Iranian Culture: Dastangoi - The Persian Art of Story Telling
Mariam Noronha
"Dastangoi" is the compound of two Farsi words words, Dastan (story) and goi (telling).
In the old days, storytelling was a means of socializing and sharing information and experiences. Though stories are still a part of our lives they were a way of life back then. This could be attributed to the existence of limited forms of entertainment and communication.
History of Dastangoi
It was very common for communities to come together and listen to stories which were narrated by skilled story-tellers (dastangoos). Tales of folk lore, medieval romances, war, heroes and even those built around kings, queens and animals held the audiences spell-bound.
The story teller's voice, tone, narrative being the main ingredients of the performance, storytelling was sometimes accompanied by puppet shows. The beauty of the art being that while the main story is interesting to hear, a deeper message of wisdom and advice emerges from it.
Persian Art of Storytelling
The Persian art of storytelling involved recitation or the reading aloud of medieval romances, war and heroes. Covering a gamut of stories such as adventure, magic and warfare, Dastans mapped new worlds and horizons. While some were simplistic in their approach, others went beyond the realms of simplicity and practicality and encountered the unseen, as the hero, through many travails and lovers, continued his quest and in the end conquered all odds.
The hero's adventures could sometimes go beyond warfare and turn into a mystic quest. While telling the story narrators freely borrowed themes from other stories. This is probably why Rumi's Masnavi and the Arabian Nights both came to contain many stories from the Panchtantra tradition from India.
Persian and Arabian story tellers often made reference to the magical world of fairies, djinns and prophecies all in a bid to enrich the overall experience. Stories of heroism, sacrifice, devotion, physical prowess and daring were woven around just one or two protagonists. The stories of Hamza are the most popular ones, especially the one where he is called upon by the chief minister of the King of Persia to help the latter in his troubles. In the process Hamza encounters many adventures, beings and species but remains triumphant and unvanquished in the end.
One Thousand and One Nights
Hezaro-Yek-Shab (One Thousand and One Nights), a collection of stories as narrated by Princess Scherezade, is in fact an early example of the frame story or framing device where several stories are embedded in one story. For instance the adventures of Sinbad being stories narrated by Sindbad the Seaman to Sindbad the Landsman. Similarly Ferdowsi's Shahnameh whose hero warrior Rostam's adventures have always intrigued readers and audiences.
Storytelling has been a valuable method of educating young people for a long time now. There has been renewed interest in this delivery system that is as old as civilization itself. Most educationists and business leaders have come to realize the value of storytelling as an educational, communication and business tool.
Countries like America too are developing national and international networks and programs to promote the use of storytelling in education, business and the healing of the sick. What is new today about the art of telling stories is the purposeful use of narrative to achieve a practical outcome with an individual, a community, or an organization.
In recent times there has been a definite resurgence of interest in the ancient art of storytelling among business and organizational leaders. This is pertinent in times when technology and electronic communications might seem to make it altogether obsolete. According to many of the world's leading thinkers on knowledge management, storytelling today will become a key ingredient in managing communications, education, training and innovations in the 21st century which is why the art of Dastangoi must be nurtured and practiced widely.