نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
Belief in the existence of hidden treasure—commonly understood as valuable objects such as gold or jewelry buried or concealed in the past—is widespread across cultures, though its forms and meanings vary by context. In Mazandaran, northern Iran, such beliefs are particularly prevalent. The region’s dense concentration of historical sites and sacred places, including shrines of saints, contributes to the perception of these locations as likely repositories of hidden treasure, a belief that can pose risks to tangible cultural heritage through unauthorized excavation.
A significant dimension of treasure beliefs in Mazandaran involves supernatural elements, including the protection of treasure by jinn, spirits, snakes, or talismans, as well as the necessity of prayers or magical rituals to access it. Drawing on Marcel Mauss’s theories on the nature and social functions of magic, this study conceptualizes these beliefs within a broader framework of magical thinking and examines how they reflect and shape aspects of local social life.
The research is based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews with twenty-eight individuals from Mazandaran who hold beliefs in the existence of treasure. Participants were selected from diverse geographical areas across the province, ranging from Kiasar and Sari in the east to Motel Ghoo in the west, and included men and women aged between twenty-one and seventy-one. The findings indicate that supernatural explanations surrounding treasure not only serve to rationalize repeated failures and losses experienced by treasure seekers, but also function paradoxically as protective mechanisms. From the perspective of believers, magical forces are activated in situations such as hiding the location of the treasure, moving treasure before the diggers reach it, harming the diggers when they discover the treasure, and ultimately being a bad omen if the treasure is extracted and used.
کلیدواژهها English
