Iranian city of Tūs .
History of origin
The genesis of the festival, which was held for the first time in 1975, can be found in the opening speech by Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi , at whose instigation the festival was created. Farah Pahlavi said on July 14th, 1975 (23rd Tir 1354):
“The idea for a festival of its own, the Schahname, which is based on Firdausi's unique work, was discussed for the first time at the Shiraz Art Festival . The Shiraz Art Festival has shown that a festival not only promotes artists and cultural workers directly, but also represents an important economic factor due to the number of visitors from all over the world. Art and culture, trade, handicrafts and gastronomy are flourishing. The festival is also intended to revive the tradition of “Naghali”, the artistic lecture by Schahname, as we have known it for centuries from the tea and coffee houses in Persia. Generally speaking, with the festival we are picking up on the age-old tradition of the epic lecture (Hamasehsarai) in an attempt to promote a tradition that is closely linked to Schahname.
Not only Schahname himself will be presented at the festival. Rather, Persian fables, stories and poems that have their origins in Shahname are to be recited. In addition, special space is to be given to the miniatures, which are closely connected to the history of Schahname's distribution.
I hope that with this festival many old traditions that are unfortunately no longer lived can be revived and revived. "
Goal setting
The conception of the festival was aimed at
- Firdausi is honored as the creator of Schahname, a work of world literature,
- broad sections of society and especially young people are introduced to the literary tradition of epic storytelling,
- The literary, cultural and social significance of Schahname is discussed in the context of a scientific congress and made accessible to the specialist public through appropriate publications.
- public lecture events (Naghali) accompanied by exhibitions of miniatures and pictorial representations of lecture scenarios , musical performances and zurichaneh events, the traditional forms of teaching Schahname are enlivened,
- Through new forms of communication such as theater performances, films, author workshops and painting workshops, new ways of accessing Schahname are opened up, especially for young people.
The first festival (1975)
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In summary, the first festival in 1975 exceeded all expectations. While the Shiraz Art Festival welcomed the artistic avant-garde, the Tus festival was attended by scientists and artists as well as Naghali storytellers, wrestlers and Pahlavans. The festival was very popular and the presentations and discussion events, exhibitions and performances relating to Firdausi's work were well attended.
After the official opening speech of the Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi, a text by ´Jala al-Din Homai was read out, which emphasized the importance of Schahname for the Persian language and in which it was made clear that the best support program for the Persian language is the study of Firdausi's work .
For the first time, two films by Feredun Rahnama were shown. The first film deals with the question of Iranian culture and image content in which Iranian culture is reflected. The second film showed the gowd (Persian گود) of the Zurchaneh as a holy place.
The epic lecture (Naghali) and theatrical performances were a major part of the festival. Morsched Torabi, a famous Naghali, offered evidence of his ability by moving his lecture from the tea house to the center of a square. Though small in stature, he recited Firdausi's work in a strong voice, and when he clapped his hands, Firdausi's mausoleum echoed. Morsched Torabi described the war between Rostam and Aschkbus . Alone with his voice and his stick, which served once as a horse and another time as a sword, he cast a spell over the audience. With his demonstrations he showed the basic principles of an epic lecture and made it clear how one must use voice and body. In addition to Torabi, other Morscheds performed, performing shahname with drums and singing.
Haydar Yaghma, a mud-brick maker (Cheschtmaal) and poet, starred in a film about the relationship between Shahname and the common people. The film showed the relationships between different groups in society and how they are reflected in Firdausi's work. The peculiarity of the film was that the director did not have an actor, but Haydar Yaghma himself as a poet and adobe maker.
The second festival (1976)
While the first festival adhered closely to the given program, the second festival was initially dedicated to honoring the 50-year reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. The opening of the festival on 18th Tir 2535 (July 9th 1976) commemorates the 1000th anniversary celebrations held in 2493 (1934) under the reign of Reza Shah and the erection of the Firdausi tomb by Reza Shah. It was remembered that it was Reza Shah who symbolized the importance of Firdausi for Iranian identity 42 years ago with the construction of an impressive tomb.
In his greeting message, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi pointed out the importance of Firdausi for Iranian patriotism. He also emphasized, however, that Firdausi had also dealt with terms such as “hero”, “honor” and “love”, and that Firdausi's meaning must be seen precisely in the fact that he succeeded in creating a form in his epic poem to find that made it possible to share the contents of these terms from generation to generation.
The festival's lecture events this year were mainly dedicated to the poems of Omar Chayyām , who was born just 30 years after Firdausi's death in Nishapur in the Khorasan province .
Scientists from Germany (Hans Müller), the USA (Sheila S. Blair, Mariana S. Simpson), Yugoslavia (Dzaka Becir) and Iran (Zia-ed-Din Sadschadi, Ahmad Ali Redscha ') attended the scientific congress accompanying the festival. i, Mehdi Gharavi, SA Endschavi Schirazi and Ali Ravaqi) at Firdausi University in Mashhad . The German participant Hans Müller dealt with the life of Firdausi and its influence on German literature. Above all, he emphasized the importance of Firdausi for German Romanticism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The turn of the German poets to the sagas and myths of the Middle Ages and the emergence of a German national feeling made Firdausi a model for German poets including August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben , the author of the "Song of the Germans", the later national anthem of the Federal Republic of Germany. Heinrich Heine dedicated several poems to Firdausi. In one of these poems he addresses Firdausi's disappointment at the lack of recognition of the Shahname by the then Turkish ruler of Iran Mahmud of Ghazni .
The following festivals
As a result, further festivals with lectures, exhibitions and a scientific congress took place until 1978. After the Islamic Revolution , the memorial services for Firdausi continued with exhibitions and scientific symposia.
See also
- Shiraz arts festival
- Persian coffee house painting
- Persian miniature painting
- Heinrich Heine's poem about Ferdowsi's life
literature
- Mohammad Taqizadeh (ed.): Shahname-ye Ferdowsi: Hamase-ye Jahani (Firdausī's Shahnameh, a universal epic). The Soroush Press - National Iranian Radio and Television, Tehran, 1977.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mohammad Taqizadeh (ed.): Shahname-ye Ferdowsi: Hamase-ye Jahani (Firdausi's Schahnameh, a universal epic). The Soroush Press - National Iranian Radio and Television, Tehran, 1977, pp. 33-44.