Eleventh Global Studies Conference

Abstract

As an ancient and long-rooted tradition, the Norouz ritual not only constitutes natural rebirth and order as part of the psychological-mythic needs of human beings for many centuries, but it has also laid a powerful base for peace and friendship between nations and ethnic groups that participate in this ritual. It is indeed possible to move from the key features of the ritual to the social characteristics, as it acts as the context for peace and friendship on two levels, one between humans (people) and nature and second among humans. The second level embraces two layers of coexistence of ethnic groups and nations within or beyond political borders. That is why these meanings continue Norouz from the outset of Iranian life which made social solidarity and mental integrity among them that could spill over generations and would be diffused among other nations as well. Norouz has not been confined by national borders as the vanguard of peace and friendship. In fact, Norouz is a shared heritage between countries in which this ancient ritual has been held. When this ritual was registered by Unesco, as part of its convention on intangible culture (ratified in 2002) in 2005, twelve countries were documented as celebrating Norouz. Now, this ritual should be known as a notable example of inter-cultural heritage that integrates people from different national and ethnic backgrounds, such as Iranian, Afghan, Tajik, Arab, Turkish, etc. This paper opens a new field of discussion in the conceptualization of cultural infrastructure and the foundations of peace. This paper first presents a discursive history of studies on Norouz and then discusses two key concepts embedded in the ritual of Norouz including peace and friendship. With this goal in mind, narratives and rituals of Norouz will be discussed. This paper applies several theoretical frameworks: Victor W. Turner’s theories about the presence of two key symbols in ritual construction including dominant and instrumental symbols, theories of the anthropology of food with a focus on the role of food in the reinforcement of social ties and solidarity, and, the last, theories of cultural diversity and diplomacies. Finally, this paper sets forth the concept of inter-cultural heritage as an achievement and how it can help increase the closeness between countries in this region.