Iranian Folk Narrative A Survey of Scholarship [Paperback]

For centuries Iran hosted numerous travellers and visitors of diverse nationalities and backgrounds. Many of these travellers left behind documents in which they recorded their observations during their residence in Iran, and these embody a vast range of firsthand information about the land and its people at different periods of time. This book, first published in 1990, takes as its subjects the nature and history of Iranian folk narrative scholarship. The contributions of travellers are given their due recognition as important source documents.

1. Introduction  2. Early Contributors  3. Western Scholar's Contribution to Iranian Folkloristics  4. Development of Folkloristics in Iran: Native Scholars and Folk Narrative Scholarship  5. Conclusions  Appendix 1. Traveller's Remarks Regarding Dervishes, Professional Storytellers and Entertainers, Coffee Houses, and Iranian Modes of Entertainment  Appendix 2. Selection of Narratives Recorded by Travellers and Philologists