نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دانشجوی دکتری، گروه فلسفه، دانشکده علوم انسانی، واحد تهران شمال، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، تهران، ایران.
2 دانشیار گروه فلسفه، دانشکده علوم انسانی، واحد تهران شمال، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، تهران، ایران، نویسنده مسئول.
3 دانشیار گروه فلسفه، دانشکده علوم انسانی، واحد تهران شمال، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، تهران، ایران dr.moradkhani@yahoo.com .
چکیده
کلیدواژه‌ها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
The scene of snakes being held by human or human-animal is one of the dominant and unique motifs of the five thousand-year-old Jiroft civilisation. Decrypting this motif can be an initial point to identify the beliefs, credence, and thoughts of Halil-Rood civilisation peoples (Jiroft), and afterward, the other areas of Iran.
Regarding these interpretations, the question is "what meanings and concepts does the "snake" imply in the ancient Jiroft civilisation, and what is the purpose of humans to hold snakes in the esthetic and recurring motifs of this ancient civilisation?". Based on this, we are trying to learn about the thinking and attitude of the ancient people of Jiroft by applying the results obtained in collecting information. The purpose of this study is to symbology the motifs of snakes, entwined snakes, and snakes being held by humans, and to research and explore the position of mankind behind the mysterious pictograms of Halil-Rood civilisation.
This research approach is qualitative and fundamental, in terms of modality is descriptive-analytical, regarding to purpose is developmental, the data collection method is documental and field-based while taking note is the main tool for it. Field surveys such as visiting "the Archaeological Museum of Jiroft", "the Harandi Museum of Kerman", and "the Museum of Ancient Iran" have been carried out to view and photograph these artifacts, in addition to the in-person visit of the ancient site of Jiroft. Historical studies and archaeological investigations concerning this research have been studied with a symbology approach. In this regard, non-probability sampling method was applied and 10 study samples including motifs of confrontation between humans and snakes (or human-animal) were analysed.
In many common scenes, a human in some situations has horns or claws, a mane and tail, holding two giant snakes or entwined snakes with his hands. The scene of holded snakes by human or combined motifs of human and animal in art of ancient Halil-Rood have prominent similarities to the art of neighboring civilisations. From these similarities, it can be derived that the mentioned motifs also share a common meaning in addition to their apparent similarities, and this will be facilitator in decoding the motifs containing this animal.
The motif of a "snake" and "entwined snakes" are the most incomparable and numerous ones found in the ancient civilisation of Jiroft. The abundance of this animal's motif and its unique performance in various scenes indicate its great importance and comprehensive and expansive concept which the snake implies that. The snake has allocated to itself a wide range of symbols among ancient people by having special features such as deadly and healing venom, a shiny and slippery body, crawling on the ground and hiding in the underground world, a lengthy and linear appearance, the ability to shed its skin, etc. In Persian, "the snake" has two meanings: 1- deadly and killer; 2- generative (matriarch and or stem and basis of something). Considering to the meanings of snake in other languages, we will observe that the snake is both the agent of non-existence and existence. The snake, in first meaning, is cognate with death, man and sick, and in second meaning, is cognate with matriarch and material. The snake's power to send human into the nothingness world has always been considered as a threat to humans, so that they were declared the executioner of death. However, this reptile has been associated with medicine and health in many civilisations.
The snake has always had a special position in human beliefs and credence. Despite its special cosmological position, the snake has many contradictions in its different behavioral and symbolic aspects. It has concepts such as water, fertility, woman, penis, tree, moon, sun, health, etc., and on the other hand, it is connected to concepts like filthiness, sin, devil, death, etc. Probably, this animal can be considered one of the most dominant visual examples of "the gathering of contradictory forces" in nature.
In many traditions, from earliest ages, "human" is described as a microcosm analogy. A belief was common in the ancient world that human body represented the cosmos in small scale and was made from the same elements as it. In some beliefs, human bone is made from soil, his blood is from water, his lungs are made of air and his head is from fire. In other beliefs, nervous system depends on fire, respiratory ones on air, blood circulatory ones on water and digestive ones on soil. Human touches three levels of cosmos: the earth by his feet, space by his body and the sky by his head. human has a share in three realms: inanimate, plant and animal. He can communicate to the divine by his soul. He is the centre and core of solidarity, the centre of symbols world like as the snake, and has the same vast range. human also has combination of contradictory features and is linked with forces of nature in physical and mental equilibrium.
In somewhere, he (human) is such as manifestation of existential perfection in the figure of Keyumars (in Iranian mythology) (indeed, the connection between these two items is also thought provoking by giving the label "Gel-Shah (great king) to Keyumars and Shir-e-Khak (lion of the earth) to snake. Mari and Marianne (Mashya and Mashyana) are emerged from him (Keyumars). At first, these two characters appear as a "snake" or "two entwined snakes" like "two rhubarb stem" wrapped around each other, and similar to entwined snakes despite of different genders (male and female) seem to a single snake, like they are unity and combination of contradictory forces. the first human couple (Mashya and Mashyana) similar to Lahmu and Lahamu are the manifestation of existential perfection of Keyumars and Tiamat. elsewhere, we also observe to unite the contradictions naming Gahmard and Mardyaneh (in Manichaeism) and Adam and Eve, etc., in form of the first human couples. Gilgamesh is depicted as human-animal (the same human motifs in Jiroft Civilisation) due to his superhuman features. Actually, Gilgamesh is manifestation of existential perfection and combination of contradictories as well as Keyumars and Tiamat, and reveals his unity with this hyper-coloured reptile by holding snakes. When ancient human pursues to hold and overcome such creature in form of illustrations, he indeed unveils his inner secrets, despite taking over all symbols which a single snake or entwined snakes implies them. "Two entwined snakes" are a symbol for combination of contradictories and are the life and death poles. This secret is mystery of healthfully and healing, nothing but maintaining proportions and balance. It is apparent of mental and physical equilibrium, human's complexity, his endless restraints and facilities for growth and development. Ancient people always believed in the balance of hidden forces inside the universe, creatures, and nature, combination and unity of all these forces and attributes in "snake" and their own existence.
Holding entwined snakes in Jiroft's art similar to double-edge weapon (duality) in hands of ancient human, is also to unity his inner plurality and the war in such scenes signifies inner fight against the enemies inside the human himself; according to symbols of snake and entwined snakes, human goes to the fight against all elements that are contradict the regularity and unity by getting this hyper-coloured reptile in his hand. Considering these issues, it can be claimed that ancient people of Jiroft civilisation truly unveils his inner secrets in eternal, everlasting and abiding encounter, by repeatedly depicting the motifs of snake and entwined snakes and holding them through human, and seek to overcome the nature, creatures, forces around themselves, with awareness about these inner contradictions and holding a creature as the same as himself, and actually, they try to unify their contradictions and inner polarity.
Now, regarding to such an approach in ancient civilisations beliefs and concerning the contradicting forces of snake and motifs of entwined snakes, carved scenes on many soapstone objects, by the creative artist of Halil-Rood who has specific style, in which a human (in some situations has two heads or horns, claws, a mane and tail) holding two giant snakes (and or entwined snakes) with his hands testify that these people are aware about their inner contradictions. In these illustrations, human knows himself on middle of universe who standing on the centre and snakes surrounded him as a frame. in some ones, ancient Jiroft's human illustrates himself idealistically in combination with other animals so that he imagines himself more powerful than he is (like God). When ancient human, in his ideal form (combination with other animals) situated himself on the centre of illustration and holds a snake and entwined snakes over his head while hands are open triumphantly, reconstructs the universe around himself pursuant to regularity, unity and immortality.
کلیدواژه‌ها [English]
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