Time to Abandon Haji Firouz’s Blackface

March 7, 2021–

By: Nazila Fathi

Nowruz is approaching and Haji Firouz, the legendary character who spreads joy before the Persian new year,  will once again hit the streets.

There is one problem: his blackface.

Haji Firouz is a folk character who heralds spring and the Persian new year. Men, and even women in recent years, dress up as him by painting their faces with soot and wearing bright red clothing. They dance in the streets of Iran, singing joyous songs and playing a tambourine or drum in the hope that they will receive some coins for providing entertainment.

Outside Iran, Iranian communities have not shied away from blackface Haji Firouz . In Canada, stores sell decorative figures and, in Europe, Iranian communities post pictures of their Haji Firouz on their websites.

However, inspired by the Black Lives Matter Movement, many are saying that blackface is a sign of racism. Inside and outside Iran, people are calling it a blatant sign of white supremacy.

“If we are truly in a globalized world, goes the counter-argument, we should disband traditions that reinforce implicit hierarchies and biases, and that get fed so easily to children,” wrote Abbas Jamali, a New York-based Iranian designer.

Morteza Moshtaghi, a theatre director in Iran, said it was time to forget about Haji Firouz altogether.

Haji Firouz’s Black Face

Some prominent scholars argue that Haji Firouz is based on the legend of Siavash in the Shahnameh, the Book of Kings. He symbolizes the rebirth of the Sumerian god of sacrifice, Domuzi, who was killed at the end of each year and is reborn at the beginning of the new year. The most common explanation for Haji Firouz’s blackened face is that it symbolizes the god’s return from the world of the dead, while his red clothing is a sign of Siavash’s red blood and the coming back to life of the sacrificed deity. His joviality is a reminder of nature’s awakening and the coming of spring.

However, some historians and scholars have offered other explanations for his blackface. They say that Haji Firouz goes back to the days of Zoroastrian Persia, when the priests sent the red-dressed ”firekeepers” of the Zoroastrian temples on the last Tuesday of the year to spread the news of the arrival of spring and  Nowruz. The firekeeper’s second duty was to call on the people to burn their old items.

The fire keepers’ faces were black from the soot of the holy fire, according to this narrative.

But Haji Firouz has other names too: Haji Pirouz. Haji is a title given to a person who has gone on pilgrimage to the Arabian Peninsula, or the country we call Saudi Arabia today. Islam emerged 1400 years ago, and it is unlikely that Muslims were fire-keepers in Zoroastrian temples.

So, where does the name Haji Pirouz come from?

Anti-Arab Sentiment

Another narrative claims that the origins of Haji Firouz go back to the Persians’ anti-Arab sentiment following the fall of the Persian Empire.

Fifteen years after the Arabs ruled Persia, the successor of Prophet Mohammad, Omar, who had invaded Persia, was killed in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Persians condemned him for invading Persia and the death of many people. Thus, they proclaimed his assassin, a Persian slave named Pirouz Nahavandi, a national hero.

According to Abolhassan Zarinkoub, a prominent Iranian scholar, the name “Haji Pirouz” was first used in the days following the death of Omar. They gave Nahavandi the title Haji because he had gone to the Arabian Peninsula. There is no letter P in the Arabic and so “Pirouz” gradually became “Firouz.” He wears a red outfit because the Persians were still at war with the Arabs and red was the color of war in Persia.

“Pirouz” also means victory in Persian.

However, this explanation does not explain Haji Firouz’s coal-black face nor shed light on the lyrics of his music.

A Reference to Black Slaves

Haji Firouz spreads cheer with a lyric that appears to be a conversation with his owner:

My master, raise your head high

My master, look at yourself

My master, the billy-goat

My master, why don’t you laugh?

While one can argue that Haji Firouz is talking to the Arab rulers of the time, his blackened face is a reminder of Iran’s shameful slave history.

The majority of Afro-Iranians came to Iran during the ninth century, when Afro-Arab merchants dominated the Indian Ocean slave trade between East Africa and the Middle East. The presence of African slaves was widespread throughout the Middle East and virtually every country bordering the Persian Gulf has a legacy of slavery and African population, like the Afro-Iraqis, Afro-Pakistanis, Afro-Kuwaitis, Afro-Omanis, and Afro-Saudis.

Slavery persisted as a legal practice in Iran until 1929, when parliament introduced a bill that granted slaves freedom and declared them equal to all other Iranians. Many Afro-Iranians settled in southern regions bordering the Persian Gulf after their emancipation and assimilated into the local culture (Census records do not adequately report the numbers of Afro-Iranians, and statistical information on their communities is largely unavailable).

Akhavan Sales, a prominent poet, called Haji Firouz  a reminder “of a hateful barbaric era” many years ago.

An Ancient Tradition

Nowruz, known as the Persian new year, is one of the most ancient celebrations in history. It has been celebrated for over 4000 years. Nowruz is a holiday for millions of people from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, who usher in the new year on the spring equinox, which occurs on March 20 or 21 every year.

Nowruz is still the most important celebration for Iranians, as well as for some 300 million people in the neighboring countries from different ethnic and religious backgrounds that were once part of the Persian Empire.

While the physical region called Persia no longer exists, the traditions of Nowruz are strong among people in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Canada, and the United States.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 21 International Nowruz Day in 2020 and UNESCO  listed Nowruz as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

In ancient times, Persian kings invited people from around the empire to the royal court to celebrate Nowruz and to bring gifts.

Over time Nowruz has become the embodiment and essence of the Iranian culture. It is not just a celebration of the new year; it is the symbol that proclaims that the people who lived in these regions have not given up their ancient traditions.

Nowruz signifies opposition to foreign invaders too, having survived the Greek, Arab, and Mongol invasions.

In the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the appearance of Haji Firouz , singing and dancing in the streets, was among the early signs of opposition to the Islamic rulers who deemed Nowruz to be a pagan celebration.

Some parts of traditions have changed in different parts and evolved throughout the years in different parts of the world. Haji Firouz might be one of them.

All Cultures change over time and get rid of traditions that are no longer considered appropriate.

We live in a world where information spreads fast and far on social media. It is embarrassing to celebrate an ancient tradition with a symbol that is considered insulting and dehumanizing in many parts of the world.

Haji Firouz is not an inseparable part of Nowruz traditions. If it must be part of the celebrations, it is time to  abandon blackface.