Tahere Rad: is a guardian of Mazandaran’s oral traditions, preserving the epic tales passed down by her father, the renowned minstrel Mohammad Ali She’r Khoon. As one of the few female khonyagars, her voice carried the lost echoes of Hejabr Sultan’s legend, ensuring that these stories remained alive despite the absence of written records.
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Tahereh Raad: The Keeper of Mazandaran’s Epic Songs
Among the voices that have carried the echoes of Mazandaran’s rich oral tradition, the name of Tahereh Raad stands as a quiet yet powerful testament to the endurance of cultural heritage. As the only daughter of Mohammad Ali She’r Khoon—a revered khonyagar (minstrel) and storyteller—Tahereh inherited not just melodies but the weight of centuries-old epic narratives, most notably the saga of Hejabr Sultan.
The Art of Khonyagari: An Endangered Tradition
The tradition of khonyagari (minstrelsy) in Iran, much like its counterparts in Central Asia and the Caucasus, has long served as a vessel for history, myth, and collective memory. These minstrels, often traveling from village to village, recited epic tales that blended historical fact with folklore, embedding moral lessons within their verses. Among these narratives, the story of Hejabr Sultan holds a special place in Mazandarani lore.
Hejabr Sultan was a legendary figure associated with resistance against oppression. Though many aspects of his life remain shrouded in myth, he is often linked to the Hezb-e Ettehad-e Melli-ye Tabarestan (National Unity Party of Tabarestan), a movement that sought to reclaim local autonomy in the face of external pressures. His tale, passed down through oral tradition, has been preserved in fragments by a handful of minstrels, among them Mohammad Ali She’r Khoon.
Tahereh Raad: A Keeper of Echoes
Unlike the well-documented male minstrels of her time, Tahereh Raad’s contributions remain largely unrecorded in written histories or ethnographic studies. Her role as a guardian of oral tradition exists in the living memory of those who were fortunate enough to hear her sing. One such account comes from Ali Ettehad, who recalls the day we visited Tahereh Raad’s home as part of the Heirs of Saffron and Salt project.
On that day, amidst the rustic warmth of her home, Tahereh Raad sang the tales she had learned from her father, her voice carrying the weight of lost generations. Without written manuscripts or recorded archives, her mastery lay solely in the fragile art of memory. Each word, each note, was a bridge to a past that would have otherwise faded into silence.
A Legacy Unwritten, Yet Unforgotten
The absence of Tahereh Raad’s name from scholarly records is a reflection of a larger pattern—the erasure of female voices from the annals of traditional art forms. Yet, her existence within the oral history of Mazandaran is undeniable. She remains a vital link in the chain of transmission, ensuring that the epics of her people are not merely relics of the past but living, breathing entities passed from one generation to the next.
While her voice may not be found in books, it echoes in the recordings and memories of those who sought to preserve it. One such fragment of her story exists in the archives of Heirs of Saffron and Salt, a testament to the endurance of a tradition that refuses to be forgotten.
For those interested in the surviving traces of Mazandaran’s epic traditions, the Heirs of Saffron and Salt archive offers a rare glimpse into this fading world, where the voices of past and present intertwine in an unbroken song.