Ancien Culture and Languages

Ancien Culture and Languages

A Museological Interpretation of Identity in the Qesseh-ye Sanjan

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Adjunct Professor, at the Department of Museum and Tourism, Faculty of Advance Studies in Art and Entrepreneurship, Art University of Isfahan
Abstract
This article examines and analyzes how the historical identity of the Zoroastrian migrant community in India is formulated and its narrative framework within the Qesseh-ye Sanjan. The Qesseh-ye Sanjan is a Persian verse epic composed by a Zoroastrian Mobed in 969 Yazdegerdi, corresponding to 1599 AD, in Gujarat, India, narrating the story of the Zoroastrian migration from Iran to India. By integrating Iranian roots with the influences of Indian culture, the Qesseh-ye Sanjan has played a significant role in shaping the identity of the Parsi community in India and is recognized as an important part of their shared memory. This narrative stands as a crucial source for understanding the imagination and historical self-perception of the Parsi community before their inclination towards Western culture. From the perspective of new museology, narrating identity within the cultural heritage of the Parsi community representation of a subculture's identity in museums holds cultural and ethical validity when it aligns with events, historical memory, and the community's self-image. The main questions guiding this research are: How is the concept of identity shaped and explained in the narrative of the Qesseh-ye Sanjan? On which sub-narratives within the poem’s framework does the representation and formation of the historical identity of the Zoroastrian migrant community rest? The research data is examined based on historical studies and employing content analysis. The findings of this research indicate that the Qesseh-ye Sanjan narrates the transformation and evolution of Iranian Zoroastrian identity into Parsi Zoroastrian identity. The concept of identity in the Qesseh-ye Sanjan is not static; rather, it is the result of the confluence of various historical, cultural, and social factors that are invented, grow, and transform in relation to events.
Keywords

Volume 5, Issue 1 - Serial Number 8
January 2026
Pages 189-215

  • Receive Date 19 May 2025
  • Revise Date 24 August 2025
  • Accept Date 03 September 2025