Tirgan ( fa, تیرگان, ''Tirgān''), is a
mid summer ancient Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian festival, celebrated annually on
Tir 13 (
July 2
Events Pre-1600
* 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
* 626 – Li Shimin, th ...
,
3, or
4).
It is celebrated by splashing water, dancing, reciting
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, and serving traditional foods such as
spinach soup
Spinach soup is a soup prepared using spinach as a primary ingredient. A common dish around the world, the soup can be prepared as a broth-based or cream-based soup, and the latter can be referred to as "cream of spinach soup." In China, a spin ...
and
sholezard
Sholezard ( fa, شلهزرد /ʃoʔleː zærd/) is an Iranian traditional saffron rice pudding dessert.
It is traditionally served on the occasion of festivals such as Ramazan. It is often vowed to cook it to achieve a wish, and when it is ac ...
. The custom of tying rainbow-colored bands on wrists, which are worn for ten days and then thrown into a stream, is also a way to rejoice for children.
Overview
Tirgan is an ancient Iranian tradition which is still celebrated in various regions of Iran, including
Mazenderan,
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
, and
Arak. It is widely attested by historians such as
Gardezi Gardezi (also spelled Gardezy or Gardizi) refers to someone whose origin can be traced back to the city of Gardez in Afghanistan.
There have been a few known Sayyid families from Gardez who migrated to different parts of Pakistan. Their descendant ...
,
Biruni
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...
, and
Masudi
Al-Mas'udi ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱلْمَسْعُودِيّ, '; –956) was an Arab historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodot ...
, as well as European travelers during the
Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
era.
The celebration is dedicated to
Tishtrya
Tishtrya ( ave, 𐬙𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀, Tištrya, fa, تیر, Tir) or Roozahang is the Avestan language name of a Zoroastrian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility. Tishtrya is Tir in Middle- and Moder ...
, an archangel who appeared in the sky to generate thunder and lightning for much needed rain.
Legend says that
Arash the Archer was a man chosen to settle a land dispute between the leaders of the lands Iran and
Turan
Turan ( ae, Tūiriiānəm, pal, Tūrān; fa, توران, Turân, , "The Land of Tur") is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical re ...
. Arash was to loose his arrow, on the 13th day of
Tir, and where the arrow landed, would lie the border between the two kingdoms. Turan had suffered from the lack of rain, and Iran rejoiced at the settlement of the borders, then rain poured onto the two countries and there was peace between them.
It is stated in Biruni's chronology that "by the order of God, the wind bore the arrow away from the mountains of
Amol
Amol ( fa, آمل – ; ; also Romanized as Āmol and Amul) is a city and the administrative center of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran, with a population of around 300,000 people.
Amol is located on the Haraz river bank. It is less than ...
and brought the utmost frontier of
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
between
Fergana
Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km fr ...
and
Tapuria
Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...
."
['']The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries
''The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries'' ( ar, کتاب الآثار الباقية عن القرون الخالية ', also known as ''Chronology of Ancient Nations'' or ''Vestiges of the Past'', after the translation published by Eduard Sachau ...
'', Biruni
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...
– Eduard Sachau
Carl Eduard Sachau (20 July 1845 – 17 September 1930) was a German orientalist. He taught Josef Horovitz and Eugen Mittwoch.
Biography
He studied oriental languages at the Universities of Kiel and Leipzig, obtaining his PhD at Halle in 1867. ...
translation (1879) Gardizi has given a similar description, although he notes that "the arrow of Arash fell in the area between Fargana and
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
."
Ceremony
Tirgan is celebrated every year in
Mazandaran Province and
Amol
Amol ( fa, آمل – ; ; also Romanized as Āmol and Amul) is a city and the administrative center of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran, with a population of around 300,000 people.
Amol is located on the Haraz river bank. It is less than ...
in northern Iran, the capital
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
,
Karaj
Karaj ( fa, کرج, ) is the capital of Alborz Province, Iran, and effectively a satellite city of Tehran. Although the county hosts a population around 1.97 million, as recorded in the 2016 census, most of the county is rugged mountain. The urb ...
, and the central and southern cities of
Yazd
Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Worl ...
,
Meybod
Meybod ( fa, Meybod) is a city in and capital of Meybod County, Yazd Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 58,295, in 15,703 families.
Meybod is a major desert city in Yazd Province, Iran, with a population of about 75,000 ma ...
,
Ardakan
Ardakan ( fa, اردكان, also romanized as Ardakān and Artagan) is the capital city of Ardakan County, Yazd Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 75,271 in 22,475 families.
Ardakan is the second major city of Yazd Province. ...
,
Kerman
Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...
,
Bam,
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
,
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
,
Ahvaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...
, and
Farahan
Farahan County ( fa, شهرستان فراهان, ''Ŝahrestāne Farāhān'') is located in Markazi province, Iran. The capital of the county is Farmahin. At the 2006 census, the county's population as a part of Arak County and Tafresh County
...
. Iranians of the
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...
faith also celebrate this outside Iran, in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and the
US.
See also
*
Tirgan Festival
*
Summer solstice
The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
Notes
{{Iranian Festivals
Ancient Iranian religion
Festivals in Iran
July observances
Observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar
Persian words and phrases
Religious festivals in Iran
Summer events in Iran
Zoroastrian festivals