Girl, Serpent, Thorn (30 page)

Most of the non-English terms in this book are a combination of words taken from Old Persian, Middle Persian, and modern Persian. For example,
yatu
is the Old Persian word for “sorcerer” or “magician”;
Nog Roz
is Middle Persian for “New Year”; and
div
is the modern Persian word for “demon.” I chose to use these older versions of the words in order to create a historical mood or to differentiate the terms as they're used in the novel from their modern Persian meanings; however, I also used modern terms based on ease of readability and the mood I wanted to create. Some of the terms' real-world definitions have been altered or simplified for the purposes of the novel.

A quick note on pronunciation: The
i
is pronounced like a long
E,
so
div
is pronounced DEEV,
parik
is par-EEK, etc. The “kh” sound, as in
dakhmeh,
is a kind of throat-scraping sound similar to the “ch” in
loch
(as in
Loch Ness
) or in
Chanukah.

The novel's cosmology is a fantastical, fictionalized, and truncated version of Zoroastrian beliefs from ancient times. Zoroastrianism is an ancient and complex belief system that has evolved over many years and is still practiced today.

I drew particular inspiration from Zurvanism, an obsolete, heretical version of Zoroastrianism that was popular during the Sasanian period. In the more dualistic Zurvanism, the two key figures, Ahura Mazda (the embodiment of good) and Angra Mainyu (the embodiment of evil) are twin brothers, two halves of an absolute whole, born from Zurvan (the embodiment of time). Orthodox Zoroastrianism is more clearly monotheistic, with Ahura Mazda as the only creator, and Angra Mainyu as a lesser being bent on
spoiling Ahura Mazda's naturally good creation with things like sickness and death. Zurvanism also heavily features fate and astrology (as does the
Shahnameh
), whereas orthodox Zoroastrianism emphasizes free will and the choice between good and evil in each person.

The fire temple is the traditional Zoroastrian place of worship. A common misconception about Zoroastrianism is that its practitioners worship fire, but in actuality, the fire is not itself worshipped but is a symbol of Ahura Mazda's creative force. The Royal Fire in the novel is loosely inspired by the ancient coronation practice of lighting a royal fire for each shah, as well as by the Fire of Victory, the highest level of sacred fire, which burns perpetually and has many different ritual sources, including lightning.

The dakhmeh (also commonly spelled dakhma), or “tower of silence,” was the traditional Zoroastrian resting place in ancient Persia. Because fire and earth were sacred creations of Ahura Mazda, dead bodies were not cremated or buried. Instead, they were left above the ground in open-air structures to be exposed to the weather and carrion birds. Tombs were also built aboveground for important figures such as Cyrus the Great, whose tomb is still standing in Iran.

In their earliest incarnations, divs represent the physical and spiritual evils of the world, such as wrath, drought, or corruption. In later times, and in the
Shahnameh,
divs are monster or ogre figures, often with animal-like features. They are the traditional fairy-tale monster, kidnapping maidens and kings, fighting heroes, and generally causing destruction. In the
Shahnameh,
they can change form or even turn invisible.

Druj
(meaning “lie”) is one subset of demon and also sometimes refers to female demons.
Kastar
comes from a Middle Persian word for “destroyer” or “wrongdoer,” but I borrowed the term to represent another kind of demon.

Divs are traditionally associated with the north and with mountains, with the ridge of Mount Arezur being the gateway to hell (called
Duzakh
).

The pariks of this novel are the middle ground between the pairika and the pari. The pairika (Old Persian) were malevolent female demons who could take many forms and were associated with nighttime. Over time, the pairika evolved into the more romantic pari or peri—beautiful, winged women similar to fairies who are benevolent toward humanity. I thought it would be interesting to track the progression of the pairika from foe to friend in the novel, and so the pariks are a little bit of both.

Azad, the Shahmar (from the words “shah” meaning king and “mar” meaning snake), is based on the
Shahnameh
's King Zahhak, who is in turn based on the earlier Azhi Dahaka. It's a wild story, so get ready.

Azhi Dahaka is a demon from the start, a three-headed dragon bent on destroying humanity but who is defeated and chained up in a mountain. The
Shahnameh
took this figure and made him a human prince who is persuaded by Ahriman (the Middle Persian name for Angra Mainyu) into killing his father and taking the throne. Ahriman then disguises himself as a chef and requests to
kiss Zahhak's shoulders when he is offered a reward for his meals. Zahhak grants the request, and as a result, a snake grows out of each shoulder, and they keep growing back even after Zahhak tries cutting them off. Ahriman (disguised as a doctor this time) tells Zahhak that the snakes will eventually die if he feeds them human brains, so Zahhak orders the deaths of two men every night to feed his shoulder snakes and is generally a tyrant until he is eventually overthrown and chained up inside a mountain.

Azad also bears a resemblance to a character in the
Shahnameh
called Shiroyeh (who corresponds to the historical figure of Kavad II), a prince with an ill-omened horoscope who overthrows his father (and eliminates his brothers) in a military coup and is ultimately poisoned.

There is also a figure called the Shahmaran in the folklore of various West Asian cultures who is a benevolent snake queen, but my Shahmar is not based on that figure.

As in the novel, the simorgh is a mythical bird in folklore. The story in the novel of the simorgh adopting a son is a loose version of the story of Zal in the
Shahnameh
. In the story (which happens after Zahhak's story in the
Shahnameh,
not concurrently, as in the novel), the simorgh adopts an infant boy who has been abandoned by the mountainside because he has white hair (a sign of evil). This boy, Zal, grows up to be the chief adviser to the shah. He is also the father of Rostam, a legendary figure who is similar to Hercules.

Years later, when Rostam is grievously wounded, Zal calls up his adopted mother by burning one of the three feathers she gave him, and the simorgh heals Rostam's wound by soaking one of her feathers in milk and placing the feather over the wound.

The festival of Suri in the novel is a combination of the festivals of Chaharshanbeh Suri and Fravardigan. Fravardigan was traditionally held the five (or sometimes ten) days before the New Year. During this time, people clean their houses and welcome and celebrate the fravashi (guardian spirits) of their ancestors. Zoroastrians still celebrate a modern equivalent of this festival today.

Chaharshanbeh Suri is celebrated on the Tuesday night before the Persian New Year. On this night, celebrants jump over small bonfires and say, “Give me your red and take back my yellow” (meaning, less poetically, “Give me health and take my sickness”). In this way, they release the negativity of the past year and welcome the year to come.

Nog Roz is the Middle Persian name for Norouz, the Persian New Year celebrated on the vernal equinox. Norouz has its roots in ancient Zoroastrian times as the most important of several agricultural festivals, but it is still celebrated today by people of various religions, inside and outside of Iran.

Esfand
: A Persian tradition/superstition is to burn esfand (or wild rue) to chase away the Evil Eye and other negative vibes. Don't knock it till you've tried it. (It smells great, too.)

The Pariks' Forest
: The pariks' forest is based on the Hyrcanian forest (also called the Caspian forest) in the north of Iran. The strip of land between the Caspian Sea and the Alborz mountain range is a lush coastal rainforest that you should absolutely look up online because it's gorgeous and so different from the desert landscapes we're used to associating with the Middle East.

There was and there was not
: Persian oral stories do have a common beginning, the equivalent of “Once upon a time”:
yeki bood, yeki nabood,
which literally translates to “there was one, there wasn't one.” This phrase is the inspiration for the novel's more loosely translated “there was and there was not,” variations of which can be found in the stories of other cultures as well.

To learn more, check out the following sources:

Shahnameh
by Abolqasem Ferdowsi (translated by Dick Davis)

Persian Mythology
by John R. Hinnells

Wise Lord of the Sky: Persian Myth
by Tony Allan

The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies: www.cais-soas.com

Encyclopaedia Iranica: www.iranicaonline.org