A Study of Mythical Motifs of Water in the Oral Stories of Mazandaran

Folk tales are replete with mythical beliefs, which is why understanding the plot and the causes of events in them is a bit complicated, and requires knowledge of ancient beliefs and mythical rituals. Many oral stories of Mazandaran are composed of mythical thoughts and beliefs. In this article, the authors tried to study the mythical elements related to water in these stories using a descriptive-analytical method and focusing on how the mythical elements related to the goddess of water have emerged in the oral stories of Mazandaran. After examining five volumes of oral stories, it became clear that components such as crossing rivers, dragons' blocking rivers' waters, and heroes' battles with dragons, the sacrifice of girls and the subsequent release of water, heroes' marrying the daughters of kings, jealousy of the protagonist of the story and conspiracy to kill him, the presence of hippopotamuses or seahorses, the growth of plants from blood, the protagonist leaving to find a wife outside his homeland, the connection between the god of protecting water and the fertility goddess, the connection between fairies and springs are some of the major motifs of oral stories of Mazandaran, which are all rooted in mythical beliefs and rituals.
 
Key words: the myth, Folk tales ,oral stories of Mazandaran, goddess of water.
1-Introduction
The foundation and building blocks of most legends and folk tales are the early human beliefs, rituals and myths. According to experts, legends and popular stories are inextricably linked with myths.
The goddess of water is one of the famous mythological goddesses whose elements and events are prominent in oral stories. In this research, in order to investigate and analyze the mythological roots of the oral stories of Mazandaran, the goddess of water was discussed, and the research question concerned how the mythical elements related to the goddess of water have appeared in the oral stories of
Mazandaran.
2-Materials & methods
This essay is written in a descriptive-analytical way and relies on library documents in terms of tools and research field. To this end, the first two volumes of the five-volume collection entitled Oral Stories of Mazandaran written by Nadali Fallah were analyzed.
3-Discussion
Every region of Iran has beautiful oral and folk stories that contain many ethnic cultures and customs. In addition to entertainment and amusement, these stories can also play educational functions due to their moral and social themes. The name of Mazandaran appears continuously in stories and mythical texts. This geographical region has strong roots in the world of mythology. In Avesta, ancient Pahlavi sources, as well as in the Shahnameh — regardless of the different ideas that exist about the geographical identity of this region — Mazandaran has been mentioned numerous times. There are many oral narratives in Mazandaran, which are named after "Ketari" (oral) narration. The legend of Demon and Fairy, Arash the Archer, Kijabor, Mina and Panther, Amir and Gohar, Taleb and Zohre are some of the famous and noticeable legends of Mazandaran. In addition, there are legends in the region that have a lot in common with legends common in other regions of Iran and have taken on a local color. These stories are rooted in mythical, epic, religious, popular and common beliefs of other Iranian tribes, as well as native and regional beliefs of the people of the same region.The oral stories of Mazandaran are the remains of mythical and historical memories of a land with many mythological events and incidents tied to its name. The incarnation of gods, various ceremonies and rituals, magic, superhuman beings such as demons and fairies, amazing animals such as the Simurgh, dragons and flying horses, and mysterious and obscure places have significant frequencies in the oral stories of Mazandaran, which all show the metamorphosis or regeneration of mythology.
4- Result
By studying and examining the oral stories of Mazandaran, the linkage and connection of the oral stories of Mazandaran with the mythical motifs, the conclusion was reached that ancient myths are the sources of many legends and popular stories. Mazandaran, which has a strong origin in the world of mythology, has significant legends and oral stories the foundation and building blocks of most of which are early beliefs and human rituals as well as myths.
In the oral stories of Mazandaran, categories such as crossing the river and the killing of the protagonist, the blocking of the river water by the dragon and its being killed by the hero of the story and the release of the water as a result, daughters' becoming victims, girls being freed by princes, heroes' marrying kings' daughters, the story of jealousy towards the protagonist and plotting to kill him, the growth of plans from blood and the protagonist leaving to find a wife outside his native land, the presence of legendary creatures such as hippopotamus and fairies in water are the components founded respectively on mythical representations such as death and rebirth, confrontation of water gods and drought demons, sacrifice ritual for Anahita and the flow of water and the arrival of spring, the belief in fertility, healing and life-giving power of water, and the value, importance and respect for the mother goddess in matriarchal societies and the connection between the protecting gods of water, the goddess of fertility and the link between the goddess of plants and nature and the reflection of exogamy and myths related to seahorses and the connection between fairies and springs. All these manifestations reflect the phenomena of nature and supernatural forces that are rooted in the religious beliefs of the past people, and aim to repeat and imitate ancient human rituals by myth-believing man and for satisfying his basic urges.