A Clarification of the Terms Dakhma and Astodān on the Basis of Literary Records and Archeological Research in Fars Province.
The terms dakhma (open-air tomb) and astodān (ossuary) are often used interchangeably despite the fact that they refer to two distinct structures with different meanings in pre-Islamic Iranian burial practices. The present study explores the differences between the two structures, along with burial-...
| Published in: | Journal of Persianate Studies Vol. 14; no. 1/2; pp. 31 - 57 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
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Brill Academic Publishers
2021
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=159380338&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 159380338 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 18747094 5D7R jtl: Journal of Persianate Studies issn: 18747094 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: 2021 vid: 14 iid: 1/2 pid: 639 pub: Brill Academic Publishers artinfo: ui: 159380338 10.1163/18747167-bja10022 ppf: 31 ppct: 26 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 43.5MB tig: atl: A Clarification of the Terms Dakhma and Astodān on the Basis of Literary Records and Archeological Research in Fars Province. aug: au: Doroodi, Mojtaba Hajiani, Farrokh affil: Manager, Persepolis Museum, Persepolis World Heritage Site Iran Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, College of Literature and Humanities, Shiraz University Iran su: Iranians Medieval manuscripts Tombs Rites & ceremonies Provinces Field research sug: subj: Iranians Medieval manuscripts Tombs Rites & ceremonies Provinces Field research keyword: astodān burial practices dakhma (dakhmagāh) sang-āb stone grooves Zoroastrian burial ab: The terms dakhma (open-air tomb) and astodān (ossuary) are often used interchangeably despite the fact that they refer to two distinct structures with different meanings in pre-Islamic Iranian burial practices. The present study explores the differences between the two structures, along with burial-related terms used by ancient Persians, by examining ancient and medieval Iranian manuscripts and by conducting a field study of surviving artifacts from ancient times. The results show that dakhma (or dakhmagāh) was a general term referring to the entire burial site and its constituent elements—as opposed to the specific astodān. Both of these structures should be differentiated from small hollowed ledges on the edges or surfaces of mountains, which were engraved as late as the early Islamic period (seventh to ninth centuries), even though the terms dakhma and astodān appear in their inscriptions. Although the latter have led some scholars to conflate the terms, the present study finds that these small stone structures and hollows are neither dakhma nor astodān , but rather served as a symbolic memorial to the departed. Furthermore, other burial-related structures in the environs of the dakhma , including mortar-shaped hollowed stones (sang-āb s) and cascade-like stone grooves (called sor-sor-e hāy-e sangi), which have received scant attention, can be traced back to Zoroastrian rituals in Avestan texts and point to the presence of a dakhma. Finally, the present field study, which explored ancient burial sites in the Marvdasht plain in Fars Province, includes unique information and details that are presented here for the first time. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Journal of Persianate Studies is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Journal of Persianate Studies holder: Brill Academic Publishers dt: @attributes: year: 2021 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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