Bērōnī, in his Vestiges of the Past, said thus: « The Persians … have certain judgements regarding the appearance of snakes on the different days of the month. » And he gave an Arabic translation of a Pārsīg snake-calendar. In the Persian Rivāyats is found a similar text of snake-omens called Mārnāma, ‘The Book of Snakes’. Two other texts of snake-omens are contained in a Pārsī manuscript: One, according to the seven days of the week (corresponding to the seven planets); and the other, according to the twelve signs of the zodiac.
As J.J. Modi has said “the idea of taking omens from the sight of snakes on (the thirty days of the Pārsi month) is foreign to the view of the ancient Persians about snakes.” However, the “knowledge” of the third member of the Perso-Aryan society does not coincide with the knowledge of the religion. The scribes who came from this third class absorbed folk-beliefs and or gave freedom to their own imagination, and tried to compose a “Mazdean” ophiomancy.
As J.J. Modi has said “the idea of taking omens from the sight of snakes on (the thirty days of the Pārsi month) is foreign to the view of the ancient Persians about snakes.” However, the “knowledge” of the third member of the Perso-Aryan society does not coincide with the knowledge of the religion. The scribes who came from this third class absorbed folk-beliefs and or gave freedom to their own imagination, and tried to compose a “Mazdean” ophiomancy.
| snake-calendars.pdf |
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