Introduction: wind possession in southern Iran
In many different areas of Hormozgân,Footnote 1 there is a strong belief in a category of spirits that can enter a person's body in order to possess him or her and cause illness or misfortune. These spirits, against which people must protect themselves with rituals and ceremonies, are normally referred to as winds.Footnote 2 Winds can be Muslim or infidel, dangerous or harmless, pure or impure, good or bad, sighted or blind. They are everywhere and they are always looking for sad and afflicted people, those marginalised in societies, especially women, black people, and the poor being their preferred victims.
The most dangerous of all winds are said to come from Africa and are known as zâr: they are infidel (non-Muslim), impure, bad and, at times, also blind. It is believed that there are some seventy zâr winds inhabiting the southern coasts of Iran, but the most popular number probably only thirteen. Along the coast, Muslim winds and spirits do exist, too, the most famous been known with the appellation of sheikh and nubân.Footnote 3
Research background
Aspects of wind possession in Hormozgân have been recently described in detail by N. Aghakhani.Footnote 4 The author, who carried out fieldwork intermittently from 1998 through to 2000 collecting interviews and taking part into possession ceremonies, provides a psychoanalytic (Freudian) interpretation for almost all aspects of this phenomenon, giving at the same time relevance to the clinical anthropological description of it. Half a century before, the pioneering work by the Iranian psychiatrist and anthropologist Q. Sâedi, Ahl-e havâ, i.e. “Peoples of the air”, spread light on the subject for the first time.Footnote 5 Sâedi had observed the rituals during his long stay in Minâb, Gâvbandi (known as Parsiân from 2008), Bandar Lengeh and the islands of present-day Hormozgân, where he had been confined during the 1950s due to political opposion to the Shah. In what is approximately a field report, he presents brief folk descriptions of zâr and other winds, as well as summeries on the possession rituals. He also interestingly provides (in a Persian-based transcription but with no translation) a few specimens of texts from the peculiar and enigmatic language spoken by a possessed individual, observed under certain psychological conditions. It is important to note that not only did Sâedi show special sensitivity towards local cultures, but he also presented folk philosophy and scientific explanations of wind possession as mutually inclusive. Different types of possessions by winds in the Châhbahâr subprovince of Sistân-o Balochestân were described in the book Zâr va bâd va Baluch by A. Riâhi.Footnote 6 In this interesting work, distinctions are, however, not always clear-cut as regards rituals pertaining to winds such as zâr and those regarding winds such as gwāt (the Balochi word for “wind”), whose specificities can otherwise be distinguished. Later, J. During, in addition to partly emending the study by Riâhi, was the first to contribute very important details on the mystic-animistic aspects of the rituals, distinguishing, for example, a “guat” ritual with a mystic character, from a zâr ritual with a therapeutic character. He also more specifically focuses his attention on the connections among Sufism, shamanism, and possession in Balochestân.Footnote 7 Finally, in the last decade, and concurrently with the greater availability of sources in Iran and other countries, zâr in its Iranian context has sparked more interest in scholars. Particularly relevant are some contributions by M. Sabâye Moqaddam (all fieldwork based, with new materials from Bandar Abbâs and Qeshm island; trips in 2007 and 2009);Footnote 8 P. Khosronejad (relying on, and translating an entire chapter of Sâedi's Ahl-e havâ, re-interpreted on the basis of the author's own experiences in Bashâgerd and with an up-to-date bibliography; trips between 1994 and 1996);Footnote 9 M. Aslemarz and S. Zavieh (containing straightforward comparisons between the zâr practices and music in Iran and in the Sudan).Footnote 10 The article by T. Modarressi, ‘The Zar cult in south Iran’, was the first published article dealing with zâr in Iran. Although questionable for containing hasty comments or for being rather superficial, it was written in English and so, in the absence of any other information, it became popular among scholars who were eager to know about Iranian zâr.Footnote 11
The following brief description and discussion of zâr practices are based on fieldwork and research in Minâb and its villages, in 2002, 2004, and 2008. When Mr Q. Bârâni, an expert in local folktales, narrated a folktale that, although of an obscene nature, had as its object the description of a zâr ceremony, I began to study and collect pertinent materials. Moreover, much of the following presentation owes to the discussions following the reading of Sâedi's Ahl-e havâ Footnote 12 with Mr. B. Moallemi, an expert in Minâbi dialect and culture. The present description is also more secondarily based on the aforementioned publications, to the extent that they came to my rescue in case of uncertainty.Footnote 13
The possessed and the community
A person once possessed by a wind is believed to host the wind in his head and his body forever. Relief is achieved during special healing ceremonies, in which the goal is not to draw out the wind, but rather to placate it, in order to prevent future occurrences of illness. This kind of placation is also known as adorcism, as distinguished from exorcism, which implies expulsion of alien spirits.Footnote 14 However, zâr winds may get into the body together with jinns, non-human creatures made of fire, which inhabit the earth but are invisible to human beings in their natural form.Footnote 15 The jinns belong to Islamic tradition and they, alone, can be exorcised and drawn out.
The possessed, who is said to be “the mount” (markab) or the “horse” (faras)Footnote 16 of the wind and who is also known as bâdi or zâri, i.e. possessed by the wind or the zâr, becomes a member of a community of people previously captured by the winds who succeeded in placating them. These are those known as “people of the air” (ahl-e havâ). The “people of the air” are sometimes described as being sectarian or antagonistic towards Islam, but affiliation to the ahl-e havâ does not usually restrain them from practicing the precepts of orthodox Islam in all other contexts of life. The fact nonetheless remains that religious authorities have very often tried to prevent the cult from being practiced.Footnote 17 The zâr groups have leaders who are also the healers of sickness. They know exactly how to exorcise the intruding jinn and they know how to communicate with the wind and how to placate it, or “to bring it down” (zir vârden, Persian zir âvordan). They are all black and they are individually called the bâbâ “father” or the mâmâ “mother” of the zâr.
Symptoms of sickness
Symptoms of possession usually vary according to the type of wind: for example, the wind Maturi causes a heart attack in the victim; Dingomârow causes headache and sharp pain in the eyes; Bumaryom inflicts pain in the kidney or causes bleeding. Other winds may cause mental disorders or may worsen an already fragile mental health and since mental disorders are conditions often considered as bringing dishonour to oneself and one's own family, it is probably socially more tolerable to attribute them to spirits than to actual sickness. A person with spirit possession is believed to be clearly afflicted by a wind whenever traditional remedies, consisting, for example, in repeated reading of Quranic verses or the usage of special books filled with magic formulas, fail to cure the illness. In Minâb, one such remedy employs a procedure called dar ketâb kardiden. It refers to the practice by a mullah or medium to open a special book (often also the Quran) at random, in order to identify the reasons for the suffering and plight of the afflicted, as well as elements of his destiny, for example, by judging on the basis of the first visible letter of a word in the book that has the same initial of the name of the afflicted. The typical situation as recorded in Tombânu (a village close to Minâb) can be illustrated as follows. One, suspecting another person of being possessed by a wind, asks the mullah: to, mollâ, dar ketâb bekard ke hame zan-e mâ mariz-en, i.e. “you, mullah, search into the book and tell me if my wife is sick”. The mullah then looks into the book and says: ketâb agoftenen ke zan-e to zâr-iš-en, i.e. “the book is saying your wife is possessed by a zâr”.Footnote 18
Stages of healing
The process of curing the affliction by zâr is quite complex and it usually entails different phases. In one phase known as hejâb, or hiding,Footnote 19 the sick person is cut off from the sight of any other people and he is urged to live in isolation in a hut (kotuk, q.v.), near the sea or in the mountains, or, more recently, in a room at bâbâ or mâmâ's house. In the last phase, known as tashkil-e majles-e bâzi Footnote 20 in both Persian and Minâbi (Minâbi also gâzi, see below)―actually the most important stage of the ritual―the sick person joins the group of the “people of the air” and becomes the centre of a special ceremony during which his wind is placated or “comes down” (zir ateyt).
Hiding can last up to seven days. During this period, only bâbâ or mâmâ can visit the sick. Every night, a special mixture of different substances is smeared on his body and is partly given to him as food. This is made up of many ingredients, among which are date's milk or syrup (shire-ye khormâ), red mud—rich in iron oxide—from Hormoz (gelak, q.v.), ambergris (ambar), cloves (sarkolomfar, q.v.), cardamom (hil, Persian hel), saffron (zâferon, Persian za'farân), nuts (jowz), gesht (a wood from Mumbai, q.v.), “chicken's tongue” (a plant growing in the mountains, zabon-e juja, q.v.), and different kinds of aromatic herbs, which are submerged into rosewater (golâb). Such a mixture is called gorahku (q.v.).
Since a person possessed by a wind is often also possessed by a jinn, first of all the jinn must be drawn out.Footnote 21 To do so, different techniques are tried. For example, it may be necessary that a black or white hen (morg, Persian morq) be slaughtered and its blood (khun), mixed again with rosewater, be poured on the head of the sick person and smeared on his body. A large and stout cord made of strands of palm fibres (parvend, q.v.) should then be coiled up as a ring and run over his body from top to bottom, several times. Then, a fire is kindled and the sick person will warm his hands in it and raise them to his face.Footnote 22 The healer can act now in different ways: for example, he may exert pressure on the sick person's breast and order the jinn to fly away, and the jinn is said to fly away crying intensely.Footnote 23 The sick person is subsequently washed with sea water (if hiding happened close to the sea) and taken back to town.
The game
At this point, the last stage of healing, the ceremony proper, begins. In Minâb, it is also known as gâzi, i.e. “game, play” (Persian bâzi). It compounds different activities, such as burning enrapturing substances, drumming and dancing. People who have been previous victims of the zâr, the ahl-e havâ, must attend the ceremony. Others, who have never been afflicted by the winds, may attend the ceremony as watchers but are forbidden to speak. These are known as ahl-e eshq, i.e. “people of love”.
The healers, the bâbâ or mâmâ, lead the group. The sick person is seated in the middle of a room at bâbâ's or mâmâ's house and his head is covered with a white cloth, usually a soft and thin muslin cloth (malmal), or a piece of fabric known as languta. The participants in the ceremony usually wear white clothes (rarely also green),Footnote 24 and sit in a circle around the afflicted. In order to find favour with the zâr winds and in order to create sharing among the attendees, a cloth (sofra) is spread out on the floor, with eggs (tokhmorg, Persian tokhm-e morq), aromatic herbs, fresh and dried fruits, including dates (khormâ), mangoes (ambâ, Persian anbe), almonds (bâdâm), sweets (shirini), and gorahku again.
The zâr ceremony involves the use of percussion instruments, especially drums (dohol) of different sizes, which are placed one next to the other in a row. If the leader is a bâbâ, as it often happens, he will play the largest drum, leaving the smaller ones to the other performers. In Minâb, the largest, medium-sized and the smallest drums are known as mârsâz, jorra and tumpak, respectively (ss.vv.). They are also slangily known as “father” (bâbâ), “mother” (mâmâ) and “child” (chuk or pos), respectively. Before music is played, various substances are burned around the drums in a clay burner or brazier with charcoal (geshtasuz, q.v.). These substances can be agarwood, various types of incense, and a strong smelling gum known as kondoruk (q.v.).
When the leader gives the starting signal, the drums begin to play. Songs are sung and drums play trance-like rhythms. The smell of incense and burned gums too, has enrapturing effects and people pass into ecstasies. When a special rhythm attracting the sick person's particular wind is played, he joins the dancing. After dancing for a while, he goes into a possession trance, convulsing violently. Then he calms down and starts conversing with the healer, who, at a certain point, gently hits his shoulders with a bamboo cane (kheyzaron, Persian kheyzarân), says to the wind “come!” (biâ!),Footnote 25 and asks the wind to reveal its name.Footnote 26
The game and the manifestation of the winds
The wind, then, reveals its name and speaks through the mouth of the sick person and it is said that it speaks in different languages, including Arabic, Balochi, Urdu or, most often, Swahili or other African languages, that are unknown both to the healer and the possessed. At one point, however, its message is understood and the wind also explains why it possessed the afflicted and also makes specific demands.
It is a rule that the possessed must give the wind what it asks for. All its wishes must be fulfilled. For example, a so-called “light” (sabok) wind might ask for simple stuffs, such as a piece of garment, a bracelet or a ring or, more usually, a bamboo stick, which the possessed will have to keep with him forever. A “heavy” (sangin) wind, on the other hand, will usually ask for something expensive or demanding, such as the blood of a sacrificial animal. If the requests of the wind can be satisfied immediately, the wind is placated during the same ceremony. If its requests cannot be satisfied immediately, a piece of cloth is bound around the sick person's arm, as a pledge (rahn) signifying that the wind's requests will be satisfied later.
Thus, if the wind has asked for a sacrificial animal and its blood, during a later meeting, a goat (boz) is brought into the setting of the ceremony and the sick person will lead it around the cloth of offerings (sofra) on the floor for a few times. Then the animal is slaughtered, its blood is diluted with rosewater and is poured into a tray (sini), from which both the sick person and the healer drink by means of a glass. (In the subsequent days its meat is cooked and it is given to all the participants in the ritual, who gather again.) From this moment onward, the wind is usually appeased and the sick person, now cured, effectively becomes a member of “the people of the air”.
Origin of the cult
Spirit possession beliefs are widespread in many countries of the world and they have been commonly noticed among different, unrelated cultures.Footnote 27 The similarities found in many spirit possession cults with the appellation of zâr (or similar forms like zar, saar, etc.) and the frequent depiction of spirits as winds throughout central and north-east Africa and the Middle East, including Iran, has led scholars to the conclusion that they must represent a single, historically connected phenomenon. Its source was subesequently considered to lie in Africa, particularly in the Sudan and Ethiopia. In Africa, in fact, the zâr presence has been documented since at least the first half of the nineteenth century.Footnote 28 In the course of time, the cult passed from Ethiopia or the Sudan into Egypt and Somalia and spread virtually into all the states of the Persian Gulf and most recently into Israel, where it has been observed among Ethiopian Jews.Footnote 29 It is also believed that “[i]ts diffusion over this vast area owes much to the slave trade, especially in the nineteenth century, and to the incessant flux and mingling of peoples and cultures associated over the centuries with pilgrimage to Mecca”.Footnote 30 The zâr cult is, however, not restricted to Muslim societies. It has been also found among Christian Amhara, Falasha and, as mentioned, among Ethiopian Jews.Footnote 31 A variant of essentially the same cult under the different name of bori is practiced in other African countries, especially among the Hausa in Nigeria, from which it has spread in northern Africa (e.g. in Tunisia), and again in the Sudan, where bori, brought by Hausa migrants, has melted with zâr (zar) to form a complex cult, known as zar-bori.Footnote 32
The etymology of the word zâr has been debated from time to time. Some scholars have associated it with the Arabic verb zāra “to visit”, by making reference to the (occasional) practice of holding zār ceremonies during “visits” at Sufi shrines in the Maghreb.Footnote 33 More attractive and subtle is a renowned explanation by E. Cerulli, supposing that zār in Arabic is a loanword from Amharic, the Semitic language of Ethiopia or ancient Abyssinia. Cerulli pointed out that the form zār is actually not Semitic and that, in Ahmaric, it should have been a loanword from Cushitic, reflecting the name of the ancient Cushitic supreme Sky God, who was known in various languages as Jar, or Yar, or Daro, and who was reduced to minor rank and finally to an evil spirit during the Christianisation of Abyssinia.Footnote 34
H. Massé was apparently the first scholar to report a zâr ceremony in Iran (exactly in the south-east town of Jâsk, very close to the locations referred to in this article), of which he was witness during the 1920's. In his important work,Footnote 35 he very briefly describes a healing ceremony referred to as zâr guèreften “saisir le mauvais génie”. In this circumstance, people were seated in a circle around a sick man, who was entirely covered with a veil. A healer beat him softly with a stick, following the rhythm of the chants. Another man burned a plant (probably wild rue) in a hookah and its smoke was inhaled by the sick person, while his head was partially uncovered. It was also inhaled by the other participants in the ritual.
Origin of the cult in Hormozgân
In Iran, the zâr cult must have reached the southern coastal strip together with the African slaves―whose precise African origin is often unclear or unknown―especially during the second half of the nineteenth century, when the slave trade was at its peak.Footnote 36 The cult may have also been transmitted from south in the Persian Gulf, or being subsequently influenced by this region. However, since it is safe to say that the zâr cult is a rather “recent” phenomenon in Africa, there must be no point in searching for its origins among black communities in Iran before the nineteenth century.Footnote 37
African musical traditions in Hormozgân have been retained in forms that are sometimes clearly traceable to a specific region of Africa: for example, during the ceremonial rituals for the cult of Nubân, a Muslim and sacred wind, a particular stringed instrument, locally known as tambira, is played. This is a kind of lyre consisting of six strings attached to a wooden bowl covered by goatskin. This instrument is very common in the Sudan, where it is also known by the almost identical name of tambura and is associated to a possession ritual known as zar-tambura.Footnote 38 Songs, music and dance have a typical, “Hormozgâni flavour” and are often popularly considered to be strongly influenced by Africa.Footnote 39 However, no in-depth studies seem to have been published so far that may closely define the influence of Africa and African music on the traditions of Hormozgân.
Speaking in tongues
Different authors writing on the zâr cult in Iran―as well as elsewhere―have almost always reported that, during ceremonies, winds speak through their possessed and that they do so either by uttering words with no clear meaning or by speaking in languages unknown to anybody. One such language is said to be Swahili. There must be some truth in this, in that Swahili has been the lingua franca of east Africa for centuries and could have been one of the languages spoken by older generations of Africans in Iran. Moreover, many winds have been said to have Swahili names.Footnote 40 The dialect of Bandar Abbâs (Bandarabbâsi also commonly Bandari), has at times given the observers the impression of containing African elements. Note, in particular, the following remarks in a noted report of the 1900's: “The bulk of the inhabitants [of Bandar Abbâs—G. B.] belong to a hybrid race of mixed Persian, Balūchi, Arab and negro descent and are known as ‘Abbāsis; the lower orders of them speak a patois―also called ’Abbāsi―which is a compound of Persian, Balūchi, Arabic and Swahīli ingredients”.Footnote 41
Assuming that zâr special languages are unknown because they come from Africa and that nobody is able to understand African languages anymore, as has been often assumed by many different scholars, is too simplistic or wrong, since in Africa itself, the supposed original milieu of zâr, the possessed are at the same time usually said to speak in languages unknown or unfamiliar both to themselves and to their healers. In fact, glossolalia is a common phenomenon in possession cults and trance states, which may consist of slangs and argots that can be entirely analyzed on the basis of the local dialects of the possessed and their community.Footnote 42
Appendix: Remarks on Selected Vocabulary
The following comparative remarks are restricted to Hormozgân's territory, since, importantly, many specific lexical items pertaining to the zâr cult and practices have been almost exclusively recorded in the dialects of this province. These dialects, that are Southwest Iranian from a historical point of view, include those spoken in the towns of (from west to east): Bandar Khamir, Bandar Abbâs, Fin, Rudân and Minâb. The entry word and its translational equivalent or definition represent Minâbi. As for the general presentation of a lexical item, note as follows: Persian definitions have been translated into English, but Persian words may reappear in square brackets to avoid possible ambiguities or in cases of peculiar definitions. Forms and meanings of Persian items, if not otherwise stated, follow those presented in G. Lazard, Dictionnaire persan-français (Leiden, 1991), but, as far as transcription is concerned, c > ch, x > kh, š > sh, ž > zh. Transcriptions of Iranian dialects follow their sources or the transcription of Persian in the cases just mentioned. Sources are quoted following the reference system adopted throughout this article.
gelak: red mud―rich in iron oxide―from Hormoz, Persian gel-e sorkh. Compare Bandarabbâsi gelak “id.”, M. Jalâli, Bandar Abbâs dar gostare-ye târikh va zabân (Tehran 1387/2008), p. 167; also identically A. Sâyebâni, Vâzhenâme-ye bumi-e Hormozgân (Tehran, 1392/2013), p. 168; Fini gelak “id.”, B. Najibi Fini, Barrasi-e guyesh-e Fini (Tehran, 1381/2002), p. 123; Bandarkhamiri gelak “id.” [arus-e dariâi, khâk-e sorkh ke ma'dan-e asli-e ân jazire-ye Hormoz ast]”, Qattâli, Guyesh-e Bandar Khamir, p. 294. The gelak is also an ingredient in the preparation of surâgh, typical Hormozgâni dish with sardine sauce and bitter orange peels, and it is used in drops with timushi, thin and crushed bread seasoned with oil.
gesht: a wood from Mumbai. This definition dates back to Sâedi, Ahl-e havâ, p. 52, and has been reused in all subsequent studies (spelled as either gesht or geshte or gasht, etc.). The form geshta as recorded by local lexicographers appears to have a little different meaning and is apparently never associated to zâr ceremonies. It is commonly locally described as a “matter” (Persian mâdde) as fragrant as agarwood (Persian ud), made out of musk, ambergris, rosewater, sap, sugar, and other substances. In Bandar Abbâs, it is burned on a brazier as it emanates a sweet smell, and it is used in mourning ceremonies and in ceremonies regarding the reading of the Quran and the interpretation of dreams, see Jalâli, Bandar Abbâs, p. 166. The geshta is also used in wedding ceremonies still in Bandar Abbâs, see Sâyebâni, Vâzhenâme-ye bumi, p. 166; or to scent homes and clothes in Bandar Khamir, see Qattâli, Guyesh-e Bandar Khamir, p. 291; or to shoo away insects in Rudân, see A. Mot'amedi, Rudân, behesht-e jonub (Bandar Abbâs, 1380/2001), p. 342. Note also geshte “incense [bokhur]” in Sâedi, Ahl-e havâ, p. 113. See also next entry.
geshtasuz: clay burner or brazier with charcoal (geshtasuz). Literally “geshta burner”, see also the previous entry. It is usually translated in Persian as mejmar “censer, perfume vaporizer” in the relevant dialectal sources. Note also geshtesuz “incenser [bokhurdân]… produced especially in Bandar Khamir”, in Sâedi, Ahl-e havâ, p. 113.
gorahku: special mixture of different substances which is smeared on the sick person's body and is partly given to him as food. In Bandar Abbâs, gorahku is a sort of resin (Persian samq), burned on a brazier during the zâr ceremonies (particularly during the “game”, see also above, in this article) and producing a strong and intense smell; it is said that the smell of this resin leads the sick person into a “state of intoxication and loss of consciousness [hâlat-e sokr va eqmâ]”, according to Sâyebâni, Vâzhenâme-ye bumi, p. 164 (Bandarabbâsi gorahku); also similarly Jalâli, Bandar Abbâs, p. 166; Minâbi also interestingly gorahgu [sic!] “mixture of ambergris and wild rue [the wild rue is used in Iran as antidote for the evil eye—G. B.] with psychotropic effects, which is burned during zâr ceremonies”, H. Mohebbi Bahmani, Barrasi va towsif-e zabânshenâsi-e guyesh-e Minâbi (Tehran, 1384/2005), p. 234. Note that Sâedi, Ahl-e havâ, p. 52, wrongly transcribes the same word as greku (an initial cluster CC- is never allowed in the phonological system of any of these dialects and it is odd for the syllabic structure of Persian, too), but garaku, p. 113; also wrongly transcribed in Khosronejad, ‘The people of the air’, p. 152 (girkou); see Aslemarz and Zavieh, ‘Motalee-i tatbiqi-e âin-e zâr’, p. 20 (gareku), Aghakhani, Les «gens de l'air», p. 217 (gorahkou). Among other ingredients of gorahku mentioned by Sâedi, Ahl-e havâ, p. 52, are basil (reyhân) and “buxesh” ([a plant] from India), probably literally bu-ye khosh “sweet smell”. The gorahku can also be inhaled by means of a hookah.
jorra: medium-sized drum. It is also found in this form in Rudân, see Mo'tamedi, Rudân, p. 252; Sâedi, Ahl-e havâ, p. 109, quotes jorra “small and light drum [dohol] measuring 30–25 cm in length”; see also jore (possibly jorre) in Aslemarz and Zavieh, ‘Motalee-i tatbiqi-e âin-e zâr’, p. 19; note Persian jorre “ancient musical instrument resembling a lute [târ] with a small chamber”, H. Anvari, Farhang-e bozorg-e Sokhan (Tehran, 1381/2002), 8 vols., iii, p. 2124; Persian jurra “name of a musical instrument”, F. Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian-English dictionary (London, 19635), p. 361.
kondoruk: a strong smelling gum. This is turpentine, Persian saqqez, which is commonly locally chewed as gum; in zâr ceremonies, it is also dissolved in boiling water and inhaled by the possessed, see Barbera, ‘Lingua e cultura’, p. 188. Compare Rudâni kondoruk “chewing-gum”, Mo'tamedi, Rudân, p. 336; Bandarabbâsi kondoruk “local chewing-gum; gum of wild hill bushes [âdâms-e kuhi az samq-e butehâ-ye vahsh]; turpentine [saqqez]”, Jalâli, Bandar Abbâs, p. 161; Bandarkhamiri konderek “chewing-gum, turpentine” (note also konderek xāsten “to chew a gum”, konderek-e-darmūnī “sweet smelling gum with medical properties”) Qattâli, Guyesh-e Bandar Khamir, p. 276. Note that it is this last one the type of gum most likely used in zâr ceremonies. See also Balochi kundrik “a strong smelling folk medicine, made from brine”, J. Elfenbein, An Anthology of Classical and Modern Balochi Literature (Wiesbaden, 1990), 2 vols., ii (Glossary), p. 81; P. O. Skjærvø, ‘Baškardi’, in Encyclopaedia Iranica, (ed.) E. Yarshater (London and New York, 1988), iii/8, pp. 846–850, 850, on Bandarabbâsi kondorūk “turpentine”, Persian saqqez; note Persian kondor “encens”, Lazard, Dictionnaire, p. 342.
kotuk: small hut with tent structure, usually covered with palm leaves. On the diffusion of this word, see G. Barbera, ‘Minâbi notes’, in The Persian Language in History, (ed.) M. Maggi and P. Orsatti (Wiesbaden, 2011), pp. 309–329, 317.
mârsâz: large double-skin drum. This seems to be the same drum known in other parts of Hormozgân as gap dohol, Persian dohol-e bozorg. It has apparently the same function as the mudendow “large single-skin drum” (so Sâedi, Ahl-e havâ, p. 114) does have in this occasion in other areas of Hormozgân; see also Khosronejad, ‘The people of the air’, p. 153.
parvend: large and stout cord made of strands of palm fibres. The etymology and diffusion of this word have been discussed in detail in Barbera, ‘Minâbi notes’, pp. 321f.
sarkalomfar: cloves, Persian mikhak. Note Persian qaranfol “giroflée; œillet”, Lazard, Dictionnare, p. 318.
tumpak: goblet drum. It indicates the same instrument as Persian dombak or tompak, as described in Lazard, Dictionnaire, p. 189 (“tambour en forme de calice”).
zabon-e juja: “chicken's tongue” (a plant growing in the mountains). The definition (Persian zabân-e juje) of this plant dates back to Sâedi, Ahl-e havâ, p. 52, and has been recorded in the subsequent literature, but not in Sabâye Moqaddam, Zâr dar Irân, and id., ‘Negâh-i be e'teqadat va marâsem-e zâr’. In local lexicography, however, the word has apparently never been recorded.
zâr: as in almost every country in which the zâr cult is practiced, the word “zâr” is used in Iran similarly to denote a type of wind spirit, the sickness that such a spirit can cause by possessing humans, and the rituals necessary for their pacification. Interestingly, local lexicographers focus more often on the concept of sickness, with very little variation: Bandarabbâsi zâr “a kind of sickness of the spirit [bimâri-e ruhi] which affects those black people that are called ‘people of the air’ [ahl-e havâ]; zâr or winds have different names”, Sâyebâni, Vâzhenâme-ye bumi, p. 112, “a kind of the well-known disease characterized by epileptic seizures [qash]”, Jalâli, Bandar Abbâs, p. 145; Bandarkhamiri zār “a kind of mental disease [bimâri-e ravâni] with a jinn penetrating the sick person's body”, Qattâli, Guyesh-e Bandar Khamir, p. 207. Although the zâr “mosaic” seems to be absent in contemporary Bushehr, as also reported, among others, by S. J. Hamidi, Farhangnâme-ye Bushehr (Tehran 1380/2001), p. 350, the word zâr is nevertheless considered to be of common use and described as meaning “a ceremony [marâsem] for people whose bodies have been penetrated by jinns; also, the jinns that penetrated the body; and a sickness similar to epilepsy [sar’]” by F. Mirshekâr, Farhang-e vâzhegân-e mahalli-e Bushehr (Bushehr, 1389/2010), 5 vols., iii, p. 211, with an ad hoc dialectal utterance: ’i zār tu lār-eš-en beberin-eš jamb-e dey zār, i.e. ‘this zâr is inside his body, take him to the mother of the zâr”.
