Imagology of Iranian Culture of Safavid Era from the French Attitude (Case Study: Raphael Du Mans)

 
Abstract

Introdaction:

The aim of the following research is to examine the cultural aspects of the lives of Iranians during the Safavid era as presented in the travelogue of Raphael du Mans, based on the knowledge of Imagology. The book " The Status of Iran in 1660," written by Raphael du Mans, a French priest who lived in the mid-17th century during the reign of Shah Abbas II of the Safavid dynasty, portrays various aspects of the lives of Iranians in that era. In this book, the author discusses religion, customs, character traits, culture, knowledge of Iranians, and the political-social situation in Iran. The following text focuses on the image studies of the cultural dimensions of Iranian life during the Safavid period as presented in this book. The subject of imagology involves studying the others’ image or, better yet, the others’ culture or its elements in one's own literature and art. In other words, imageology is a field and method that examines the depiction of foreign countries or personalities in the works of a writer or a specific period and school (Namvar Motlagh, 122:1388). The perspective of the image creator is influenced by various factors that affect their description of events, as everything that the comparer sees in different texts, including travelogues, is not merely a product of visual and sensory data; they speak from a specific understanding and personal interpretation (Pageaux, 141:1995).
 

Methodology

The research method is based on the theory of Imagology. In the first step, by analyzing the content of du Mans’ work, a collection of images related to cultural characteristics is classified. In the second step, based on intra-linguistic factors such as adjectives, adverbs, and textual context, we have evaluated the images in three categories: positive, negative, and neutral, along with a quantitative and statistical analysis of the number of images in each category. In this regard, we attempted to analyze the reasons behind du Mans’ perspective on each image as much as possible. In the final step, based on the images that du Manspresents regarding various cultural aspects of Iranian life, we tried to identify an outline of his perspective and thoughts as a prominent character from France at that time.
 

Discussion and Analysis

In this research, images presented regarding cultural aspects of Iranian life during the Safavid era were extracted from the aforementioned book and categorized under 11 topics: architecture and household items, foods, clothing, games, Nowruz ceremonies, servants, script and language, books and common sciences, public education, common addictions, and public health. du Manscompares Iranian household items and their eating habits with the French model and evaluates them as degenerate and incorrect without considering the differences in lifestyle and its requirements between Iran and Europe. He views common games in Safavid Iran as very limited and does not mention popular sports; instead, he presents Iranians as unfamiliar with sports and physical activity, despite the well-known popularity of sports like wrestling and polo in Safavid Iran, which other travelers also noted in their travelogues. He mentions their attention to the lives of their servants as a positive aspect of Iranian culture without providing any judgment and considers Iranian schools to lack quality. According to him, what is paid as tuition to students in religious schools is merely a bribe to keep them there. He evaluates the Persian language as weak and degenerating due to its mixing with Arabic and its lack of grammatical qualities prevalent in Latin. He also discusses the consumption of wine and drugs in Iran and views the use of intoxicants and substances like hemp—prohibited in Islam—as indicative of people's opposition to religious laws. Additionally, he perceives Iranians' adherence to cleanliness and bathing negatively and criticizes it. Since many Islamic rules emphasize purity through practices like ablution and ghusl (full-body ritual washing), du Mans, as a Christian, does not have a favorable view of this. Moreover, in France at that time, using perfume was more common than bathing, while washing one's face and body was considered a cause for illness.
 

Conclusion

In this work, a total of 47 images related to the cultural aspects of Iranian life were identified in du Mans’ travelogue. These images were categorized into 11 topics: household furnishings and architecture, foods, clothing, treatment of servants, popular sports and games, Nowruz ceremonies, writing and language, books, schools, addictions, and health conditions. Among these, there are 32 negative images, 8 positive images, and 7 neutral images, indicating a predominance of negative views in du Mans’s judgments on this matter.
Based on du Mans’ evaluative perspective on the cultural images of Iranians during the Safavid period, the following characteristics can be identified: 1) His superior view as a European towards Easterners. His descriptions of homes, dining practices, Iranian schools, and the leisure activities of Iranians are consistently accompanied by comparisons to the norms in France, which he considers superior. This is because, in his mind, the European model of anything is deemed the standard against which other phenomena are measured. This subjective quality is what Edward Said refers to in his studies on Orientalism. This trait leads to an exaggerated and sometimes mocking tone in his descriptions of various aspects of Iranian life. 2) The predominance of religious biases and anti-Islam sentiments that influence his descriptions of schools and certain Iranian customs with religious roots. Religion was a significant motivation for him during this mission and occupied a large part of his life. He became a Capuchin monk in his youth and then traveled to Iran to promote what he believed was the true faith. However, like other missionaries, he found little success not only among Muslims but even among Armenians. This failure in promoting his faith made him disdainful of followers of other religions. Additionally, one must consider the anti-Islamic propaganda prevalent among European clergy in the seventeenth century. 3) The predominance of political and colonial perspectives over religious goals. One of the policies adopted by Colbert, minister to Louis XIV in the seventeenth century, was the revival of trade with the East, and sending missionaries to the East was part of this policy. The East was a realm for the French where they had to compete with other colonizers and sought to claim it. du Mans wrote this book to describe the situation in Iran for France so that they could plan their political-economic strategies to advance their colonial objectives in this country. Comparing this book with those of other travelers, such as Pacifique de Provins, strengthens this notion. For example, Pacifique de Provins, who traveled to Iran in the late 1620s with the aim of opening relations with the country, presents much more positive and pleasant images than du Mans. In conclusion, it was found that over 75% of the images du Mans presents regarding the cultural life of Iranians are negative images. This negative perception of Iranians may stem from his particular temperament, his preconceptions as a Christian, and the objectives of his journey. His travel goals were both missionary and politically colonial, which led him to view the people of Iran as "others" who were inferior and in opposition to himself.