Thousand-Year-Old Wedding
| Publisher | Institute for War and Peace Reporting |
| Publication Date | 6 October 2010 |
| Cite as | Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Thousand-Year-Old Wedding, 6 October 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4cad906dc.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In the high mountains of Iran's Kurdish region, a long and winding road leads to the ancient village of Oraman Takht. In the cold depths of winter, an annual festival is held here to commemorate the wedding of a priest named Pir-e Shalyar more than a millennium ago.
The story of Pir-e Shalyar mixes myth with history. It's widely believed he was a Zoroastrian priest who lived in this area in the early part of the eighth century, a short while after the Muslim Arab invasion of Iran.
Pir-e Shalyar's legacy is a book of poetry consisting of proverbs, tales and wisdom, which offers an insight into the lives and practices of the people of his time.
According to local lore, Pir-e Shalyar worked miracles and healed the sick. The story goes that some ruler – perhaps the king of Bukhara, or the governor of some far-off region – sent his mute, beautiful daughter to Pir-e Shalyar to see if he could help her. As the girl approached the holy man's home, she regained the power of speech. It is their marriage that the celebration commemorates.
While people in this region embraced Islam over a thousand years ago, they still mark the date of Pir-e Shalyar's wedding, with Islamic traditions and litany and Sufi practices blended into the festival.
