When Iranians worry about life’s big questions, many seek answers in the works and wisdoms of Persia’s most revered poet, Hafez — sometimes with the help of a parakeet.
Retired housewife Mitra, 61, had questions about whether her son married the right woman, so she went to the tomb of Iran’s beloved 14th-century bard in the southern city of Shiraz.
Seeking guidance, she visited a fortune teller, one of many who offer advice with the help of Hafez’s collected works, a book of odes known as The Divan.
Photo: AFP
After sharing her concern, Mitra watched anxiously as the fortune teller thumbed through the thick tome, opened it on a random page and pointed his finger at one verse. He read it out and explained its metaphors and mystical insights.
Mitra’s face lit up — the message was positive, and domestic harmony lay ahead.
“I finally did the consultation today for my son, because I had doubts on whether his marriage was a good decision,” she said in the garden of the Tomb of Hafez.
“I finally regained hope,” she said after the nod of approval for her daughter-in-law from within Iran’s ancient lyrical treasure trove.
Some Iranian fortune tellers, known as falgir, offer a special service to truly randomize the selection of the all-important Hafez verse.
Chirpy parakeets known as “love birds” hop across stacks of colorful envelopes that contain his enigmatic poems and pick one out with their tiny beaks.
As Hafez devotees thronged into the mausoleum to pay their respects, another person seeking advice was Hamidah, a 44-year-old chemistry professor.
“I always ask Hafez for help and consult him,” she said. “I can’t explain this with the laws of physics, but it’s a reality for me.”
Poetry enjoys immense popularity in Iran, where timeless verses on love and spirituality can be found woven into carpets, engraved in jewelry and emblazoned on street billboards.
The nation prides itself on its masters such as Rumi, Saadi, Khayyam and Ferdowsi, who wrote the epic Book of Kings, preserving Iran’s pre-Islamic heritage through mythical tales and legends.
“They are our national figures and the creators of our culture,” said Farshad, a 41-year-old doctor.
Early 20th-century poetry gave voice to social protest and faced censorship under the former monarchy, including the works of dissident poets Ahmad Shamlou, Forough Farrokhzad and Simin Behbahani.
However, no Iranian poet has enjoyed enduring and universal adoration like Hafez, and a well-worn copy of his Divan compendium is found in most households.
People from all walks of life regularly cite his lyrical wisdoms, mostly on the themes of love and wine and ironic takes on the hypocrisy of holy men.
His poetry is recited during Nowruz, the New Year, and other celebrations such as the winter solstice festival.
“We start the year with the poems of Hafez,” said Maryam Youssefi, a 46-year-old housewife, for advice on what it “has in store for us.”
Fortune tellers can be found across Iran, but especially at his tomb, set amid rose gardens in Shiraz, 800km south of Tehran.
The tradition of Hafez bibliomancy — using his ancient wisdoms for divination and guidance — is known as Fal-e Hafez.
Hafez lived during a turbulent era of Persia’s history, and his contemplative verses often spoke of pain and human suffering, as well as religious hypocrisy.
His influences can be found far beyond Iran in the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Ralph Waldo Emerson, among others. Hafez has remained a venerated figure after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, even if some senior clerics have voiced disapproval of the Fal-e Hafez tradition.
In the past few years, one criticized it as out of line with Islamic Sharia law and urged people against “following Hafez’s divinations.”
Nonetheless, devotees keep flocking to Shiraz, and Hafez poetry reading sessions still draw large crowds, while the divination custom remains alive and well.
Many Iranians swear by it while others “practice the tradition without really believing in it,” said Ahmad Akbarpour, a writer and poet from Shiraz.
Mostafa Eskandari, a 67-year-old fortune teller, said he learned Hafez’s poetry by heart and has been interpreting it for more than 30 years.
“Hafez’s poems are ambiguous and multifaceted. They can be interpreted in different ways,” he said.
Yet the master of old speaks to everyone individually, he said.
“If a thousand people each set an intention and open the book of odes together, each will receive a different response,” he said.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
RSS