Ancient Iranian holiday
Sepand?rmazg?n
|
---|
Frequency
| annual
|
---|
Sepand?rmazg?n
(
Persian
:
???????????
) or
Espandeg?n
(????????), is an ancient
Iranian
day of women with
Zoroastrian
roots dating back to the first
Persian Empire
, the
Achaemenid Empire
.
[1]
This day is dedicated to
Sp?nta ?rmaiti
(
Avestan
for "Holy Devotion",
Spand?rmad
in
Middle Persian
,
Persian
:
????????
Spend?rmad
or
Sepandarmaz
), the
Amesha Spenta
who is given the domain of "
earth
". The date of the festival as observed in the
Sassanid era
was on the 5th day of the month
Spandarmad
.
[1]
When the name of the day and the month of the day were the same, a "name-feast" celebration was always done.
[1]
According to the testimony of
al-Biruni
, in the 11th century CE there was a festival when the names of the day and the month were the same. The deity Spandarmad protected the Earth and the "good, chaste and beneficent wife who loves her husband". According to him, the festival used to be dedicated to women, and men would make them "liberal presents", and the custom was still flourishing in some districts of
Fahla
.
[2]
Barzegaran Festival
[
edit
]
The
jashn-e barzegaran
(Festival of Agriculturists), is celebrated in Iran also on the 5th day of Spandarmad month (the Spandarmad day). People pray for good harvest, honor the deity of Earth Spand?rmad, and put signs on doors to destroy evil spirits.
[3]
The observation of this festival has been revived in modern Iran, where it is mostly set on the 5th day of
Esfand
in the
Solar Hejri
calendar introduced in 1925, corresponding to
24 February
.
[
contradictory
]
The modern festival is a celebration day of love towards mothers and wives.
[4]
Historical festival
[
edit
]
Descriptions of this festival are given in medieval historiographical sources such as
Gardizi
,
Biruni
and
Abu al-Hasan al-Mas'udi
.
According to Biruni, it was a day where women rested and men had to bring them gifts. In the section about Persian calendar,
Biruni
writes in
The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries
that:
[5]
On the 5th day or Isfahdmah-Roz (day of Isfand), there is a feast on account of the identity of the names of the month and the day. Isfandarmah is charged with the care of the earth and with that the good, chaste, and beneficient wife who loves her husband. In the past times, this was a special feast of the women, when the men used to make them liberal presents. This custom is still flourishing in
Ispahan
,
Ray
, and in other districts of
Fahla
. In Persian it is called
Mardgiran
.
Furthermore,
Biruni
notes that on this day, commoners ate raisins and
pomegranate
seeds.
[5]
According to
Gardizi
, this celebration was special for women, and they called this day also
mard-giran
(possessing of men).
Modern revival
[
edit
]
The revival of the festival dates to the
Pahlavi dynasty
, advocated by
Ebrahim Pourdavoud
as "Nurses' Day" (
??? ??????
) in 1962.
[6]
The date of the modern festival is on the 5th of
Esfand
in the Iranian calendar (24 February) due to the reorganization of the calendar, once by
Omar Khayyam
in the 11th century.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
M. Boyce, "
Textual sources for the study of Zoroastrianism
", University of Chicago Press, 1990. pp. 19?20
- ^
Boyce, 1990, p. 69
- ^
Sarah Iles Johnston (2004),
Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide
, Harvard University Press Reference Library (illustrated ed.), Harvard University Press, p. 284,
ISBN
9780674015173
- ^
Bahrami, Askar,
Jashnh?-ye Ir?ni?n
, Tehran: Daftar-e Pazhuheshha-ye Farhangi, 1383, p. 89;
Habib Borjian
, “KASHAN vi. THE ESBANDI FESTIVAL,”
Encyclopaedia Iranica
, 2012, XVI/1, pp. 29-32, available online at
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kashan-vi-the-esbandi-festival
- ^
a
b
The Chronology Of Ancient Nations, trans.Edward Sachau. London: Elibron Classics, 2005
- ^
?????? ?????? ??????? (
Anahita
Proceedings), Tehran University Publications, 1962 (1342), p 165.