The Cultural and Traditional Symbols of Saqatalars in Mazandaran-Iran

Art is the expression of thoughts, beliefs and opinions, customs and in brief it is the culture of people and a nation during any era which comes from the worldview of that people and nation. Symbol as one aspect of the art is a visible sign of an invisible reality. The main nature of a symbol is dynamism and transcendence and simply, everything is a symbol if it is the sign and manifestation of other meanings beyond what it looks. Actually, a symbol is an indication which embodies something that is absent and impalpable and makes an unlimited concept visible and accessible by using elements of the nature. Getting the meaning of all symbols is not simple. Some symbols have ambiguous contexts and they can be analyzed and defined by trying and thinking. Therefore, valuable information about the beliefs, cultures, customs and beliefs of a nation can be attained after checking symbols. Symbol is used for a long time according to obtained painted pottery in silk in Iran and also afterwards and many spiritual meanings are offered in decorative roles based on aesthetic principles of identification and observing elegance in Islamic era. Some symbols have changed in meaning and image and some have continued to exist without any changing in meaning and image over time. According to the extension of the symbol subject in a country with a historical records like Iran, the present study has been restricted to some signs of paintings of the Saqatalar* roofs of Qajar that some used symbols in them are related to human being and some other are related to nature and semantic or external changing that some symbols have been considered them are mentioned alongside.

symbol, Saqatalar, aesthetic