Rain Making Ceremonies in Iran

摘要

Pre-Islamic beliefs and practices abound in Iran, albeit with an Islamic veneer, have been entirely islamicized. One kind of such surviving practices is that of rain making ceremonies. In this article, seven major rain-making ceremonies are categorized, described, and interpreted, including some regional variants thereof. Attention is paid to the fact that these ceremonies are not limited to Iran, but are also found in neighboring countries (Iraq, Turkey, India, Central Asia), thus showing that these are all survivors of common ancient religious archetypes.