The Relationship between Turkic-Mongol Myths and Shamanism with ‘White Horse’ from the Great Ilkhanid Shahnameh miniatures: A Cultural Semiotics Study

Abstract

Relying solely on the literary text in studying the Great Ilkhanid Shahnameh has led, in some cases, to misunderstanding the signs in it miniatures. Ferdowsi's Shahnameh is a literary text from an Iranian discourse and focused on poetic language whereas the Great Ilkhanid Shahnameh is an artistic text from an Ilkhanid discourse and focused the language of miniatures. Analysis of the miniatures in Great Ilkhanid Shahnameh should be based on the semiosphere of Iran during the Ilkhanids. It is a semiosphere that included “non-text” of Shahnameh narratives in the illustrative “text” of Ilkhanid imagery." The purpose of the present study is to identify the reasons behind using white color for the horses associated with rulers and sultans in the miniatures of the Great Ilkhanid Shahnameh illustrated manuscript with regard to the Ilkhanid semiosphere: whether this white color motif is derived from Ferdowsi's literary narrative or is influenced by Turkic-Mongolian mythology? This research has a fundamental objective and is conducted in a descriptive-analytical way using Yuri Lotman's semiotic approach of Cultural Semiotics. The main finding in this study is that the sacred white color comes from the god Olgen - the creator-deity - in Turkic-Mongolian Shamanism and mythology. As a result of this association, the Turkic/Mongolian rulers, and Shamans blow them, would ride on white horses while the rest of the people were not allowed to do so. Therefore, under the influence of Ilkhanid semiosphere, illustrations adorning the narratives of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh depict the rulers riding white horses.

Keywords

• cultural semiotics
• great shahnameh
• the ilkhanids
• white horse
• shamanism