Pari and Dev – Persian Mythical Creatures
Let´s dive into some pre-Islamic Iranian mythology with this post today. We will start with some background information before you can read one afsana – a fairy-tale further below.
‘Pari’ (singular) or ‘Paryan’ (plural) refers to a (usually winged) female Persian mythical creature. Paryan are best known for their exquisite beauty and wit. They are magical and are thought to have been created from fire. They appear in various forms across Iranian literature; according to some accounts Paryan are forces of good (like angels) that can be contrasted to ‘Dev’, while in other accounts they are known to be cunning and mischievous, and in others, they are both.
‘Dev’ is a male mythical Persian creature. Devs are cruel creatures. They have horns and a tail, and supernatural strength. In many tales, Dev are known to look for Paryan and imprison them.
Paryan and Dev both originate in pre-Islamic Iranian mythology. With the rise of Islam in Central Asia and Greater Iran, Paryan and Dev become integrated into Islamic mythology, as good and evil jinns, respectively. Variations of Paryan and Dev have been adapted by other cultures, including in the Western world.
Paryan and Dev are both native to Koh-e Qaf (Qaf Mountain), a magical fantasy land. These creatures are not only important to many Persian literary works, but are also ingrained in folk oral traditions of poetry and storytelling, for instance in afsana-ha (fairytales).
FAIRYTALE
Below is an example of such an afsana:
In distant times, in a far away land, there lay a palace. In it lived a king with his large family, including his wives, his sons and daughters, and their many servants. In addition to a number of daughters, he had one son from his first wife and two sons from his second one.
One day, the king became terribly ill. He lost his ability to see because of his illness. The king’s children gathered together to discuss how to save their father from this affliction. They brought in the best trained doctors from all over the land, but nobody was able to help the king. On top of this, news of the king’s affliction and blindness spread throughout the lands, and both friends and foes learned of his situation. One day, a doctor from a neighboring kingdom came and told the king’s children: “The only remedy for your father is rubbing his eyes with the leaves of the Pân Tree. The Pan Tree is rare and difficult to find. Go and find it”.
The king’s sons, who would have done anything to cure their father, asked their father for advice on how to find the Pan Tree. The third son, who was not valued highly by his father, was also eager to accompany his brothers. The doctor pointed the brothers to a mountain called Koh-e Qaf. He said that reaching the mountain would be very difficult, if not impossible and that the journey there might be fatal and lead to the demise of the sons.
The two brothers from the same mother went ahead with gathering supplies and food to prepare for their journey ahead. The king did not trust his third son, who was from his first and less favored wife, to accept the risks of this journey. He did not give permission to his third son to travel initially, but after much pleading and convincing, the third son finally obtained permission to join his brothers on their quest.
The brothers started their journey. After several days and nights, they came upon two diverging pathways. There were signs pointing to the first pathway as ‘The good way’ and the second pathway as ‘The bad way’. The two brothers from the same mother decided to go on the path labelled as good and forced their other brother to go on the bad path. The third brother, travelling alone for days and nights, decided to go to a stream on the way to rest up and eat a bit. Exhausted from traveling, he fell asleep next to the stream. When he woke up and opened his eyes, he saw a parrot perched on the branch of a tree.
The parrot started talking to the prince and asked him where he was going, so as to offer help. The prince, trembling with fear at this sight, hesitantly explained his quest on the journey. The parrot fulfilled his promise and informed the prince of the path to take toward his destination. He also warned the prince of the dangers on his path to Koh-e Qaf and the Devs that he might face. The prince thanked the parrot and went on his way, getting closer and closer to Koh-e Qaf. After months of an exhausting journey, the prince finally reached an incredibly stunning castle. The castle was surrounded by beautiful nature, and many trees including Spruce, Ivory, Cypress, Weeping Willow, Pine, and Pan standing tall against a blue sky. There were numerous streams of water running through the scenery. After seeing the beautiful nature, the prince was amazed by the scenery and decided to enter the castle despite being aware of the numerous dangers lurking ahead.
A large Dev was sleeping behind the front door of the castle.
Since the prince knew that Devs normally alternate between six months of sleeping and six months of wakefulness, he barged through the front door in a state of panic. Once inside, he saw that this castle’s glory and majesty were incomparable to any he’d seen, including his father’s palace back home. With wonder, he went strolling through the rooms of the castle one by one.
Inside one of the beautiful and decorated rooms, he saw a large bed with a young woman sleeping on top of it. She was as beautiful as a fourteen-day-old moon. The prince, whose aim was to get the Pan Tree leaf, kissed the Pari’s cheek and placed his own precious ring on her fingers. He left the room towards a Pan tree, picked the leaves off of the tree, and went on his way before the Dev could wake up.
He returned using the same path he’d used to get to the castle.
After months of difficult travel, he arrived once again at the crossroad where he had separated from his brothers. His brothers were waiting for him there. The brothers betrayed the prince and stole the leaves from him, and took it to their father, taking all the credit for their acquisition. They turned their father against their older brother, through vicious lies. The king used the leaves as directed by the doctor, and he recovered from his illness. Upon recovery, he praised his younger two sons, bestowed his older son with vulgar and vile words. He told the older prince that he is not deserving to be a prince, given that he is a coward, and not brave and courageous as his brothers. The prince tried to tell his father about the truth of the quest, but his father shut him up and treated him as a liar.
When the Pari woke up from sleep, she sensed that a human had entered the castle. She looked at her finger, upon which she saw a beautiful and decadent ring with precious stones. She realized that the ring did not belong to the world of Koh-e Qaf, and she smelled it and noticed that it has a human scent on it.
The Pari asked those around her to help her find the owner of the ring. She directed them to prepare all the necessary materials for travel to the city, including tents and tableware. When they reached the city, they set up the tent and went to ask the locals to help them find the owner of the ring. The locals informed the Pari that the ring likely belongs to the king in a further away land, and his sons.
News of the Pari’s search for the owner of the ring reached the king.
The king invited the Pari to his palace to try his luck. The king’s youngest sons, one by one, went up to the fairy and stated that the ring was theirs. The Pari did not believe it, and told the king that the owner of the ring is someone else. Unsure what to do, the king asked his oldest son to come.
The Pari, upon seeing the prince, immediately felt strange. She was impressed by his humility and courage to enter her castle, guarded by the Dev. Shaking with excitement, she recognized him as the owner of the ring and agreed to marry him.
With this, the king finally learned the truth about his sons. He organized a wedding of seven days and seven nights for his oldest son.
