Study of the Historical Roots of Calenders’ Chahārḍarb (The Four-fold Shaving of the Head)
Journal Title: تاریخ و فرهنگ - Year 2012, Vol 44, Issue 89
Abstract
Study of the works left behind from the pre-Islamic culture of Iran and the periods after that indicate the fact that growing the hair of one’s head and beard has not been regarded as a negative point. The faces of noble and the common people, the Akaemenid kings, and the Sasanid clerics indicate that shaving the head and face in the pre-Islamic era had been almost unknown, except in some rare instances. In the early centuries after Islam, too, with respect to the report on the Prophet’s (S.A.W.) appearance as well the impressionability of the Iranians of chahārḍarb, accepting the prevalence of this practice among the newly converted Iranians is not possible. However, with the appearance of qalandars (calenders), we encounter individuals, who would shave their heads, faces, and eyebrows, practicing what were termed as chahārḍarb. Various reasons, such as the presence of the Buddhists in the East of Iran during early Islamic period and their abiding by chahārḍarb, the knowledge of the Muslim Iranians and Qalandars about them, the similar intention of both groups in practicing chahārḍarb and carrying stones and razors (ustura) by both groups indicates that the Qalandariyya’s chahārḍarb has been influenced by Buddhism and its monks.
Authors and Affiliations
Mahdī ḤAsanzāDa, PaymāN Abulbasharī
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP191634
- DOI 10.22067/history.v0i0.16889
- Views 324
- Downloads 0
The Insurrection of Sheikh Baha_al_Din Estiri and the Religious and Ethical Weaknesses of Safavid Legitimacy
The crisis of the religios legitimacy of Safavids close to the end of this dynasty’s governance triggered many uprisings and rebellions in different parts of their ruling domain. Sheikh Baha_al_Din Estiri was the leader...
Khālid b. Yazīd: The First Alchemist in Islamic Civilization
The scholarly character of Khālid b. Yazīd and his attempts in acquiring and spreading of knowledge has always been of doubt to researchers and, with the expansion in the field of research on roots of science, has taken...
Local Historiography under the Qajarid Dynasty
Local historiography in Iran, precedence of which can be traced back to the Iranian pre-Islamic era, saw a golden age of quantitative and qualitative growth under the Qajar dynasty.Hence,most of our country's cities and...
The Impact of the Situation of Daylam and the Alvids of Ṭabaristān on the Rise of the Buyids with an Emphasis on Economic Backgrounds
The Buyids were originally from among the Daylamids of Daylam proper (khāṣ), but since the economic situation of this region was not much favorable, they joined various rules (ḥukūmas) such as the Alavids of Ṭabaristān a...
Famine in Khorasan in 1288 AH: background, process and economic consequences
The 1288 AH famine in Khorasan has been the subject of numerous studies having examined the event with special focus on its causes and short-term effects as well as the reaction of the people and the state to it. This ap...