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DOI: 10.23671/VNC.2020.8.58149

CULT OF FIRE IN THE FUNERAL RITES OF THE IRANIAN PEOPLES

Bitiev, Batraz A.
Kavkaz Forum. 2020. Issue 1.
Abstract:
Parallels in rites between the Ossetians and other Iranian peoples are
promising and interesting, but little studied issues of ethnological science. One of
the main rituals that have a common origin among the Aryans is the cult of fire.
Thus, in the article, the author sets goals: to consider the connection of fire with
the funeral rites of the Iranian peoples, to draw parallels in the studied rites and
to show their identity, as well as their origin from one common basis. Fire is one of
the most important natural elements that plays a huge role in the life of mankind.
Fire is the natural element that has always fascinated a person, causing respect
and fear. Consecutively, there is the cult of fire in the customs and traditions of
the vast majority of peoples of the world. But, in the rites of the Iranian peoples,
fire is given even more importance. It is not for nothing that Zoroastrianism, the
religion of fire, was born among the fire worshipping Aryan peoples. The idea of
fire as the highest all-pervading and all-purifying element is too deeply rooted in
the worldview of every Iranian. In addition to the purifying function of the fire, in
the rites of the Iranian peoples, this natural element is represented as a matter
that protects against the influence of evil forces. Therefore, the sacred fire, on the
one hand should, not touch the deceased, because the fire symbolizes life, and
the deceased stands for death. That is why in the rites of the Iranian peoples that
we have considered, as long as the body of a dead person in the house the fire is
never lit. On the other hand, a fire is lit on the grave of the deceased for three days,
which performs the above functions, especially for Yazidi Kurds and Ossetians,
who managed to preserve their traditions to a greater extent. Thus, despite many
differentiating factors due to the influence of world religions, significant distances
between peoples, the parallels considered in this paper serve as a vivid example of
the kinship of the Iranian peoples and their origin from a common ancestor.
Keywords: burial rite, the cult of fire, the Zoroastrians, the Tajiks, the Pamir people, Yezidi Kurds, Ossetians
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