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Div (mythology)

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Div or dev (Persian: Dīv: دیو) are monstrous creatures within Middle Eastern lore. They have their origin in Persian mythology and spread to surrounding cultures including Armenia, Turkic countries[1] and Albania.[2] Although they are not explicitly mentioned within canonical Islamic scriptures, their existence was well accepted by most Muslims just as other supernatural creatures.[3] They are described with a body similar to humans, but gigantic, featuring two horns, relishing human flesh, powerful, cruel and cold-hearted with teeth like a boar.[4] Some of them use primitive types of weapons such as stones, while others appear as warriors with armors and weapons. In addition to their physical strength, some of them are masters of sorcery, overcoming their enemies with magic.[5] Despite their physical shape, many are masters of sorcery and can cause nightmares.

Their origin is disputed. They may have been Vedic deities (devas) which were later demonized in Persian religion (see daeva). In Ferdowsi's tenth-century Shahnameh, they are already the evil entities they are later known for, but simultaneously appear in human-like shape. However, supernatural powers are still applied to the Div throughout the poem. Such ideas remained in folklore, describing the Divs as ugly demons with supernatural strength and power, who might, nevertheless, be subdued and bound to a sorcerer.

History

Shahnameh—The Div Akvan throws Rustam into the sea

Div probably originate from Avestan daeva, deities which share the same origin with Indian Deva (gods). It is unknown when and why the former deities turned into rejected gods or even demons. In the Gathas, the oldest Zorastrian text, they are not yet the evil creatures they will become, although the texts indicate, they should be rejected. However, this is up to interpretation.[6] Evident from Xph inscriptions, Xerxes I (reigned 486–465 BC) ordered the destruction of a sanctuary of Daivas and proclaimed, that the Daeva shall not be worshipped.[7] Therefore first opposition of Daeva can not be later than the reign of Xerxes. However, the original relation between Daeva and Persian religion remains up to debate. There might have been a pantheon with several types of deities, but while the Indians demonized the Asura and deified the Deva, the Persians demonized the Deva, but deified Asura in the form of Ahura Mazda.[8]

In Middle Persian texts, they are already equal to demons. They are created by Ahriman (the devil) along with sorcerers and everything else what is evil. They roam the earth at night and bring people to ruin. During the advent of Islam in Persia, the term was used for both demonized humans and evil supernatural creatures. In the translations of Tabari's Tafsir, the term div was used to designate evil jinn, devils and Satan.[9] Evident from the epic poem by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE, the Div have become associated with the people of Mazdaran (not the modern Mazdaran).[10] While some Div appear as supernatural sorcerers, many Div appear to be clearly demonized humans, including black people, attributed with supernatural strenght, but no supernatural bodily features. Some people continued to worship Div in their rituals during the early Islamic period, known as "Daevayasna", although probably out of fear.[11] People of Mazdaran might have been associated with such worship and therefore equated with these entities. Despite many Div appear human in nature, there are also clearly supernatural Div, like the White Div, who is said to be as huge as a mountain.

From this Persian origin, belief in Div spread through Persia to other Muslim cultures.

Legends

Ali fighting Divs. Ali might serve as a substitute for Rustam, a Persian hero, who conquered the Divs as well. Here, the sword Zulfiqar clearly indicating the representation of Ali

Div appear throughout many supernatural legends as villains, sorcerers, monsters, ogres or even helpers of the protagonist. It is usually necessary to overcome the Div, to get his aid. After defeating the Div, one must attach a horseshoe, a needle or an iron ring on his body to enslave them. On the other hand, a Div can not be killed by physical combat, even if their body parts are cut off. Instead, it is required to find the object storing the soul of the Div. After the object is destroyed, the Div is said to disappear in smoke or thin air. The notion of a demon tied to a physical object, later inspired the European Genie in a bottle.[12]

According to pre-historic Persian legends, the Divs once roamed the earth until Zoraster chased them away to the underground. Since when, they do not appear visible on earth again and live secretly in the underworld. Such legends have later been assimilated to Islamic legends, according to which the jinn lived on earth prior to humans, but have been chased away. However, here the heroic human is replaced by a group of angels. Accordingly, Div have been entrusted to govern the earth 70,000 years before the creation of the first human. However, God created between the Div and human, the jinn (taken from Islamic lore), ruled by Jann ibn Jann. However, when Jann ibn Jann challenged the heavens, Satan (Iblis) was sent with an army of angels to overthrow him. During this battle some treacherous Divs joined Satan and the angels. Again, at the end, the story assigns them to the underworld regions of hell, when the Divs follow Iblis' refusal to pay homage to the first human.[13][14]

In Kisekbasch Destani ("Story of the cut head"), a Turkish Sufi legend from the 13. or 14. Century, Ali encounters a beheaded men, whose head is still reciting the Quran. His wife has been captured and his child been devoured by a Div. Ali descends to the underworld to kill the Div. Here, he finds out, the Div further captured 500 Sunnites and the Div threats Ali, to destroy the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and destroy the legacy of Islam. After a battle, Ali manages to kill the Div, release the inmates, saves the devoured child and brings the severed head, with aid of Muhammad back to life.[15]

Folklore

Armenian

In Armenian mythology and many various Armenian folk tales, the dev (in Armenian: դև) appears both in a kind and specially in a malicious role,[16] and has a semi-divine origin. Dev is a very large being with an immense head on his shoulders, and with eyes as large as earthen bowls.[17][page needed] Some of them may have only one eye. Usually, there are Black and White Devs. However, both of them can either be malicious or kind.

The White Dev is present in Hovhannes Tumanyan's tale "Yedemakan Tzaghike" (Arm.: Եդեմական Ծաղիկը), translated as "The Flower of Paradise". In the tale, the Dev is the flower's guardian.

Jushkaparik, Vushkaparik, or Ass-Pairika is another chimerical being whose name indicates a half-demoniac and half-animal being, or a Pairika—a female Dev with amorous propensities—that appeared in the form of an ass and lived in ruins.[17][page needed]

Persian

Div capturing a peri

According to Persian folklore, the Div are inverted creatures, who do the opposite of what has been told to them. They are active at night, but get sleepy at day. Darkness is said to increase their power.[5] Usually, the approach of a Div is presaged by a change in temperature or fowl smell in the air.[5] They are capable of transformation and performing magic. They are said to capture maiden, trying to force them to marry the Div.[5] Some have the form of a snake or a dragon with multiple heads, whose heads grow again, after slain, comparable to the Hydra.[18] In his treatise about the supernatural Ahl-i Hava (people of the air), Ghulam Husayn Sa’idi's discusses several folkloric beliefs about different types of supernatural creatures and demons. He describes the Div as tall creatures living far away either on islands or in the desert. With their magical powers, they could turn people into statues by touching them.[19] During the Golden Age, Al-Razi conjectured that the Divs are souls of the wicked, turned into Div after their death.[20]

The Divs are in constant battle with benevolent peris (fairies).[21][22] While the Divs are usually perceived as male, the Peris are often, but not necessarily, depicted as female.[23] According to a story, a man saved a white snake from a black one. The snake later revealed that she was a Peri, and the black snake a Div, who attacked her. The Divs in turn, frequently try to capture the Peris and imprison them in cages.

Occult

`Aliquli – King Solomon and Two Demons – Walters W62494B – Full Page

Div appear within treatises on the occult. Their depictions often invoke the idea of Indian deities or are directly identified with them.[24] To enslave a Div, one must pierce their skin with a needle or bind them on iron rings. Another method relies on burning their hair in fire, to summon them.[5] As Solomon enslaved the devils, same is said to be true about the Div. Probably, the legends of the Quran about Solomon are conflated with the legends of the Persian hero Jamshid, who is said to have enslaved the Divs.[25] In later Islamic thought, Solomon is said to have bound both devils and the Divs to his will, inspiring Middle Eastern magicians trying to capture such demons as well. In some stories, Divs are said to be able to bestow magical abilities upon others. Once a man encountered a Div, the Div offered him to learn the ability to speak with animals. However, if the man tells someone about this gift, he will die.

Divs and other demons

Many attributes of the Div can be applied to other demons within Middle Eastern lore, like the jinn and the devils. Even the lines between devils and the jinn, both deriving from Islamic scriptures, are often hard to distinguish and it seems in some texts, Div, jinn and devils are used synonymous. Some scholars argued, that the term jinn should rather be regarded as a general designation for any supernatural creature, including the ordinary jinn, the devils, Divs and other Middle Eastern demons similar to the broader meaning of spirits, in Western language. Others assume, that Div is simply the Persian term for jinn. However, this poses some major problems, because the jinn are morally ambivalent or even intentionally benevolent, while the Divs are considered evil or perverted creatures.[26] The Divs further appear to be more physical in appearance compared to the jinn (and the devils).[27] Therefore, they are sometimes referred to as fiends or ogres,[28] In Turkish, the term is used for giants or titans in general. Sometimes Div is used metaphorically to depict harmful supernatural creatures in general. Unlike the jinn, sorcery and supernatural powers are actually attributed to them. And while hell serves merely as a punishment for the jinn, both devils and Divs are often related to the underworld. However, the malicious acts of the Divs are not limited to temptations, unlike the devils, who merely whisper into the mind of humans (and jinn).

See also

References

  1. ^ Karakurt, Deniz (2011). Türk Söylence Sözlüğü [Turkish Mythological Dictionary] (PDF). p. 90. ISBN 9786055618032. (OTRS: CC BY-SA 3.0)
  2. ^ Elsie, Robert (2007). "Albanian Tales". In Haase, Donald (ed.). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales. Vol. Volume 1: A–F. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 24. ISBN 9780313049477. OCLC 1063874626. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  3. ^ Tobias Nünlist Dämonenglaube im Islam Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2015 ISBN 978-3-110-33168-4 p. 34 (German)
  4. ^ Seyed Reza Ebrahimi1 and Elnaz Valaei Bakhshayesh Manifestation of Evil in Persian Mythology from the Perspective of the Zoroastrian Religion p. 7
  5. ^ a b c d e "DĪV". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. Volume VII, Fasc. 4. 28 November 2011 [15 December 1995]. pp. 428–431. Retrieved 25 February 2020. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  6. ^ Herrenschmidt & Kellens 1993, p. 601.
  7. ^ Abolala Soudavar The Original Iranian Creator God "Apam Napat" (or Apam Naphat?) Lulu.com, 2015 isbn 9781329489943 p. 14
  8. ^ https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/daiva-old-iranian-noun
  9. ^ Hughes, Patrick; Hughes, Thomas Patrick (1995) [1885]. Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopaedia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs, Together with the Technical and Theological Terms of the Muhammadan Religion. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. p. 134. ISBN 9788120606722. OCLC 35860600. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  10. ^ https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/div
  11. ^ Reza Yousefvand Demonology & worship of Dives in Iranian local legend Assistant Professor, Payam Noor University, Department of history, Tehran. Iran Life Science Journal 2019
  12. ^ Sherman, Sharon R., and Mikel J. Koven, editors. Folklore/Cinema: Popular Film as Vernacular Culture. University Press of Colorado, 2007. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt4cgnbm. Accessed 23 Apr. 2021.
  13. ^ Braun, Julius (1870). Gemälde der mohammedanischen Welt (in German). Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. p. 46. OCLC 251934045.
  14. ^ Smedley, Edward; William Cooke Taylor; Henry Thompson; Elihu Rich (1855). The Occult Sciences: Sketches of the Traditions and Superstitions of Past Times, and the Marvels of the Present Day. London; Glasgow: Richard Griffin & Co. p. 50. OCLC 520330. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  15. ^ Gerhard Doerfer, Wolfram Hesche Türkische Folklore-Texte aus Chorasan Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1998 ISBN 978-3-447-04111-9 S. 62
  16. ^ Marshall, Bonnie C. (trans.) (2007). Tashjian, Virginia A. (ed.). The Flower of Paradise and Other Armenian Tales. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. p. 27. ISBN 9781591583677. OCLC 231684930. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  17. ^ a b Ananikian, Mardiros Harootioon (2010). Armenian Mythology: Stories of Armenian Gods and Goddesses, Heroes and Heroines, Hells & Heavens, Folklore & Fairy Tales. Los Angeles: IndoEuropeanPublishing.com. ISBN 9781604441727. OCLC 645483426.
  18. ^ Reza Yousefvand Demonology & worship of Dives in Iranian local legend Assistant Professor, Payam Noor University, Department of history, Tehran. Iran Life Science Journal 2019
  19. ^ Pedram Khosronejad THE PEOPLE OF THE AIR HEALING AND SPIRIT POSSESSION IN SOUTH OF IRAN In: Shamanism and Healing Rituals in Contemporary Islam and Sufism, T.Zarcone (ed.) 2011, I.B.Tauris
  20. ^ Gertsman, Elina; Rosenwein, Barbara H. (2018). The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9781107150386. OCLC 1030592502. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  21. ^ Diez, Ernst (1941). Glaube und welt des Islam (in German). Stuttgart: W. Spemann Verlag. p. 64. OCLC 1141736963. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  22. ^ Burton, Sir Richard, ed. (2008) [1887]. Arabian Nights, in 16 Volumes. Vol. Volume XIII: Supplemental Nights to the Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night. New York: Cosimo Classics. p. 256. ISBN 9781605206035. Retrieved 25 February 2020. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  23. ^ A History of Persian Literature General Editor—Ehsan Yarshater Oral Literature of Iranian Languages Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Ossetic, Persian and Tajik Sponsored by Persian Heritage Foundation (New York) & Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University Volume XVIII Edited by Philip G. Kreyenbroek & Ulrich Marzolp p. 225
  24. ^ Travis Zadeh Commanding Demons and Jinn: The Sorcerer in Early Islamic Thought Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014 p-142-149
  25. ^ Eva Orthmann, Anna Kollatz The Ceremonial of Audience: Transcultural Approaches Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 11.11.2019 isbn 978-3-847-00887-3 p. 155
  26. ^ Tobias Nünlist Dämonenglaube im Islam Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2015 ISBN 978-3-110-33168-4 p. 519 (German)
  27. ^ A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE HERO IN MEDIEVAL IRELAND, PERSIA, AND ENGLAND by Connell Raymond Monette A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of The Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto
  28. ^ Sykes, Ella C. (27 April 1901). "Persian Folklore". Folklore. 12 (3): 261–280. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1901.9719633. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
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