View source for Parī

{{Short description|Fairy-like spirit in Middle Eastern folklore of Persian origin}}
{{Redirect|Peri||Peri (disambiguation)|and|Pari (disambiguation)}}
{{Italic title}} 
{{Infobox mythical creature
|name             = ''Parī''
|AKA              = 
|image            = An angel, flying, with cup and wine flask (FGA F1937.7).jpg
|image_size       = <!-- Image size in pixels; do not use with image_upright -->
|image_upright    = <!-- Image size scale factor; do not use with image_size -->
|caption          = ''Parī'', flying, with cup and wine flask in a miniature by [[Şahkulu]]
|Grouping         = [[Legendary creature|Mythical creature]]
|Sub_Grouping     = 
|Family           = <!-- Attested family members, if applicable -->
|Folklore         = [[Persian mythology|Pre-Islamic Persian folklore]], [[Folk Islam|Islamic folklore]]
|Country          = [[Muslim world]]
|Region           = <!-- Region of origin -->
|Details          = <!-- Any additional details -->
|First_Attested   = <!-- First attestation (in other words, source) -->
|Similar_entities = <!-- Entities described as similar -->
}}

A '''''parī''''' or '''''peri''''' is a supernatural entity originating from [[Persian mythology|Persian tales]] and distributed into wider Asian folklore.<ref>Sherman, Josepha (2008). ''Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore''. Sharpe Reference. p. 361. {{ISBN|978-0-7656-8047-1}}.</ref> The ''parī''s are often described as winged creatures of immense beauty who are structured in societies similar to that of humans. Unlike [[jinn]], the ''parī''s usually feature in tales involving supernatural elements.

Over time, the depiction of ''parī''s was subject to change and reconsideration. In early Persian beliefs, the ''parī''s were probably a class of evil spirits and only later received a positive reception. In the [[Islam|Islamic period]], the ''parī'' already developed into morally complex beings with a generally positive connotation of immense beauty,<ref>Abedinifard, Mostafa; Azadibougar, Omid; Vafa, Amirhossein, eds. (2021). Persian Literature as World Literature. Literatures as World Literature. USA: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 37–43. ISBN 978-1-5013-5420-5</ref><ref>Aigle, Denise. ''The Mongol Empire between Myth and Reality: Studies in Anthropological History''. BRILL, 28.10.2014. p. 118. {{ISBN|9789004280649}}.</ref> and late in the tenth century, were integrated into the Arab [[houri]]-tale tradition. They are often contrasted by their nemeses, the ugly ''[[Div (mythology)|dīv]]s''.

Despite their beauty, the ''parī''s are also feared because they are said to abduct people and take them to their
home-world, [[Paristan|Parīstān]], or punish people for social transgressions.

==Etymology==
The Persian word {{lang|fa|پَری}} {{Transliteration|fa|parī}} comes from [[Middle Persian]] {{Transliteration|pal|parīg}}, itself from [[Old Persian]] ''*''{{Lang|peo-Latn|parikā-}}.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|title=PAIRIKĀ|website=Iranicaonline.org|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/pairika}}</ref> The word may stem from the same root as the Persian word {{Transliteration|fa|par}} 'wing',<ref name=":3" /> although other proposed etymologies exist.<ref name=":2" />

The etymological relation to the English word "fairy" is disputed. Some argue that there is no relation and that both words derive from different meanings.<ref name=":1">Marzolph, Ulrich (08 Apr 2019)."[https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315108407-4 The Middle Eastern World’s Contribution to Fairy-Tale History]". In: Teverseon, Andrew. ''The Fairy Tale World''. Routledge, 2019. pp. 46, 52, 53. Accessed on: 16 Dec 2021.
https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315108407-4 - "Turkish peri masalı is a literal translation of the term 'fairy tale,' the originally Indo–Persian character of the peri or pari constituting the equivalent of the European fairy in modern Persian folktales (Adhami 2010). [...] Probably the character most fascinating for a Western audience in the Persian tales is the peri or pari (Adhami 2010). Although the Persian word is tantalizingly close to the English 'fairy', both words do not appear to be etymologically related. English 'fairy' derives from Latin fatum, 'fate', via the Old French faerie, 'land of fairies'. The modern Persian word, instead, derives from the Avestan pairikā, a term probably denoting a class of pre-Zoroastrian goddesses who were concerned with sexuality and who were closely connected with sexual festivals and ritual orgies. In Persian narratives and folklore of the Muslim period, the peri is usually imagined as a winged character, most often, although not exclusively, of female sex, that is capable of acts of sorcery and magic (Marzolph 2012: 21–2). For the male hero, the peri exercises a powerful sexual attraction, although unions between a peri and a human man are often ill-fated, as the human is not able to respect the laws ruling the peri's world. The peri may at times use a feather coat to turn into a bird and is thus linked to the concept of the swan maiden that is wide-spread in Asian popular belief. If her human husband transgresses one of her taboos, such as questioning her enigmatic actions, the peri will undoubtedly leave him, a feature that is exemplified in the widely known European folktale tale type 400: 'The Man on a Quest for His Lost Wife' (Schmitt 1999)."
</ref> Others argue that both terms share a common origin:<ref name="Gohrab, Ali Asghar 1999">Seyed‐Gohrab, Ali Asghar. "Magic in classical Persian amatory literature." Iranian Studies 32.1 (1999): 71-97.</ref> the English term "fairy" deriving from ''fier'' (enchant) and the Persian term from ''par'' (enchant).<ref name="Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji 1917">Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji. "An Account of Comets as given by Mahomedan Historians and as contained in the books of the Pishinigan or the Ancient Persians referred to by Abul Fazl." (1917): 68-105.</ref> However, there is no consensus on either theory.

== Persian literature==
[[File:Houris on Camelback - 15th century Persia.png|thumb|[[Houri]]s in [[Jannah|paradise]], riding camels. From a 15th-century Persian manuscript.]]
Originally, the ''parī''s have been considered a class of ''[[Daeva|dēvatā]]'' and the term ''dīvānah'' refers to a person who lost reason because they fell in love, as the beloved steals the lover's reason.<ref name="Gohrab, Ali Asghar 1999"/> In this regard, the ''parī'' features similar to the Arabic ''[[jinn]]''.<ref name="Gohrab, Ali Asghar 1999"/> The ''jinn'', unlike the ''parī''s, do not have connotations of beauty however.<ref name="Gohrab, Ali Asghar 1999"/> In [[Middle Persian literature]], comets have been identified with ''parī''. Comets and planets were associated with evil, while the Sun, the Moon, and the fixed stars with goodness.<ref name="Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji 1917"/> Such negative associations of the planets, however, are not supported in [[Avestan|Avestan languages]].<ref name="Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji 1917"/>

In popular literature of the Islamic period, ''parī''s are non-human beings with wings and magical powers. They are often, though not necessarily, female and employ an erotic appeal to mortal men.<ref name="Marzolph, Ulrich 2012">Marzolph, Ulrich, and Richard van Leeuwen. "The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: The Survival of Ancient Iranian Ethical Concepts in Persian Popular Narratives of the Islamic Period." The Idea of Iran: Tradition and Innovation in Early Islamic Persia (2012): 16-29.</ref> As early as the  tenth century, ''parī'' feature as a template for the exquisite beauty of "the beloved" in [[Persianate society|Persianate]] folklore and poetry, echoing an identification with the Arabic [[Houri]].<ref name=":3">Boratav, P.N. and J.T.P. de Bruijn, “Parī”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 31 January 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0886>
First published online: 2012
First print edition: {{ISBN|978-90-04-16121-4}}, 1960-2007</ref><ref name="Gohrab, Ali Asghar 1999"/> However, the term has also been used as a synonym for ''jinn''.<ref>Shahbazi, Mohammad Reza, Somayeh Avarand, and Maryam Jamali. "An Anthropological study of Melmedas in Iran and Siren in Greece." The Anthropologist 18.3 (2014): 981-989.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/genie- | title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O84eYLVHvB0C&q=Piris |title = Dictionary of Islam|isbn = 9788120606722|last1 = Hughes|first1 = Patrick|last2 = Hughes|first2 = Thomas Patrick|year = 1995| publisher=Asian Educational Services }}</ref>

At the start of [[Ferdowsi]]'s epic poem ''[[Shahnameh]]'', "The Book of Kings", the divinity [[Sorush]] appears in the form of a ''parī'' to warn [[Keyumars]] (the mythological first man and [[shah]] of the world) and his son [[Siamak]] of the threats posed by the destructive [[Ahriman]]. ''Parīs'' also form part of the mythological army that Keyumars eventually draws up to defeat Ahriman and his demonic son.<ref name="Marzolph, Ulrich 2012"/>

In the stories of [[One Thousand and One Nights]], a ''parī'' appears only in the story of ''[[Ahmed and Paribanou|Ahmad and Pari Bānu]]''. The tale is a combination of originally two separate stories; the ''parī'' features in the latter, when Prince Ahmad meets the beautiful princess Pari Banu. Ahmad has to deal with difficult tasks he manages to comply by aid of his fairy-wife.<ref name="Marzolph, Ulrich 2012"/>

== Folklore==
[[File:Pari detail from Pari holding a unique animal. 19th cent. Rajput style Bhopal museum (cropped).JPG|thumb|Depiction of a ''Parī'', 19th century, [[Rajput Bhopal museum]]]]
From [[India]],<ref>Frederick M. Smith ''The Self Possessed: Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature and Civilization'' Columbia University Press 2012 {{ISBN|978-0-231-51065-3}} page 570</ref> across Northern [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Iran]] to [[Central Asia]], and [[Turkey]],<ref>Yves Bonnefoy ''Asian Mythologies'' University of Chicago Press 1993 {{ISBN|978-0-226-06456-7}} p. 322</ref> local traditions variously acknowledge the existence of a supernatural creature called ''parī''.<ref>Claus, Peter, Sarah Diamond, and Margaret Mills. South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia. Routledge, 2020. p. 463</ref> The term ''parī'' is attested in Turkish sources from the 11th century onward<ref name="DAVLETSHİNA, Leyla 2020">DAVLETSHİNA, Leyla, and Enzhe SADYKOVA. "ÇAĞDAŞ TATAR HALK BİLİMİNDEKİ KÖTÜ RUHLAR ÜZERİNE BİR ÇALIŞMA: PERİ BAŞKA, CİN BAŞKA." Uluslararası Türk Lehçe Araştırmaları Dergisi (TÜRKLAD) 4.2 (2020): 366-374.</ref> and was probably associated with the Arabic ''jinn'' when entering Turk beliefs through Islamic sources.<ref name="DAVLETSHİNA, Leyla 2020"/> Although ''jinn'' and ''parī''s are sometimes used as synonyms, the term ''parī'' is more frequently used in supernatural tales.<ref>MacDonald, D.B., Massé, H., Boratav, P.N., Nizami, K.A. and Voorhoeve, P., “Ḏj̲inn”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 31 January 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0191>
First published online: 2012
First print edition: {{ISBN|978-90-04-16121-4}}, 1960-2007</ref> According to the book ''People of the Air'', the ''parī''s are morally ambivalent creatures, and can be either Muslims or infidels.<ref>Shamanism and Islam: Sufism, Healing Rituals and Spirits in the Muslim World. (2017). Vereinigtes Königreich: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 148</ref>

According to Turkologist [[Ignác Kúnos]], the ''parī'' in Turkish tales fly through the air with cloud-like garments of a green colour, but also in the shape of doves. They also number forty, seven or three, and serve a Fairy-king that can be a human person they abducted from the human world. Like vestals, Kúnos wrote, the ''parī'' belong to the spiritual realm until love sprouts in their hearts, and they must join with their mortal lovers, being abandoned by their sisters to their own devices. Also, the first meeting between humans and ''parī'' occurs during the latter's bathtime.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kúnos |first=Ignác |title=Osmanische Volksmärchen I. (Schluss) |journal=Ungarische Revue |volume=8 |date=1888 |page=337 |url=https://real-j.mtak.hu/6999/ |language=DE}}</ref> The ''parī''s are usually considered benevolent in Turkish sources.<ref>Boratav, P.N. and J.T.P. de Bruijn, “Parī”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 31 January 2024 {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0886}}. First published online: 2012. First print edition: {{ISBN|978-90-04-16121-4}}, 1960-2007</ref> Shamans in [[Kazakhstan]] sometimes consult ''parī'' for aid in spiritual rituals.<ref>Basilov, Vladimir N. "Shamanism in central Asia." The Realm of Extra-human. Agents and Audiences (1976): 149-157.</ref> [[Uyghurs|Uyghur shamans]] use the aid of ''parī'' to heal women from [[miscarriage]], and protect from evil jinn.<ref>ZARCONE, EDITED BY THIERRY, and ANGELA HOBART. "AND ISLAM." The Sufi orders in northern Central Asia.</ref> According to the [[Kho people|Kho]], ''parī''s are able to cast [[Love magic|love spells]], sometimes used by a spiritual master referred to as "Master of Faries".<ref>{{cite book | last=Ferrari | first=Fabrizio M. | title=Health and religious rituals in South Asia : disease, possession, and healing | publisher=Routledge | publication-place=London | date=2011 | isbn=978-0-203-83386-5 | oclc=739388185}} p. 35-38</ref>

Sometimes the ''parī''s would take interest in the life of humans and abduct them to invite them to weddings of fellow ''parī''. Alleged abductions can be either physical or psychological, in which case their victims lose consciousness. During the periods of abductions, people claim to be able to see, hear, and interact with ''parī'', and sometimes even report their words and appearance.<ref>Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills ''South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka'' Taylor & Francis, 2003 {{ISBN|978-0-415-93919-5}} page 463</ref>

''Parī'' were the target of a lower level of evil ''[[Div (Persian mythology)|Dīvs]]'' (دیو), who persecuted them by locking them in iron cages.<ref>Olinthus Gilbert Gregory ''Pantologia. A new (cabinet) cyclopædia, by J.M. Good, O. Gregory, and N. Bosworth assisted by other gentlemen of eminence, Band 8'' Oxford University 1819 digitalized 2006 sec. 17</ref> This persecution was brought about by, as the ''Dīvs'' perceived it, the ''parī''' lack of sufficient self-esteem to join the rebellion against perversion.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Nelson's New Dictionary of the English Language |last= Nelson|first=Thomas|publisher=Thomas Nelson & Sons|year=1922|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LJURAAAAIAAJ&dq=peri+mythology&pg=RA1-PA234|pages= 234}}</ref>

== Islamic scripture and interpretations==
[[Abu Ali Bal'ami]]'s interpretation of the [[Qisas al-Anbiya|''Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ'']], the ''[[History of the Prophets and Kings]]'', [[God in Islam|God]] creates ''parī'' at some point after the vicious ''dīvs''.<ref name="Abedinifard, Mostafa 2021 pp. 37">Abedinifard, Mostafa; Azadibougar, Omid; Vafa, Amirhossein, eds. (2021). Persian Literature as World Literature. Literatures as World Literature. USA: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 37–43. {{ISBN|978-1-5013-5420-5}}</ref> They ruled the world until it was given to a tribe of angels called al-jinn (''fereštegan''), whose leader was [[Iblis]].<ref name="Abedinifard, Mostafa 2021 pp. 37"/> Although the ''parī'' are still present after the creation of [[Adam in Islam|Adam]], and were present during the time of Keyumar, it is only after the [[Great Deluge|flood]] that they became hidden from the sight of humankind.<ref name="Abedinifard, Mostafa 2021 pp. 37"/>

[[Isma'ilism|Isma'ilite]] scholar [[Nasir Khusraw]] (1004 – between 1072–1088) elaborates on the concept of ''parī'' in his explanation of angels, jinn, and devils. He asserts that ''parī'' is the Persian term for ''jinn''. Then, he proceeds that the ''parī''s are divided into two categories: angel and devil. Each ''parī'' would be both a potential angel and a potential devil (''dīv''), depending on obedience or disobedience.<ref>Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, and Mehdi Aminrazavi, eds. An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, Vol. 2: From Zoroaster to Omar Khayyam. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007. pp. 320-323</ref>

==Western representations==
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2020}}
[[File:Peri at the Gates of Paradise, by Thomas Crawford, modeled 1854, carved by 1859 - Corcoran Gallery of Art - DSC01068.JPG|thumbnail|''Peri at the Gates of Paradise'', by [[Thomas Crawford (sculptor)|Thomas Crawford]] (after Moore), [[Corcoran Gallery of Art]]]]
[[Arthur de Gobineau]] tells in his travel report about his 'three years in Asia' a story involving [[Fath-Ali Shah Qajar]] and ''parī''. Shah Qajar is said to have had a strong inclination towards the occult and had high respect for experts in the supernatural such as [[dervish]]es. One day, a dervish warned him that the prince needed precautions to meet the parī. The affection of parī might soon turn into wrath when he acted in a way that might offend it. He then prepares for a meeting at a pavilion outside the city. The garden was adorned with precious golden and silver vessels, jewelry, and costly furniture for the special occasion. After sunset, he fell asleep. When he woke up again, he found that there was not only was there no parī but also that the dervish was gone. The author of the tale was probably familiarized with the tale on his travels to [[Tehran]] at orders of [[Napoleon III]] in 1855. The authors leave a mark of mockery and use it as a sign of the Persian's gullibility. Whether Gobineau's remark holds true or not, the story reflects the popularity of such belief in Iranian consciousness.<ref name="Marzolph, Ulrich 2012"/>

In [[Thomas Moore]]'s poem "Paradise and the Peri," part of his ''[[Lalla Rookh]]'', a peri gains entrance to heaven after three attempts at giving an [[angel]] the gift most dear to God. The first attempt is "The last libation Liberty draws/From the heart that bleeds and breaks in her cause," a drop of [[blood]] from a young soldier killed for an attempt on the life of [[Mahmud of Ghazni]]. Next is a "Precious sigh/of pure, self-sacrificing love": a sigh stolen from the dying lips of a maiden who died with her lover of [[bubonic plague]] in the Mountains of the Moon ([[Rwenzori Mountains]]) rather than surviving in exile from the disease and the lover. The third gift, the one that gets the peri into heaven, is a "Tear that, warm and meek/Dew'd that repentant sinner's cheek": the tear of an evil old man who repented upon seeing a child praying in the ruins of the Temple of Zeus at [[Baalbek]]. [[Robert Schumann]] set Moore's tale to music as an oratorio, ''[[Paradise and the Peri]]'', using an abridged [[German language|German]] translation.

==See also==
* [[Dakini]]
* [[Iolanthe]] or ''The Peer and the Peri''

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite web | url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/shahnama.txt | title=The Epic of Kings | publisher=[[Internet Sacred Text Archive]] | year=1883 | access-date=October 18, 2011 | author=Ferdowsi |author2=Zimmern, Helen (trans.)}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Parī}}
{{Wiktionary|peri}}
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/shahnama.txt ''Epic of Kings'' by Ferdowsi, translated by Helen Zimmern (1883)]

{{Fairies}}
{{Swan Maiden}}

[[Category:Fairies]]
[[Category:Persian mythology]]
[[Category:Azerbaijani mythology]]
[[Category:Persian legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Persian words and phrases]]
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[[Category:Islamic mythology]]
[[Category:Turkish folklore]]
[[Category:Kurdish mythology]]
[[Category:Avian humanoids]]