The Conference of the Birds or Speech of the Birds (Persian: ???? ??????, Man?iq-u?-?ayr, also known as ?????? ?????? Maq?m?t-u?-?uy?r; 1177), is a celebrated literary masterpiece of Persian literature by poet Farid ud-Din Attar, commonly known as Attar of Nishapur.
In the poem, the birds of the world gather to decide who is to be their sovereign, as they have none. The hoopoe, the wisest of them all, suggests that they should find the legendary Simorgh. The hoopoe leads the birds, each of whom represent a human fault which prevents human kind from attaining enlightenment.
The hoopoe tells the birds that they have to cross seven valleys in order to reach the abode of Simorgh. These valleys are as follows:
- 1. Valley of the Quest, where the Wayfarer begins by casting aside all dogma, belief, and unbelief.
- 2. Valley of Love, where reason is abandoned for the sake of love.
- 3. Valley of Knowledge, where worldly knowledge becomes utterly useless.
- 4. Valley of Detachment, where all desires and attachments to the world are given up. Here, what is assumed to be "reality" vanishes.
- 5. Valley of Unity, where the Wayfarer realizes that everything is connected and that the Beloved is beyond everything, including harmony, multiplicity, and eternity.
- 6. Valley of Wonderment, where, entranced by the beauty of the Beloved, the Wayfarer becomes perplexed and, steeped in awe, finds that he or she has never known or understood anything.
- 7. Valley of Poverty and Annihilation, where the self disappears into the universe and the Wayfarer becomes timeless, existing in both the past and the future.
"When the birds hear the description of these valleys, they bow their heads in distress; some even die of fright right then and there. But despite their trepidations, they begin the great journey. On the way, many perish of thirst, heat or illness, while others fall prey to wild beasts, panic, and violence. Finally, only thirty birds make it to the abode of Simorgh. In the end, the birds learn that they themselves are the Simorgh; the name "Simorgh" in Persian means thirty (si) birds (morgh). They eventually come to understand that the majesty of that Beloved is like the sun that can be seen reflected in a mirror. Yet, whoever looks into that mirror will also behold his or her own image."
- If Simorgh unveils its face to you, you will find
- that all the birds, be they thirty or forty or more,
- are but the shadows cast by that unveiling.
- What shadow is ever separated from its maker?
- Do you see?
- The shadow and its maker are one and the same,
- so get over surfaces and delve into mysteries.
Attar's masterful use of symbolism is a key, driving component of the poem. This adroit handling of symbolisms and allusions can be seen reflected in these lines:
It was in China, late one moonless night, The Simorgh first appeared to mortal sight - Beside the symbolic use of the Simorgh, the allusion to China is also very significant. According to Idries Shah, China as used here, is not the geographical China, but the symbol of mystic experience, as inferred from the Hadith (declared weak by Ibn Adee, but still used symbolically by some Sufis): "Seek knowledge; even as far as China".[5] There are many more examples of such subtle symbols and allusions throughout the Mantiq. Within the larger context of the story of the journey of the birds, Attar masterfully tells the reader many didactic short, sweet stories in captivating poetic style. The book is meant to be not only instructive but also entertaining.
Video The Conference of the Birds
English translations
- "The Conference of the Birds" translated by Sholeh Wolpé, W. W. Norton & Co 2017
- "The Conference of the Birds" translated by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis, Penguine Classics 1984, re-edited as "The Canticle of the Birds", Diane de Sellier Éditeur 2013
Maps The Conference of the Birds
La Conférence des oiseaux
Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carrière adapted the poem into a play titled La Conférence des oiseaux (The Conference of the Birds), which they published in 1979. Brook toured the play around rural Africa before presenting two extremely successful productions to Western audiences--one in New York City at La MaMa, E.T.C. and one in Paris.
Illustrations
Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Folio from an illustrated manuscript dated c.1600. Paintings by Habiballah of Sava (active ca. 1590-1610), in ink, opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper, dimensions 25,4 x 11,4 cm.
See also
- Language of the birds
- Panentheism
- Parlement of Foules
- Persian literature
- The Approach to Al-Mu'tasim
- The Seven Valleys (Bahá'í)
References
Sources
- Attar, Conference of the Birds, translated by Sholeh Wolpé, W. W. Norton & Co 2017, ISBN 978-0-393-29218-3
- Attar, Harvey & Masani, Conference of the Birds: A Seeker's Journey to God, Weiser Books, 2001, ISBN 1-57863-246-3
- Farid Ud-Din-Attar, The Conference of The Birds - Mantiq Ut-Tair, English Translation by Charles Stanley Nott, First published 1954 by The Janus Press, London, Reissued by Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd, 1961, ISBN 0-7100-1032-X
- Fariduddin Attar in Great POets of Classical Persian" by R M Chopra, 2014, Sparrow Publication, Kolkata, ISBN 978-81-89140-75-5.
External links
- The Conference of the Birds, translated by Sholeh Wolpe, W. W. Norton & Co 2017
- Bird Parliament Fitzgerald translation, at archive.org.
- Selection of Attar and related poets' poetry
- Simurgh: A modern musical rendering of Attar's allegorical tale
- The Conference of the Birds, available from the Packard Humanities Institute
- Abridged Edward FitzGerald translation of Attar's Conference of the Birds
- Conference of the Birds, an opera by Johan Othman and libretto by William Radice
- Persian text of the Conference of Birds, with recitation in Persian by members of the Chamekhan Group.
- Presentation of The Canticle of the Birds, Diane de Sellier Éditeur, 2013
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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