13th Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research

Presentation Abstracts

SARKARATI, Abandokht

Kave, the Iranian Archetype of the Celestial Smith

The paper will deal with the legend of Kave, the Smith, which forms an important episode in the most famous version of the Iranian dragon-killing myth, as it is related in the Shahname. Since no explicit reference to Kave's name and legend has been found in the Avesta and Middle Persian Zoroastrian texts, it has been asserted that this personage is not an old genuine saga figure and his legend is nothing but a late fabrication based upon a folk-etymology. An attempt will be made to demonstrate the genuineness of Kave's legend by comparing it with those of other well-known celestial or magician-smiths who play an important role in many other Indo-European myths of dragon killing. Also by proposing a new etymology of Kave's name it will be shown that contrary to the generally accepted view, the older form of this name is mentioned in the Avesta and in fact Kave, as an epic transformation of an old mythical character, is of Indo-Iranian origin.