Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
One of the tricks used by warriors in battle to defeat their opponents is reciting epopee. It is exchanged in the form of a conversation between the warriors of the two armies, and ultimately weakens the morale of the other side and strengthens their own moral. It is based on the self-praise of the warriors and the expression of their deeds and honors, and it is often used during war (Sarrami, 2011). Therefore, Mukhtarnamehs in prose and poetry, whose theme is Mukhtar Thaghafi's wars in revenge for the martyrs of Karbala, are among the epic works, and in these two works, epopee and its recitation are used as one of the war tactics.
In epopee, the warrior or fighter pursues two main goals: one is to weaken the enemy's morale, and the other is to strengthen town moral. There are various purposes, the most important of which are: boasting about race and ancestors (paternal and maternal family), boasting about one's power, work, and possessions, creating terror in the enemy's heart, threatening and warning the enemy, humiliating one's neighbor, encouraging soldiers and inviting them to fight, etc.
As in any epopee, there are four main elements: the reader (the sender of the message); the listener or listeners of the message (the receiver); the message; and the purpose of the message (the message). In this research, this war tactic is analyzed in two Mukhtarnameh in prose by Attaullah bin Hessam Vaez Heravi and in poetry by Mohammad Hossein Khan Biglarbeigi Qajar Dulo Motkhals Shoua'i.
Methodology
The method of this research is descriptive-analytical, and the method of data collection is documentary. The statistical community in this research is the prose Mukhtarnameh by Vaez Heravi and the manuscript version of the poetic Mukhtarnameh by Shouai.
Discussion
3.1. Epopee’s function in Mukhtarnameh
3.1.1.Boasting
One of the obvious manifestations of epopee is boasting. In this way, the reciter boasts about the capacity, strength and physical strength, special works, race and ancestors, property and wealth, abundance of companions and troops, religion and religion, etc. In the review of Shoua'i's Mukhtarnameh and Vaez Heravi's Mukhtarnameh, two types of boasting have been used:
A) race boasting: In this type of boasting, the reciter shows off his superiority in terms of race, ancestors, and ancestry by mentioning his race and lineage. In the Mokhtarnameh of Vaez Heravi, in the war between Ibn Ziyad's army and Warqa, Tariq Amesh is proud of the fact that his grandfather is a prophet (Vaez Heravi, 2007). In Shahnameh, in the story of Rostam and Akvan-e Div, Rostam proudly mentions his own race and lineage (Ferdowsi, 2010, Vol. 3: 24).
B) boasting about one's own strength and ability: when Musab sends Abdullah to battle with Ibrahim Ashtar, in Abdullah's conversation with Ibrahim Ashtar, both sing epopee (Shoua'i, 1718). In Shahnameh, Rostam, in the battle with the dragon (stage III) proudly refers to his strength and fighting ability (Ferdowsi, 2010).
3.1.2. Threatening and causing terror
One of the important goals of epopee is to create fear in the heart of the enemy. If the one who is reciting epopee succeeds in this matter, he increases the probability of his victory. In Mukhtarnameh of Vaez Heravi, Suleiman Sard does this in the war with Ibn Ziyad acts like this (Vaez Heravi, 2007). In Shoua'i's version, Ibn Anas and Hijaz Ibn Hur wrestlers threaten each other to death during their conversation (Shoua'i, 1718). In Shahnameh, during Sohrab's campaign to Dej-e Sefid (white fort), in his conversation with Hajir (guard of the fort), the two threaten each other (Ferdowsi, 2010).
3.1.3. Humiliating the opponent
Humiliating an opponent is one of the goals and functions of epopee, during which the epopee singer despises his enemy, and for this purpose, he sometimes humiliates his religion, sometimes his lack of race, etc. In Shoua'i's Mukhtarnameh, when Ebrahim Ashtar, Abd al-Rahman Qays Hamadani is humiliated for his lack of race. In Shahnameh, in the story of the battle between Rostam and Sohrab, Sohrab humiliates Rostam in several ways. Once, he compares his face to a donkey and his hands to straw, and then considers him ignorant (Ferdowsi, 2010).
3.1.4. Summon the counterpart
One of the primary goals of epopee is to summon the counterpart. In Vaez Heravi's Mukhtarnameh, Abd al-Rahman calls for a fighter in the war with Ibn Ziyad's army (Vaez Heravi, 2007). In Shoua'i's version, when all the commanders of Rabi'a's army are defeated, Rabi'a himself enters the field and chooses Warqa Gharib as his counterpart (Shou'a'i, 1718). In Shahnameh, due to the frequency of battles, we deal with this component a lot. For instance, the summon the counterpart by Homan (Ferdowsi, 2010).
3.1.5. Warning the opponent
Another purpose of the epopee is to warn the opponent. That is, the fighter warns his opponent about the actions he has taken while reciting the epopee. In chapter five of Mokhtarnama of Vaez Heravi, Abd al-Rahman stops Ziyad son from cursing and disrespecting the Prophet's family (Vaez Heravi, 2007). In the conversation between Warqa and Harith bin Abdullah, Warqa reminds him of the right to bread and salt (see: Shoua'i, 1718). In Shahnameh, Khosroparviz warns and frightens Bahram from the afterlife, saying that Bahram is to blame for all the blood that has been shed (Fardowsi, 2010).
2.1.6. Battle of leaders
A wise measures of the military on both sides of the army is to accept the battle between the leaders of the army. This causes less bloodshed and reaches the final result of the conflict, which is peace or accepting failure. This type of battle can be seen in the natural epics of the battle of leaders, a clear example of which is the twelve-faced war in Shahnameh (Ferdowsi, 2010, Vol. 4: 162-4). In the war between the armies of Musab bin Zubair and Mukhtar, Mukhtar during epopee, advises Musab and asks him to end this battle between themselves and not cause many people to be killed (Shoua'i, 1718: 271).
3.1.7. Name mentioning and name asking
Sometimes a fighter who goes to the arena introduces himself so that a fighter of his level comes to the field or asks the name of his opponent to know who he is fighting with. As we all know, the name contains both spiritual and physical powers. The sensitivity of this point can be seen in the battle between Rostam and Ashkobus, where Ashkobus insists on knowing his name, but Rostom refuses. In Mokhtarnama of Vaez Heravi, Shaddad intercepts Muhammad Hanafiyya and his companions on the way, and attacks him, but when he learns the identity of Sayyid, he throws the spear on the ground (Vaez Heravi, 2007: 335-361). In Shoua'i's version, Warqa asks the name of his opponent before the battle (Shoua'i, 1718: 168).
3.1.8. Encouraging soldiers
Sometimes the soldiers lose their morale due to successive defeats or increasing number of opposing armies, therefore do not see any hope for war. In Vaez Heravi's Mukhtarnameh, Suleiman Sard, when he realizes that the soldiers are afraid of enemy armies, uses the heavenly superiority of the believers over the hypocrites to strengthen their desire for war and martyrdom (Vaez Heravi, 2007: 154). In Shahnameh, in the battle between Rostam and Shengal (King of India), Rostam encourages the troops and encourages them to fight (Ferdowsi, 2010, Vol. 4: 243).
3.2. Aesthetics of epopee in Mukhtarnamehs
In the verses containing epopee, in the two reviewed Mukhtarnamehs, literary techniques such as simile, metaphor, irony, exaggeration, etc. can be seen. Most of these figures belong to the poetic Mukhtarnameh of Shoua'i Qajar.
The simile is noteworthy in the studied Mukhtanamas, because it is used in the service of the brevity of the text and solving ambiguity and complexity. Metaphors are also simple and most of them are explicit metaphors of warriors and heroes. Allusions and proverbs are among the most used figures in Mokhtarnamas, which increase the effect of satire and humiliation. Exaggeration is completely related to epopee; therefore, this figure can also be seen in the illustrations of the religious epics of Mukhtarnameh.
Conclusion
Reciting epopee by warriors and army commanders is one of the prominent and important parts of epic stories, which can be seen not only in national epics, such as Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, but also in religious epics, such as Mukhtarnamehs. In the poetic Mukhtarnameh of Biglarbiegi's and the prose Mukhtarnameh of Vaez Heravi's prose, all the elements of Mukhtarnameh (Mukhtarnameh, epopee reciter, epopee listener and its purpose) were available for a purpose. Among the goals of epopee in these two works, boasting about the power and ability of oneself and the race, threatening and creating terror, humiliating the opponent, summon counterpart, battle of leaders, name-mentioning and name-asking, persuasion and encouraging the soldiers were available. In Biglarbegi's Mukhtarnameh, there was no boasting about the race and encouragement of the soldiers. On the other hand, the owners of the Mukhtarnamehs have made use of imaginary features to make the verses more beautiful and attractive. In Biglarbeigi, he has tried to be imaginative and attract the audience by using simile, metaphor, irony, exaggeration and proverb in his poem. However, only four cases of irony and one case of exaggeration have been seen in Vaez's Mukhtarnameh.
Keywords
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