Raman: The Yazata of Peace and the Joy of Life
Raman in Zoroastrian myth: the yazata of peace and the joy of life, who gives zest for living, good pastures, and the savour of food, the close companion of Vayu the wind.
Read article →Kurdish History Journal
Kurdish Art and Culture
Articles filed under Kurdish Art and Culture.
Arshtat: The Yazata of Rectitude and Justice
Arshtat in Zoroastrian myth: the yazata of rectitude, rightness, and justice, the close companion of Rashnu who stands with the divine judges at the soul's judgment.
Read article →Nairyosangha (Neryosang): The Zoroastrian Messenger in Avesta and Ritual
Nairyosangha is a Zoroastrian sacred being associated with divine messages and fire. Vendidad 22 describes his mission to summon Airyaman, while Yasna 17.11 and a historical account of Parsi ritual show other settings in which his name appears.
Read article →Čistā in the Avesta: Paths, Perception and the Dēn Yašt
Čistā is invoked in the Dēn Yašt for safe passage, perception, memory and peace. Reading the hymn beside linguistic research gives a more precise account of this Zoroastrian divinity and her debated relationship with Daēnā.
Read article →Vourukasha / Fraxkard: Rivers, Rain and Sacred Trees in Zoroastrian Texts
Vourukasha is the cosmic ocean of Avestan and later Zoroastrian writings. Specific passages connect it with the great river, Tishtrya’s struggle, the distribution of rain and the protection of sacred plants.
Read article →Drvaspa: Animal Protection, the Gosh Yasht and a Difficult Coin Identification
Drvaspa is an Avestan goddess associated with healthy animals and a horse-related name. Yasht 9 preserves her praise and a sequence of legendary petitioners, while its borrowed passages and the male Lrooaspo of Kushan coins require careful distinction.
Read article →Hvare-khshaeta: The Sun in Zoroastrian Prayer and Tradition
Hvare-khshaeta is the shining Sun invoked in the Avesta. The short Sun Yasht and the longer Khwarshed Niyayesh connect its rising with the flourishing of creation, religious purification and resistance to destructive powers. Their wording also helps explain the close relationship between the Sun and Mithra without treating every period of Iranian religion as identical.
Read article →Airyaman: Healing, Community and the Prayer at Yasna 54
Airyaman is associated with healing in Zoroastrian tradition. The prayer at Yasna 54, a Vendidad narrative and later ritual uses explain the connection more precisely than a single definition.
Read article →Haftawaneh: The Seven Sons and Yarsani Spiritual Lineages
Haftawaneh, also written Haftawana or haftawâne, is usually translated as “Seven Sons” in accounts of Yarsani and Kaka‘i traditions. The term connects sacred narratives about Sultan Sahak with spiritual lineages, but its interpretation varies between communities.
Read article →Nasirdin and Sejadin: Yazidi Holy Figures, Lineages and Sacred Tradition
Nasirdin and Sejadin, commonly written Nasirdîn and Sicadîn in Kurdish, are revered figures in Yazidi tradition. They appear in accounts of the Seven Holy Beings, the genealogy of Êzdînê Mîr and the Şemsanî sheikh houses. Their associations with death and the soul should be explained through identified texts and interpretations, with room for regional variation.
Read article →Sultan Ezid: Yazidi Sacred Tradition, Hymns and the December Feast
Sultan Ezid, also called Siltan Êzî, is a sacred figure in Yazidi tradition. Hymns, the December fast and a temple in Tbilisi show different dimensions of his importance.
Read article →Pir Benyamin: The Guide of the Yarsani Haftan
Pir Benyamin in Yarsani faith: the foremost of the Haftan, the Seven companions of Sultan Sahak, the spiritual guide and Pir of the highest rank in the Ahl-e Haqq tradition.
Read article →The Heft Sirr: The Seven Holy Beings of the Yazidis
The Heft Sirr in Yazidi faith: the Seven Holy Beings or Seven Angels, emanations of the one God created from his light, to whom God entrusted the world, led by Tawuse Melek.
Read article →Gaokerena: White Haoma, Guardian Fish and Zoroastrian Renewal
Gaokerena, the white haoma of Zoroastrian tradition, supplies immortality at the world’s renewal. The Bundahishn gives it a distinct role beside the tree of all seeds and describes the fish protecting it from destruction.
Read article →Spenta Mainyu: The Bounteous Creative Spirit
Spenta Mainyu in Zoroastrian myth: the bounteous, holy, creative spirit of Ahura Mazda, through which the Wise Lord creates life and goodness, the great counterpart of the destructive spirit.
Read article →Haurvatat and Ameretat: Wholeness, Plants and Zoroastrian Practice
Haurvatat and Ameretat are closely associated figures in Zoroastrian religious texts. Their names concern wholeness and deathlessness; later Middle Persian forms include Hordad and Amurdad. Reading prayers, creation narratives, ethical interpretation and calendar observances shows how these concepts connect water, vegetation, human conduct and hopes for renewed life.
Read article →Khshathra Vairya: Dominion, Metals and Zoroastrian Tradition
Khshathra Vairya brings together desirable dominion, the care of metals and the hope of a renewed creation. The Gathas, later Avestan worship and Middle Persian accounts illuminate different stages of this religious idea.
Read article →Vohu Manah: Good Thought in Avestan and Pahlavi Texts
Vohu Manah, commonly rendered Good Thought or Good Mind, appears in Zoroastrian texts as both an ethical concept and a divine being. Avestan hymns, later Pahlavi narratives and modern scholarship offer different evidence for his relationship with Ahura Mazda, cattle, revelation and the afterlife.
Read article →Spenta Armaiti: Devotion, Earth and the Zoroastrian Calendar
Spenta Armaiti is a Zoroastrian divinity associated with devotion and the earth. Avestan passages and later festival traditions show how ethical qualities, the physical world and religious observance are joined in her figure.
Read article →Mah: The Moon and the Keeper of the Seed
Mah in Zoroastrian myth: the divinity of the Moon, in whose light the seed of the slain Primordial Ox was purified to bring forth the animals and plants of the world.
Read article →Asha Vahishta: Truth, Prayer, Fire and the Zoroastrian Calendar
Asha Vahishta personifies the Zoroastrian principle of truth and right order. Numbered Avestan passages, prayer scholarship and a Kushan coin show how the concept appears in worship, ethics and material culture.
Read article →The Fravashis: The Guardian Spirits of the Soul
The Fravashis in Zoroastrian myth: the pre-existent guardian spirits and ideal selves of the righteous, who guide the living, are honoured as the dead, and help uphold the cosmos against evil.
Read article →The Saoshyant: The Future Savior of the World
The Saoshyant in Zoroastrian myth: the future world-savior, Astvat-ereta, born of Zoroaster's preserved seed, who will raise the dead and bring about the final renovation of the world.
Read article →Daēnā: Inner Self, Religious Vision and the Maiden After Death
Daēnā has several meanings in Zoroastrian texts, including religious vision, inner self and the female figure encountered after death. Reading particular passages reveals differences that a single translation such as “conscience” can conceal.
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