In the high mountains of Iran's Kurdish region, a long and winding road leads to
the ancient village of Oraman Takht. In the cold depths of winter, an annual
festival is held here to commemorate the wedding of a priest named Pir-e Shalyar
more than a millennium ago.
The story of Pir-e Shalyar mixes myth with history. It's widely believed he was
a Zoroastrian priest who lived in this area in the early part of the eighth
century, a short while after the Muslim Arab invasion of Iran.
Pir-e Shalyar's legacy is a book of poetry consisting of proverbs, tales and
wisdom, which offers an insight into the lives and practices of the people of
his time.
According to local lore, Pir-e Shalyar worked miracles and healed the sick. The
story goes that some ruler - perhaps the king of Bukhara, or the governor of
some far-off region - sent his mute, beautiful daughter to Pir-e Shalyar to see
if he could help her. As the girl approached the holy man's home, she regained
the power of speech. It is their marriage that the celebration commemorates.
While people in this region embraced Islam over a thousand years ago, they still
mark the date of Pir-e Shalyar's wedding, with Islamic traditions and litany and
Sufi practices blended into the festival.
