The Demon in Iranian Local Folktales: A Mythological Perspective

Abstract

Studies indicate that, at a superficial level, local folktales are intertwined with myths, making it difficult to distinguish between the two. Some scholars and theorists have characterized myth, like folktale, as an illusory, imaginary, and false narrative. Others have posited a fundamental and rigid dichotomy between them, maintaining that myth belongs to the prehistoric era, whereas folktale pertains to the historical period. This raises the question of whether myth and folktale are two forms of the same narrative genre. Some mythologists attribute all qualities of unreality, illusion, and falsity to folktales in an attempt to construct a credible and accepted identity for myth. Others argue that myth is not folktale but history, regarding myth as a sacred historical narrative and folktale as a narrative concerning a semi-historical and semi-mythical character. The present study aims to examine demonological motifs in local folktales from a mythological perspective. The nature of demons and the folk beliefs associated with them in local folktales suggest that beliefs concerning demons in folktales and myths originate from a common source, although certain differences exist between the two. This study employed a descriptive method, and its data were collected through fieldwork, documentary research, and library-based sources.