Centuries ago in a big city situated along the Zagros Mountains, there lived a man with his lovely wife and their daughter, Chyavan (“someone who goes to the mountains”), who was their only child. The man was a very skillful jeweler. So much so that his name was spreading beyond the city limits and permeating the whole country. His products were so well crafted that it seemed he must be using some sort of magic.
The jeweler
had a rather hidden and retired personality. He was seldom seen or heard from,
so he was something of a mystery to the people. Little was known about him
except that his skill as a jeweler was unmatched and that he loved his wife
more than anything. Together they lived a very happy life with their daughter,
who they cherished greatly.
One day the
Jeweler decided to make a very special gift for his wife in celebration of
their anniversary. A magnificent gold ring was made for her which featured two golden
Nergz flowers crafted atop the golden ornate band. Wanting to give something to
his daughter as well, a golden tooth was made for her. They were both extremely
grateful and appreciative of their gifts.
Their lives
continued happily until the jeweler’s wife became gravely ill. Having been
bedridden and knowing her end was near, she gave her will to her husband and
died two days later. The Jeweler was overcome with grief. He never thought he
could have a life that did not include her.
The usual
ceremonies needed to be put in order for her funeral though, and this led him
to read her last will and testament. Very plainly it stated, “I know you and my
daughter will be so lonely after I am gone, but I don’t want this to happen.
For this reason I want you to take another wife. But, there are two conditions
which must be met. First, you must take care of our daughter and love her
endlessly. Second, the ring you made for me must perfectly fit the finger of
the woman you choose to marry, or else she can’t be your wife. If you don’t
honor these requests, I will never forgive you and will be eternally sad.”
The Jeweler
was distraught by the death of his wife, and his love for her led him to decide
he must honor his wife’s last wishes.
So, he began
searching for someone to marry, travelling to many towns and cities.
Unfortunately, the ring did not perfectly fit a single woman. It was as if the
ring was bewitched because it was made for their anniversary, so that only the
ring itself could choose who was worthy to wear it.
After three
years of searching, the jeweler came home disappointed. Now, his daughter did
not know about her mother’s will and one day finds the beautiful wedding band.
She decided to try it on out of curiosity and found that it fit her perfectly.
How strange! It was made for her mother after all.
But just then
her father walks in and sees the ring perfectly wrapped around her finger and realizes
that she is the only woman it has ever fit, and so the ring has chosen her. He
begins to become so overwhelmed with his love for his lost wife and his duty to
fulfil her will such that he becomes blind to rationality. He tells his
daughter that she must marry him, her own father. If she does not then his wife
will never forgive him, and that is the last thing he will accept. But she
cries out that she cannot marry her own father. It’s a crime.
Hearing this,
the Jeweler became very angry. He went into a rage and Chyavan was terrified. He
was out of his sense. He even began to seem more monster than man in his
anguished rage.
The Jeweler
turned to his daughter and told her that if she would not marry him and fulfill
her mother’s Will, he would have to kill her by his own hands. After being
threatened so, his daughter fearfully relented and agreed to become his wife.
But, she asks if she can have a little money to get something for the wedding,
and her father acquiesces.
The next day,
she went to the city’s bazaar, seeking out the tailor. She finds him and asks
for a cloth to be made which will cover her entire body except for her hands
and eyes. The cloth will be ready in two days’ time.
Over those
next two days, she tried hard to stay away from her father because he was out
of his mind and had become unpredictable. She had no idea what he might say or
do next.
When the two
days passed, she went back to the bazaar with some supplies, she picked up her
cloth, donned it and left the city. She escaped to the mountains and began living
alone in a cave she found. When her father realizes she is missing, nobody
knows where she has gone. Her father becomes enraged and vows to get revenge by
killing her because she disobeyed him and the will of her mother. If she won’t
marry him, he believes killing her is the only way for his wife to rest in
peace.
After a month
of her new and lonely life, Chyavan ventures into the mountain forest. There
she comes across a group of people. At first she is frightened, but soon
realizes they are huntsmen. The leader is a man named Ahmed, the son of a Duke
of a nearby city. He comes to the forest every year with his companions to hunt
for game.
However, the
huntsmen needed supplies and water and food since they had been out for two
days and nights without killing a single thing to eat. She sees they are in
need and shows herself to them, still covered in her cloth. They ask for food
and so she invites them to her cave.
Ahmed, the
duke’s son, asks her why she is alone in the mountains. At first she says
nothing, but then Ahmed asks her to uncover her beautiful face so that he can
admire it. She takes off the cloth and then, when he asks again, she tells him
the whole story about her father the jeweler and how she ran away. Ahmed
decides that he must take her with him to his home and keep her safe, promising
to protect her from her father.
She goes to
live with him and after two months together they begin to fall deeply in love.
Their days started happily and their life together was ideal. After some time,
she even became pregnant, and they had a son together. Having begun a family,
they were happy and felt nothing could go wrong.
Years pass
and they continue to live as if God had showered all of his blessings upon
them. But, they did not know that there was trouble lurking. A very old man,
strange, peculiar, and internally full of anger, had come to their city. A man
who had searched countless villages and cities trying to find his daughter who
ran away from him long ago.
The Jeweler
has become a conjurer, and was wandering the city performing magic for people
and saying that he will give a prize to a woman who comes and smiles at him,
and that this prize will be a medal for her son that he had made. While Ahmed
was away in another city, Chyavan was wandering the city and heard of the prize
she could get for smiling at this man. She does not recognize her father
because of his beard and cracking skin, and he doesn’t recognize her at first
because of how much she has grown up. But, when she smiles at him he sees the
gold tooth that he made for her years ago, and recognizes her as his daughter
and decides that the time for revenge has come. He gives her the medal for her
son and when she turns and leaves he follows her to her house.
That same
night, at midnight, when all is quiet and everyone is asleep, he sneaks into
the house. He can’t kill his daughter right there, so he decides that to get
revenge he will do something else. He goes into her son’s room and slices his
throat. He then goes to her room, drips the blood onto her dress, and hides the
knife behind the couch.
He set up the
scene so that the Duke’s family would think that she killed her son herself,
and that is exactly what they believed. Their son Ahmed was still away and knew
nothing of it. They would not listen to Chyavan’s protests, as there was no
other explanation. In this city, which the Duke’s family held a lot of power
in, the result of murder was a shameful and serious punishment. They had one of
Chyavan’s breasts cut off and made her carry the corpse of her expired child on
her back through the main street of the city, in front of the eyes of everyone,
as she was sent into exile.
Chyavan
returned again to the mountains wearing the same cloth she wore to escape her
father and carrying her dead child upon her back.
Before
reaching the cave, she sits down exhausted underneath a tree to rest. She soon
falls asleep and dreams that her mother comes down to relay a prophecy that
could cure her unpleasant situation. Her mother tells Chyavan that she feels
her husband has betrayed her with how he has acted and will be punished for his
sins. She tells her daughter that she will see two pigeons in a tree. One
black, one white. One will fall to the ground as the other flies away. If God
wants her child alive again, the white pigeon will fall and its blood must be
fed to the head of her dead child. If the black one falls though, her son will
remain dead as this is what God wants.
Suddenly, she
awakens from her sleep and above her in a tree sees two pigeons. One black, one
white. After a short time, the black one flies away and the white one falls to
the ground. Remembering the dream, she takes the white bird and feeds its blood
to her dead son and he comes back to life.
Happiness
returned to Chyavan and they built a cottage there in the mountain forest.
After ten years of living there, on the same date when she first met her
husband Ahmed and his fellow huntsmen, she remembers that he and his fellow
huntsmen must be returning soon.
Just as she
expected, her husband and his men returned to the woods. She prepares lots of
food for a big dinner and tells her son, now twelve years old, to go and invite
the men for dinner. Of course they accept, because they are hungry and tired
and far from home.
She welcomes
them and sets out a proper meal but never identifies herself. While they are
eating, she tells her son to take the ring that her father had made for her
mother and set it in one of Ahmed’s shoes.
As the men
prepare to leave and put on their shoes, Ahmed feels something hard inside of
his and checks it. He can’t believe what he finds! Seeing the ring, he becomes
shocked and unable to utter a single word. Finally he cries out, wanting to
know where his wife is. She comes out and uncovers her face, and Ahmed
recognizes her. They both begin to cry and she tells him everything about what
happened, how she was innocent and the brutal reaction of his family toward her
after their son was murdered. Ahmed asks for forgiveness from his wife and son
for what happened and what his family did. Chyavan will forgive her husband on
one condition. Her father must be found and revenged.
Ahmed agrees,
saying that if he cannot fulfill her wish then she has the right to give him
any punishment but that if he can do it, she has to forgive him.
After a long
process of searching cities and villages, the old magician jeweler is found. Ahmed
and his men capture him and declare that his punishment for his crimes will be
to have his legs tied to two oxen, one per leg. One ox won’t be allowed to eat
for seven days and the other won’t be allowed to drink for seven days. On the
seventh day when the man has one leg tied to each ox, they will be set free to
run toward a pile of food for the first and a large barrel of cold water for
the second.
The punishment
is carried out, and the jeweler’s body becomes severed. After what he caused to
happen to his daughter, the result was deserved. Chyavan was no able to live
safely and securely, restarting her life with her husband and son, with happier
days ahead.
