Hossein Habibi

Fire veneration had been a part of the Indo-Iranian heritage that has later been incorporated into the rites and symbolism of Zoroastrianism. This article is focused on the Cheragh-baran as an exceptional tradition that offers evidence for the continuity of such rituals in otherwise Islamised societies of contemporary Shahrekord in western Iran. Apart from the fieldwork section for documentation of the tradition, this research also studies literary documents to examine the association of this practice with the pre-Islamic rituals of sacred fires and picture their long-term transformations. According to this Nowruz tradition, on New Year’s Eve, the native families of the city take an oil lamp/lantern to the city’s mausoleum to be lit by a sayyid in its charge. Cheragh-baran fire is subsequently maintained at houses so that it does not cease to burn until the last day of the Nowruz celebration, the thirteenth of Farvardin month, after which it is left to grow cold. This fire presents an ātaxš-ī kadagīg whose rituals are mainly comparable to those of the Dādgāh ātaxš. However, in contrast to the latter, this Nowruz fire, adapted to Islam's teachings, is no longer the subject of offerings and prayers.