Analytical study of the function of Mazandaran Saqanefars based on themes of decorations with an educational literature approach

Throughout history, Didactic Literature has had a wide-ranging function and has dealt with ethics, religion, mysticism, consultation, politics, wisdom and more. The content of this literary genre has generally been created tailored to the social conditions, individual identity and creative abilities of the author. In the history of Iranian literature, there are so many brilliant examples of educational literature in the form of poetry and prose. "Qaboos Nameh" by Unsur al-Maali Kaykavus ibn Iskandar ibn Qabus, "Bustan" and "Golestan" by Saadi and "Masnavi Manavi" by Rumi are among the leading examples of educational literature. "Saqanefar" is a native and religious wooden structure in Mazandaran that was built with the influence of social and political developments of the late Safavid and Qajar periods. The original type of this wood structure was built in fields or adjacent to residential buildings to protect crops and in the process of becoming a religious and educational structure, it has undergone changes that gave it new meaning and function. Due to the weather conditions in Mazandaran, there are not many examples of the use of decorative forms in various independent art disciplines and architectural decorations. So, what has made the "Saqanefars" famous is not their wooden structure, but the motifs used to decorate them have attracted the attention of researchers. The Decorative motifs have been painted on thin wooden boards using a brush and using natural colors and have been installed under the ceiling. The wooden pillars of the structure have also been used as a surface for decoration. In this study, the decorations have been looked as visual texts that artists and founders have used them to convey their intended meanings. The aim of the present research is to scrutinize the basis for the formation, the objective of the production and the audience of the Saqanefars in order to identify the reason for their construction. This research questions the extent to which religious and non-religious designs are related to, and connected with the didactic teachings. The research hypothesis is that the main purpose of the creators of Saqanefars was to establish a didactic construction with the objective of conveying moral and ethical teachings, thus the ornamentations had been selected, implemented and executed with regard to a didactic/educational approach. The method of this research is descriptive-analytical and the function of the motifs has been analyzed based on their content. Data was collected by library research method. The Saqanefars studied in this study are Armij Kola in Babil, Ahangar Kolai in Ghaemshahr, Espi Kola in Babolsar, Shahidabad (Baei Kolai) Western Bandpey in Babol, Taligaran Lalehabad in Babol, Jazin in Imamzadeh Abdullah Fereydoonkenar, Hamzeh Kola Shesh Pol in Babel, Khoshkrud Rudbast in Babolsar, Ramenet in Babol, Sharmeh Kola Rudbast Babolsar, Shiyadeh Western Bandapi in Babol, Aliabad in Babolsar, Aliabad Sorkhrud in Mahmoudabad, Foolad Kola Rudbast Babolsar, Valik Rudposht in Rudbast in Babolsar, Quran Talar in Babolkenar in Babol, Navaei Mahale in Babolsar, Navaei Kola in Lalehabad in Babol, Kardgarkola  in Rudbast in Babolsar and Kija in Hamzeh Kola in Babol. The results show that, depending on the subject, the decorations fall into two religious and non-religious groups with the same or different contents. The analysis of the extracted statistics shows that religious issues are used more quantitatively than non-religious ones. The common contents used are respectively "Courage", "Fairness", "Jihad and Martyrdom or Fighting Cruelty" and "Justice" all of which are educational. The proportion of use of "common contents" in non-religious decorations is more than religious ones. On this basis, it seems that the basic cause of the formation and the most extensive general function of Saqanefars were their educational aspect and artists have expressed selected doctrines using a variety of religious and historical narratives. This approach seems to have been influenced by the social, political, religious, and climatic conditions of the formation period, and topics and themes have been selected to suit the needs of the time. Examination of field reports showed that according to the traditions of the region and according to the content of the decorations used, the audiences of these works were young boys and men, which confirms the above-mentioned opinion. Other religious and ritual usages of decorations have found meaning in the shadow of the educational function. Saqanefar is a valuable masterpiece of indigenous architecture and Shiite art that has almost unlimited capabilities for educational, religious and cultural functions and has significant historical, social and cultural values. In addition, this structure makes it possible to study the formation and re-creation of the moral values in a new structure based on the original and native Iranian architecture.