Shahmaran: A Turkish Legendary Tale of Love and Betrayal I Never Knew
I have heard love stories about Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, and Rapunzel, but I never knew the story of Shahmaran in Turkish mythology.
I love hearing stories about movies and TV series while I try to relax. Two days ago, I listened to a story about the Turkish legend of Shahmaran, and I loved it. The name Shahmaran comes from the Persian word Shahmaran, which means Queen of Snakes.
I am sure you will like it and learn a lesson from it.
The Legend of Shahmaran
According a to legend in several cultures of the Middle East, especially in the Turkish region, Shahmaran is a mythical creature that is half woman and a half snake who lived in a beautiful garden underground. The legend tells how one day his friends left a young man alone in a cave, collecting honey. His name is Jamsab or Camsap in some cultures.
Camsap was scared and thought he would die alone in this cave, but he found a hole in the cave. Using a knife, he worked in the hole until it was big enough to go through, but; he ended up in a mysterious garden surrounded by snakes. Among the snakes, there was the supernatural creature Shahmaran. She introduced herself to him.
Shahmaran was beautiful, wise, intelligent, and kind. Soon Shahmaran and Camsab fell in love with each other. The two of them lived in the underground garden for a while, but after some days Camsab started missing his homeland and expressed his wish to go home.
Shahmaran agreed to Camsap leaves her kingdom, and in return, he promised he will never tell anyone about her existence.
Years later, the king of the city where Camsap lived got infected with a mysterious illness, and his assistant suggested he could only heal by eating the flesh of Shahmaran. No one knew Shahmaran existed for real.
But the assistant said if a man gets in contact with Shahmaran skin, scales appear on his skin. The King ordered all servants to get public baths to check scales, and scales started appearing on Camsap skin.
Soldiers force Camsap to reveal his secret. He tells the soldiers Shahmarans location. To their utter surprise, Shahmaran surrenders herself and tells them how to eat her flesh.
According to the fascinating version of the legend, she says he who eats her tail will have wisdom, and he who eats her head will die. According to this version of the Shahmaran mythical story, they divide her body into three parts.
King and his valuable assistant ate the head of Shahmaran in greed, trying to take advantage of her death, while Camsap ate the tail because he couldn't accept guilt, after betraying the promise he made to his love.
But to everybody's surprise, King and his assistant died and Camsap lived, gaining wisdom from the tail of Shahmaran. Camsap lives his life with the guilt of betraying his beloved Shahmaran.
The Meaning Behind Tale of Shahmaran
The story of Shahmaran shows how a man betrayed his connection with nature by causing the death of the supernatural creature he loved. It is a story of guilt and regret. According to legend, we can only redeem humanity if a man again falls in love with a half-snake creature. This time, destiny will have to be opposite, and the human will sacrifice for his love.
The story of Shahmaran teaches us about humanity, nature, and betrayal. As in the parallel definition of sin, humans betray nature and seek redemption from it their whole lives. Through human sacrifice, we can redeem our connection with nature and connection with the world.
The difference in Netflix Series Shahmaran
Shahmaran is also a television series produced by Turkish production Umur Tarugay. The series revolves around a fascinating mythical story, a human and snake Queen come in contact with the relationships of their past. The only difference here is Shahmarans Sister Lilith is seeking revenge for her sister's death.
Lilith Story in Turkish Mythology
Some of you may have heard the story of Lilith according to Jewish mythology. Before Eve, God created Lilith as a partner. But Lilith didn't prove a good partner to Adam. She refused to obey God's orders and wanted to live her life according to her own wishes and decisions. God punished Lilith for her actions and sent her to hell.
But the story of Lilith is different in Turkish mythology. In Turkish mythology, they know Lilith as Goddess Umay, protector of children and pregnant women.
Alkarisi
In some Turkish regions, people believe Lilith is Albis or Alkarisi. The story is like the Lullaby movie. Those who have seen the movie Lullaby will know that Lilith is dangerous for small children and pregnant women. She haunts pregnant women and small children. Her children, known as demons, also haunt human babies. In the movie, the child Lilith steals and takes to her land, never being found by her parents.
Alkarisi is an evil witch who wears a red dress. She is an ugly witch who lives in the mountains or in the woods, where she can easily hide in lakes and tree hollows.
Alkarisi haunts children and women who have given birth to babies. Her favorite food is babies' liver. That's why she kills newborn babies. The women who have given birth fear that entity.
Some people don't keep pets in their homes because they believe this entity can take the form of any animal. They believe that in many localities, iron is the best defense against Alkarisi, and the sacrifice of an animal can keep one safe from Alkarisi.
That's all for today.
I hope you have loved the story of Shahmaran.
Thanks for reading.
