Jumping over three banks of fire, as they rapidly recited an ancient Farsi good-luck wish, a dozen residents of Princeville and guests engaged in a Persian purification ceremony dating back some 3,000 years. Just before sundown on the eve of
Jumping over three banks of fire, as they rapidly recited an ancient Farsi good-luck wish, a dozen residents of Princeville and guests engaged in a Persian purification ceremony dating back some 3,000 years.
Just before sundown on the eve of the last Wednesday of the Persian year, people of Persian descent the world over perform the fire-jumping and other rituals designed to guarantee a good year.
Accordingly, at dusk March 17, three piles of twigs, a few feet apart, were ignited outside the Princeville home of Shirin and Ken Hunt. Then, Shirin, 39, their 12-year-old daughter Sierra, and Shirin’s 74-year-old mother, Manijeh Taleb-Beigi, did what they’ve done virtually all their lives — jumped over the good-luck flames, while requesting in Farsi, “Give me your beautiful red color and take back my sickly pallor.”
Essentially, Shirin explained, “It’s giving the fire what you don’t want and receiving its positive energy instead.”
Ken, a retired businessman and California native, who’s been doing the fire-jump for the last 19 years, joined in, as did neighbors and friends.
The ceremony brought back happy memories for Shirin and Manijeh, both born in Teheran, who have been in the United States since 1981. Shirin, Ken and Sierra have been on Kaua‘i for 11 years, while Manijeh has been dividing her time between California and Kaua‘i.
For Shirin, the annual ceremony is a fun reminder of childhood, even though, as a very young child, she burned her hand picking up embers after guests had left.
And since she’s become a mother, the New Year’s rituals have become even more meaningful, she said, the significance of which she feels is very important to share with her daughter Sierra. For herself, Shirin says, “I love this time of year, with its renewal energy and deep spiritual cleansing.”
For Manijeh, the ceremony means “my sickness and pain will leave, and I’ll receive a glow and energy and good omens for the coming year.”
She smilingly recalled the time a guest in her backyard in Teheran jumped over flames and accidentally landed in her small backyard pool.
In Iran, there are usually seven bonfires; the Hunts settled for three. And damp weather kept the flames lower than usual and forced a change from their lawn, the usual venue, to their driveway.
Fire-jumpers can go over the flames individually or in pairs, as often as they want, until they feel cleansed. In some cases – as Shirin and others did to laughter and applause- people jump to bring good luck to others they keep in mind as they leap.
Before one jump, two of the partcipants, both had the same seriously ill friend in mind, so they decided to go over the flames together. Later that week, the ill friend’s daughter reported he had been feeling better since Tuesday night. “So you never know,” said the participating fire-jumper with a smile.
Shirin, a Theta healer and orchid-grower, emphasized that the New Year’s rituals, which pre-date Islam by hundreds of years, are not religious, but cultural. Even the “altar” – a table set in the house with seven “sweet things” representing birth and rebirth, love, life, health, wealth and purity – is not a tribute to a divinity but to ancestors, “to show them they’re loved and respected,” Shirin said.
The items begin with the Farsi letter “S,” probably, according to Shirin, because it stands for “sweet.”
It’s customary to place photos of ancestors on the altar, as Shirin does with pictures of her late father and her nanny. Candles, representing light and goodness, are also displayed.
There is some Islamic influence. Because Islam forbids alcoholic beverages, rosewater or similar liquids have replaced wine on the altar. And, in some strictly observant families, a copy of the Koran is displayed.
The Iranian New Year (Norouz) takes place on the first day of Spring, corresponding with the rebirth of nature, and, as Najmieh Batmanglij notes in her book, “Food of Life,” the numerous ceremonies associated with the event “are symbolic representations of two ancient concepts: End and Rebirth, and Good and Evil.”
Among the customs she cites: a thorough spring cleaning and decoration of homes. Some people disguise themselves with make-up and wear brightly colored outfits, while, in the belief that the living are visited by the spirits of their ancestors on the last day of the year, kids wrap themselves in shrouds, run through the streets banging pots and pans and, a la Halloween, knock on doors to ask for treats.
Some parade through the streets with tambourines, singing and dancing to spread good cheer in anticipation of the new year. On New Year’s Day itself, the 13th day of Norouz, families bearing trays of sprouted seeds, form a procession to picnic in a grassy place, where they throw the sprouts into the water, then sing and dance to end the celebration.
Toward the end of the fire-jumping evening on Kaua‘i, Shirin and Sierra distributed clay items to break and discard, as symbols of unwanted problems and difficulties.
And then, giving the ancient celebration a modern touch, Shirin offered everyone what she called “issue-resolution trail-mix.”
Joel H. Cohen lives in Staten Island, N.Y. and attended the event while visiting his son Harvey Cohen, family and friends.
