نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسنده
دانشجوی دکتری تاریخ تطبیقی و تحلیلی هنر اسلامی، دانشکده هنرهای تجسمی، پردیس هنرهای زیبا، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران.
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسنده [English]
Sati and its reflection in the poetry and art of the Safavid period are some of the things that cannot easily be overtaken by it. This is because it is a non-Iranian tradition, composed in the form of poetry by order of the Mughal court to Mohammad Reza Naw'i Khabushani, an immigrant Iranian poet in India. On the other hand, it is illustrated in the form of miniatures and wall paintings of the Chehel Sotoun Palace under the command of Shah Abbas II, because of the Hindu girl's prediction before committing Sati, based on the victory of the Iranian Corps in the Kandahar War. Khobushani composed this ritual beautifully in the form of Masnavi Suz u Gawdaz (Burning and Melting), which was applauded by the Mughal court. Attention to the remaining illustrated version of Khobushani’s Masnavi—as one of the important documents of the cultural relations between the two influential countries of Iran and India in the 11th century A.H.—and the social, political, and cultural reasons for this representation, as well as the introduction, adaptation, and analysis of the illustrated version of this Masnavi, are among the issues of interest in this research. It explains the relationship between factors such as power, cultural distinction, and cultural field in the reproduction of works of art. In any case, Sati appears strange within Iranian culture and society and is completely distinct and clear; this "distinction" is well analyzed according to Bourdieu to clarify the placement of Sati and the reasons for its favor by the Safavid court. This is qualitative research based on an inductive method and a descriptive and analytical approach, evaluating the final miniatures of Masnavi Suz u Gawdaz. It is evident that power factors play a decisive role in creating works of art. However, according to evidence in the miniatures, despite the depiction of this ritual, this phenomenon has not settled deeply in the Iranian spirit.
Also, with a general look at pictures one to five made by Iranian painters, we can see that, although they depicted the Indian religion according to the order of Shah Abbas II, from the bottom of their hearts, they do not agree with the philosophy of implementing this Indian custom:
1-In pictures two to five, the apparent health of the bride and groom in the fire shows the artist's desire to change the ending of the story.
2-The use of bright colors and the equal color saturation of the bride and groom in the fire with the courtiers and the prince suggests a subconscious desire for survival in the Iranian artist.
3-In picture one, as mentioned above, Mohammad Ghasem did not depict Sati in the final scene, confirming the painter's unconscious distance from this violent tradition.
4-In picture six, which relates to the Mughal version of the Masnavi painted by Indian artists, there is no panic or anxiety in the audience; they are watching the repeated scene of Sati with complete composure and peace of mind.
This acceptance of the Sati ritual is well crystallized in the representation by the Indian artist, who depicted the bride and groom in a vague and faint manner, surrounded by smoke and placed at the farthest distance. The burning bride and groom are so faded and blurred that they appear as unknown characters lost in the dust of time, as if years have passed since the event and they have been forgotten. Overall, it is evident that the Indian artist painted it with complete and firm belief in the religion of Sati. This claim is strengthened by the bold depiction of Prince Daniel and the people and courtiers watching in front of the bride and groom, who are nothing more than ghosts.
Although Bourdieu's views are rooted in the current century, the comprehensiveness of his theory and its potential for generalization to past societies make it useful for answering our questions. Bourdieu argues that in simple pre-industrial societies, the number of effective fields is relatively limited. During the Safavid period, the fields of power, social space, and cultural influence seem dominant. Bourdieu posits that cultural works are produced based on the logic of a strongly independent field. This holds true for the representation of the Sati custom in Iranian paintings, as Shah Abbas II considered it necessary to represent this Indian custom due to his strong and independent political and social status, which reflected the domain of power. Bourdieu also asserts that works of art are products of a permanent break with history and tradition and tend to become historical. In the context of Bourdieu's concept of discontinuity applied to the Safavid period, it can be acknowledged that the Safavid court illustrated a tradition completely disconnected from Islamic history and tradition. This practice, rejected by Muslims, was adopted solely because of the Hindu girl's correct prediction of Iranian victory within forty days and Shah Abbas II’s subsequent capture of Kandahar in 1085 A.H. Political considerations between Iran and India, from Shah Abbas's perspective, also influenced this portrayal.
Thus, "getting Sati" suddenly becomes a "habitual" practice or, in other words, a set of established relationships among social actors (Shah Abbas II and the Safavid court). Sati becomes a cultural commodity, which, according to Bourdieu, encompasses strategies of identification and differentiation. These strategies determine the dynamics of this field and make products such as manuscript paintings or wall paintings of Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan tools for creating distinction.
In general, Sati is classified as part of artistic works, strengthened by the social atmosphere created by the Hindu girl’s correct prophecy before committing Sati. Its strengthening and connection with the field of power—namely, Shah Abbas II’s court—granted it cultural legitimacy, reinforcing power relations and reproducing them systematically. Despite these interpretations, it seems that Sati was more accepted by the court than by Iranian artists. This is evident in the depictions of the bride alive and the groom in a coffin, far from the fire, in the paintings' final scenes. Perhaps this lack of acceptance is due to two reasons: the insufficient time for Sati to permeate Iranian culture and the court’s insistence on its representation in Chehel Sotoun and manuscripts, and the hidden violence in this ritual, which is seen as the suicide of a woman and contrary to Islamic logic.
Regarding the mural painting of Sati in Chehel Sotoun Palace, this work contrasts with the two romantic works mentioned earlier. It conveys the idea that the sincere love of Hindu women surpasses the love stories of Khosrow and Shirin or Joseph and Zuleikha, marking it as a distinct tradition. Finally, as Bourdieu asserts, power is the fundamental means and goal of all cultural production. This principle also applies to the era of Shah Abbas II, manifesting in the crystallization of Sati within Iranian art and literature. However, based on an analysis of the paintings and a comparison of Safavid and Mughal artwork, despite the successful reflection of Sati in Persian literature and Shah Abbas II’s orders for its depiction, this ritual and its philosophy were not fully accepted in the imagination of Iranian painters. Despite numerous depictions of this custom, the Safavid painter subconsciously desired to change the story and alleviate the bride's pain and suffering. The general pattern of Safavid paintings supports this claim
کلیدواژهها [English]
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