Representations of Cow in Different Social, Cultural, Religious and Literary Contexts in Persia and the World

Abstract

The present paper aims to demonstrate the special status that belongs to cow_ as a sacred creature_ in different cultural contexts. In this regard, the author analyzes the ancients’ beliefs and rituals in different parts of the world to indicate that cow as a symbol of fertility and productivity has always been revered. Studies of religions, in the same vein, attest to the mentioned symbolic outlook towards this animal as scriptures abound with the figure of cow. Hinduism, for instance, attaches a great significance to cows. Mythology as a representation of folk beliefs and literature is an effective means to comprehend how cow is seen by the people of each society. Cow, interestingly, affects political and economic acts which are passed in parliaments. The study should be reckoned as comparative where Iran _the author’s country_ is at the center of this social and religious analysis.

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