Document Type : Research Paper
Author
PhD in Persian Language and Literature, Shiraz University Iran
Abstract
European's travelogues are important in understanding "another view", in anthropology and cultural-social history studies area. Sufism and Dervishes are one of the prominent topics in European travelogues, especially in the Qajar era. From this perspective, the present research is based on the analysis of the travelogues of the European travelers of the Qajar era, who have described and sometimes analyzed dervishes in their reports. It’s obviously clear that issues such as:Sufi dynasties considering Dervishes as a class, Sufism lineages, and Dervishes' behavior and worldview are often associated with ignorance of Sufism, prejudice, superficial, and incognito. The approach of this research shows the four components of "Oral Dervish Literature", "Beliefs", "Beggary and Unemployment", "External journey", "Spells and Magic". "Using intoxicants and hypnotic substances" are more prominent in western travelogues. A few of these travel writers, including Polak, Browne, and Gobineau, have an Orientalist approach in its research-following sense towards Sufism and have combined it with their observations; Among other things, they have presented reports about the Sufi dynasties of the Qajar era, especially Ahl al-Haq, the origin of Sufism, and Iranian Enlightenment thought. Apart from this, in other travelogues, the spirit of Sufism is often not mentioned. In most of these travelogues, Sufism and mysticism have been relegated to the school of laziness and unrestrainedness, and wandering dervishes and storytellers have been portrayed as addicted to weed and marijuana. The results of the description and analysis of the aforementioned travelogues show that the reports of these travelers about Sufism in the Qajar era has only been narrated in the form of "affected dervishism", along with "generalization", "defects", "strangeness" and " Magnification".
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