بررسی تطبیقی حمزه نامه با حمزه البهلوان: منشا قصّه، شخصیّت اصلی، محتوا و گونه

یکی از مشهورترین قصّه‌های عامیانۀ فارسی، «حمزه‌‌نامه» یا قصّۀ امیرالمومنین حمزه است. ترجمه‌ به زبان‌های دیگر،  تهیّه نسخۀ مصوّر به دستور اکبرشاه هندی و داشتن آدابی ویژه برای نقل این قصّه، نشان دهندۀ اهمیّت آن برای مردم و شاهان در برهه‌ای از تاریخ است. اصل این داستان عربی است و «حمزه البهلوان» نام دارد و شخصّیت اصلی قصّه، پهلوانی خیالی است. این قصّه و شخصیّت اصلی قصّه، تحت تاثیر داستان‌هایی مانند رستم و اسفندیار که در شبه جزیره برای مردم نقل می‌شد، ساخته و پرداخته شده است و شخصیّت «حمزه العرب»، بدیل عربی رستم است که ایرانیان برای فروکاستن و حتّی از میان بردن حس نژادپرستی خود به این پهلوان خیالی، نام او را تغییر داده‌اند و در نتیجه، شخصیّت داستانی تحریف شده است. بهتر است «حمزه‌نامه» را قصه‌ای پهلوانی بدانیم، نه یک قصّۀ شبه تاریخی یا حماسۀ مشهور دینی یا حتی رمانس؛ امّا قصّۀ «حمزه البهلوان» جزو آثار «ادب الشّعبی» و «السّیره الشّعبیّه» است. در ادبیّات عرب، «ادب الشّعبی» در برابر ادب رسمی قرار می‌گیرد. در «ادب الشّعبی» متن مکتوب وجود ندارد؛ بنابراین به تعداد شنوندگان، راوی پدید می‌آید. بخشی از «ادب الشّعبی» در اصطلاح ، «السّیره الشّبیّه» نام دارد. «السّیره الشّعبیّه» از دل «ادب الشّعبی» می‌جوشد و ضمن بهره مندی از امکانات افسانه‌های خیالی و پهلوانی از پالایۀ اعتقادات اسلامی می گذرد.

A Comparative Study of Hamze Nameh and HamzatilBahlavan Origin, main character, content and type

1. Introduction Stories have a large readership and are of high significance in folklore studies. Therefore, studies addressing them carry relevance not only to folklore studies but also to different fields of study such as anthropology, cultural studies and sociology. One of the wellknown and popular folklore stories is AmiralMuminin Hamzeh. Although a few studies have been conducted on it, they are open to criticisms on several grounds. One such criticism is that the Arabic root or origin of story is overlooked except in an Arabic paper by Mustafa Albakur (1386) and in ‘Iran’s Folklore’ (…… 2009). Others (e.g., Farrokhi, 1389) have either taken the root as Iranian or have not touched upon the issue (e.g., Zargoush, 1389). Such a negligence and inconsistency has resulted in ambiguities, confusions, controversies and sweeping generalizations. The relationship between Farsi and Arabic versions of this story is something beyond a mere fromArabictoFarsi translation. Consequently, it is necessary to take into consideration the cultural exchange of Iranian people with their southern and western neighbors. Additionally, it is equally essential and useful to compare Iranian and Arabic folklore (AdabalShaabi). Both were taken into account in the current study.   2. Methodology This research is descriptive in nature. For the purposes of this study, Arabic (four volumes) and Farsi (two volumes) versions of HamzatilBahlavan were studied. As a library research, works and research studies addressing Arabic Folklore (AdabalShaabi) were also included.   3. Findings and discussion Findings of this study indicate that the Farsi HamzehNameh is in fact an Arabic story; it is neither Indian nor Iranian. Despite its Arabic origin, there are historical documents suggesting that Arab storytellers have been affected by Iranian epics. More specifically, stories about Iranian hero, Rostam, have been transferred by Arab storytellers into HamzatilBahlavan. Interestingly enough, HamzatalArab is the Arabic hero for Iranian Rostam. It was also found that in Farsi translation, the main character (i.e. HamzatalArab) has been changed into a religious one. In other words, the main Arab character in the Arabic version has been replaced by another character—a religious one; HamzatalArab has been replaced by AmiralMuminin Hamzeh. The latter character is Prophet Muhammad’s uncle. The rationale for this change is racial. Since the original Arab hero (i.e. HamzatalArab) defeats Iran’s king in a battle, it would be less humiliating and offensive to depict AmiralMuminin Hamzeh as the winner since he is the uncle of the Holy Prophet. In other words, AmiralMuminin Hamzeh’s affiliation to Prophet Muhammad—the holiest man for Muslim Iranians— makes this defeat less humiliating to the Iranian reader. Arabic and Farsi resources, materials and texts revealed that it is futile to look for the creator(s) or writer(s) of this work. It is the content, according to an old eastern tradition, that matters most.  Findings are used to argue that HamzehNameh or even HamzatalArab is a folklore story of a hero only.  HamzatilBahlavan, in fact, is a work of Arab supremacism against Iranians.       4. Conclusion In this study, it was concluded that unlike the perception of many Iranians, HamazehNameh is Arabic in its root and origin even though it has been under the influence of Iranian epics. When getting translated from Arabic to Farsi, several important changes pertaining to characters and events have been intentionally made to it. This story is not a religious or historical epic; rather, it is a folklore of a hero.