This paper deals with the famous Zoroastrian marriage xwēdōdah. This form of marriage refers to the conjugal union of father and daughter, mother and son, brother and sister. Zoroastrianism of the Sassanid era made this institution a key element of religion, along with offering meal (mēzd) and seasonal holidays (gāhānbār). The question of whether this institution is a part of ancient Iranian legacy or has emerged later, is still controversial among the scholars. Careful development of xwēdōdah in the late Pahlavi works after the Arab conquest in the 9th century could have been the propagation of the priesthood who tried to protect Zoroastrian society against infiltration and destruction or sticking to archaic norms in an effort to preserve their religion in the face of extinction. The paper gives an overview of the most relevant theories about xwēdōdah. The genesis of this institution probably traces to the pre-Indo-European cultural substrate. Some modern scholars, looking for an explanation, pay attention to the works of anthropologists. The rejection of incest in all societies with exogamic regulation led to a certain taboo. This taboo is often due to the birth defects of children born out of consanguineous marriages. In the author’s opinion, the hypothesis of “ritual value” by A.R. Radcliffe-Brown seems to be the most appropriate to this case.
Keywords: Zoroastrianism, xwēdōdah, Sasanids, Pahlavi literature, ritual value
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662.2021.1.5-14
About the author
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Pavel V. Basharin – PhD (Philosophy), Assistant Professor at the Department of Modern East of the Faculty of History, Political Science and Law, |