Examining spells and charms in one thousand and one nights in terms of semiotics

Introduction

The need to understand the universe and communicate with its unknowns is one of the human characteristics that has been with him since birth, has changed shape during his life, but does not disappear. Folk tales and legends that come from the heart of Qahar's legend, such as grandfathers and grandmothers; The rise and insatiable desire of children to listen to them is proof of this eternal human need. The need to put aside his fears, doubts and failures in the form of legends and make a hero out of himself and a utopia from his circumstances. In this middle, what is better than legend and magic woven into its background? Belief in magic is a common belief among humans, and this feature is especially among the people of the East, in the field of literature, especially their oral literature and folk culture; It has created a lot of commonalities and maybe this characteristic has made a work like One Thousand and One Nights, despite passing through countries such as Iran, India, Baghdad and finally Europe, not only not to disappear, but by borrowing from each of these cultures, it continues to live with more consistency and durability. They have laughed, cried and shared their sorrows, joys and fears. Therefore, since years ago, he has been looking for an answer to his question, which branches of stories can be included in the valley of legends, or in better words, what elements of a story make a legend? To what extent is the place of spells and enchantments in the formation of legends? This research examines spells and enchantments in One Thousand and One Nights from the following perspectives: A- Spells and enchantments and their types in human life and beliefs. B - The place of spells and enchantments in legends and folk tales. and their function in the legends of the Thousand and One Nights (black or white, verbal or practical, conversion, invalidity of magic, etc.).

D- How spells and charms appear as signs, in the stories and traditions of the One Thousand and One Nights.

E- The semiotic connection of these elements with characters and events in the fictional world.

The present research examines the spells and enchantments in the Thousand and One Nights from the point of view of semiology and While investigating, it also pays attention to the changes in the types of spells and charms of stories in the passage of cultures and beliefs of the peoples who contributed to its formation. In order to achieve this goal, he first discussed the theoretical foundations of semiotics and then dedicated a part to the recognition of charms and charms in popular culture, especially the culture of Iranian people. After that, it deals with the existence of these elements in the story, in general and in One Thousand and One Nights in a specific way.

It is hoped that this research can make a contribution, even though it is insignificant, in recognizing the importance of the existence of these elements in the stories and through it, in knowing a part of the literature of this border and region. The researcher intends to state implicitly: elements such as spells and charms, which can be a rich source of food for children's productions and works based on them (such as plays, puppet shows and children's cinema); Based on an uninformed and incorrect belief, it has not found its true position and has remained abandoned.

In the end, it should be said that years of work in the field of drama, puppet shows and storytelling (animation) have also been a very strong motivation in guiding the researcher to choose the topic of the thesis. The basis of the thoughts of two great thinkers, Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure and American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce;  It is based on the investigation of the types of signs, the factors present in the process of their production, exchange and interpretation, as well as the rules governing the signs. It is a new topic in the world, especially in Iran, and considerable research has been done on it. One of the research fields in this field, which still has a lot of work to do;  Semiotics is in literature, especially oral literature, and it must be said that considering the richness of Middle Eastern literature and especially Iranian literature in the use of signs, it is very important to address this category. A large part of this area belongs to Iranian folk tales and legends such as a thousand and one nights, which include cultural characteristics and beliefs of the people of India, Iran, Baghdad and Europe.Folk legends can be semioticized from various perspectives, one of the most important of which is spells and enchantments.

Enchantment has been present in the fabric of primitive human beliefs, and the desire to dominate the surrounding world and the forces present in the world has entered the world of legends through it. semiotic analysis of elements such as spells and charms in legends, especially in their structure; It can be a way to better understand this type of literature and distinguish it from other types so that it is possible to use and express this rich field in other fields and art types. It has been done not to repeat the repetitions, but to write in the way of complementing the opinions and ideas of others and to open a new way to know the researched field.

Regarding the title of this thesis, "Semiotics of spells and charms in a selection of legends of the Thousand and One Nights", no research has been done so far, but articles and researches have been presented regarding parts of this title, which are as follows:

1 - Anthropological investigation of magic in the book of One Thousand and One Nights, Sohail Salimian, Master's Thesis, Azad University, Winter 2014

2- Semiotics and Literature - Collection of Articles, Farzan Sejoudi, Farhang Kavash Publications, May 2013

3- An Introduction to the Morphology of One Thousand and One Nights, Dr. Mahbouba Khorasani, Nazari Publications, 2014

4- An Analysis of One Thousand and One Nights, Robert Irwin, Translated by Feridun Badrei, Tehran: Farzan Rooz Publications, 1383

Many articles are also in the form of blogs that often do not have the capability of scientific references.

1-3 hypotheses and key research questions:

To what extent are elements such as spells and enchantments involved and contributing to the creation of legends as a story environment and do they basically Without these elements, the legend is formed?

How are the legends of one thousand and one nights encoded and decoded with the help of the symbolic system of spells and charms, and the effect of these elements, as a component; on other elements of the story, including events and fictional characters, as a whole; How is it in structural semiotics?

The legends of one thousand and one nights in historical periods, through the semiotics of spells and charms as a method of analytical investigation; What changes have they faced and how have they become a realm arising from the culture and beliefs of the people of the societies, which have contributed and been involved in its current formation?

Fable is a part of the stories and anecdotes that are based on unreal and imaginary events, and behind these imaginary elements, in a completely unreal world, it gives moral advice to its viewers, listeners and readers and familiarizes them with the facts of life. does In the world of stories, spells and charms are elements that, as soon as they appear in the world of stories, tell the audience that they are facing a fantasy world. Considering the two words enchantment and legend, which both refer to fantasy and unreality, it can be concluded that stories and anecdotes are in the realm of legend that have the appearance of spells and enchantment. Based on structuralist semiotics, the element that is examined is considered as a component, and the basis of this investigation is on examining that element as a component and its relationship with other components and finally, with the whole structure. be Based on this, spells and charms are considered as one of the components that make up the legends of the Thousand and One Nights, and by examining it in the space of the story, deciphering and understanding its function in the story environment and its relationship with other elements such as space, character, and turning points of the story, it is possible to arrive at an analysis of the entire structure of the story.

In fact, the desires, wishes, and needs shared by humans have made many elements of the story easily adapt to the conditions of time and place and All the changes they may have in the construction will continue to exist and be a bridge between different cultures. Many historical facts and events can be explained from these legends and their constituent elements, one of the most important of which is the discussion of spells and charms; pulled out, and One Thousand and One Nights, as a treasure that connects the civilizations of the East and the West, is no exception to this rule. Examining the changes in the types of spells and charms in its legends is proof of this claim.