The Role of the Mythological and Ritual Elements of Water and Rain-Seeking in the Film The Cow

Introduction: Gholamhossein Saedi’s short story “The Cow” and its cinematic adaptation directed by Dariush Mehrjui incorporate a wide range of mythological elements and symbols. Although a limited number of studies have examined certain symbolic components of the story from the perspective of mythological signification in isolation, no independent research to date has focused on the prominent presence of elements and symbols associated with the myth of water and rain-seeking rituals, nor has it sought to analyze and explicate their position in relation to the film’s central thematic core. Consequently, a closer scrutiny of these elements raises the principal research question: “What meanings do they convey, and what role do they play within the film’s narrative”? Accordingly, the aim of this article is to identify these elements, analyze their semantic implications, and ultimately elucidate their relationship with the main thematic foundation of the story.Research Method: This study employs a qualitative, case-based inquiry conducted through a descriptive-analytical approach. Adopting a holistic perspective, the analysis relies on the film’s dialogues and various sequences in order to achieve the research objectives.Findings: From a mythological perspective, the entire narrative of “The Cow” appears to be structured upon a deliberate and coherent progression of mythological and ritual elements associated with the concept of water and rain-seeking. The narrative begins with a rain-seeking ritual in the sequence related to “Moosorkheh”; it reaches its climax with the sacrifice of the cow and the accompanying ritual mourning ceremony, which is symbolically linked to water, fertility, and rain-seeking; and it concludes with the celebration of a wedding ceremony, as a symbol of renewal and regeneration, followed by the advent of rain.Conclusion: It appears that in the film “The Cow”, elements associated with water and rain-seeking are employed to represent the confrontation between two opposing realms, Boluri and Bayali, which, according to the film’s creators, constitute the work’s central thematic foundation. In a similar manner, within Iranian culture, the opposition between water and aridity, which forms the basis of an Iranian worldview structured around binary oppositions, has been transformed, in its epic manifestation, into the dichotomy between the “Iranian (self)” and the “non-Iranian (other)”.

کلیدواژه ها:

Myth of Water ، Rain-seeking Ritual ، Fertility (Blessing-Seeking) Ritual ، Bayali-Boluri Opposition ، Self-Other Dichotomy ، The Film The Cow