extraction.persian.persian_literature_volume_1.zal_alberz_simurgh_feather
---
record_id: extraction.persian.persian_literature_volume_1.zal_alberz_simurgh_feather
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
passage_locator:
label: Zal, the son of Sam; exposure on Alberz, Simurgh fosterage, and return
start: 2430
end: 2519
translation: James Atkinson, Shah Nameh in Persian Literature, Volume 1
notes: Line numbers refer to the repository markdown source.
canonical_text:
summary: Public scorn over Zal's white hair leads Sam to expose the infant on Mount
Alberz, where the Simurgh pities and rears him. Dreams then rebuke Sam into repentance,
and the bird restores Zal with a feather that can summon rescue in future danger.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Sam abandons the infant Zal on Mount Alberz because public mockery treats
the child's white hair as monstrous and inauspicious.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Simurgh finds the crying child on the hard rock and carries him to its
own habitation instead of devouring him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A supernatural voice tells the Simurgh to foster the mortal because a world
champion will spring from his line.
category: prophecy
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Simurgh's young also show kindness to Zal while he is nourished and protected
for several years.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Sam dreams twice, learns that Zal lives, and hears rebuke that white hair
is a gift from Heaven rather than a crime.
category: dream
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Sam climbs Alberz, prays for forgiveness, and asks for his injured son to
be restored to his sight.
category: prayer
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Before parting, the Simurgh says it has named Zal Dustn, taught him language
and understanding, and must now restore him to Sam.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The Simurgh gives Zal a feather to burn in danger and then carries him back
to his father.
category: gift
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Zal (Zl)
description: White-haired child exposed on Alberz, fostered by the Simurgh, and
restored to his human lineage with a rescue token.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Sam (Sm)
description: Father who abandons Zal under social pressure, repents through dream-rebuke,
and receives him back.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Simurgh (Smrgh)
description: Wondrous mountain bird that rescues, nourishes, educates, and later
restores Zal.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: exposed_child
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Zal is abandoned on Alberz because his unusual white hair is treated as a
bad omen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: returned_chosen_child
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Zal is restored from mountain fosterage and presented as worthy of throne
and diadem.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: penitent_father
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Sam repents after dream rebuke, prays on Alberz, and receives the son he
had exposed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: wonder_bird_fosterer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Simurgh rescues the infant, shelters him in its dwelling, and rears him
for years.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: rescue_token_giver
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Simurgh leaves Zal a wing-feather whose burning will summon its aid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Mount Alberz
literal_form: mountain where Zal is exposed, fostered, sought, and recovered
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- cosmic_mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: white hair
literal_form: Zal's silvery or white hair, treated as a fearful sign by the people
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: rescue feather
literal_form: feather from the Simurgh's wing to be burned whenever danger comes
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Exposure on Alberz and bird fosterage
summary: Sam leaves Zal on Alberz, but the Simurgh pities the exposed child, carries
him to its mountain dwelling, and receives divine sanction to foster him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Dream rebuke and mountain repentance
summary: Sam learns through dreams that Zal lives, is rebuked for despising white
hair, and ascends Alberz in prayer for restoration.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Feather gift and reunion
summary: The Simurgh comforts Zal, gives him a summonable feather, and returns him
to Sam as a child marked for future greatness.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: exposed_child_protected_by_wonder_bird
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
- divine_parent_child
basis: A child marked by an unusual bodily sign is rejected by humans but rescued
and nourished by a powerful nonhuman fosterer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy has no direct key for bird fosterage, and the protector is
a wonder bird rather than a named deity or human parent.
- id: motif:2
label: mountain_fosterage_and_return
taxonomy_refs:
- cosmic_mountain
- departure
- return
basis: Zal is left on Alberz, raised in the mountain refuge, and returned from it
with changed status and future promise.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: Alberz is a concrete epic mountain, so the cosmic-mountain tag is functional
rather than doctrinal.
- id: motif:3
label: rescue_feather_token
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The Simurgh leaves a feather that materializes an ongoing bond and can call
down aid at moments of danger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy lacks a dedicated token-of-aid key, so sacred_exchange is
used only for the continuing reciprocal bond.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: This passage is a strong Persian witness for an exposed-child pattern in
which a threatened infant survives through nonhuman fosterage and later reenters
human lineage.
claim_level: same_function
target: cross-cultural exposed child and animal-fosterage records
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
confidence: medium
limitations: The parallel is functional only and does not imply direct historical
borrowing or identical symbolic framing.
- id: claim:2
claim: The feather can be compared with guardian-token motifs where a departing
protector leaves a material sign that can summon aid in crisis.
claim_level: same_function
target: cross-cultural helper token and summoning-sign records
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
limitations: The aid depends on the Simurgh's personal promise, not on an impersonal
magic system.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2430-2438
quote_or_summary: Sam leaves the mocked child on Alberz, but the Simurgh pities
him on the rock and carries him to its own habitation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 2444-2453
quote_or_summary: '"To thee this mortal I resign, / Protected by the power divine."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2455-2456
quote_or_summary: The Simurgh's young are also kind to the infant, who is nourished
and protected for several years.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2461-2483
quote_or_summary: Sam's dreams and their interpreters reveal that Zal still lives,
and the dream rebuke insists that white hair is no crime against Heaven.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2485-2492
quote_or_summary: Sam goes to Alberz in person, weeps and prays for forgiveness,
and asks for the forsaken child to be restored to him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2494-2506
quote_or_summary: The Simurgh tells Zal it has nursed him, named him Dustn, taught
him language and understanding, and now must return him to Sam.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2506-2519
quote_or_summary: The Simurgh gives Zal a feather to burn whenever danger comes,
then presents him to Sam as worthy of throne and diadem.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Exposure, fosterage, dream rebuke, reunion, and the rescue feather are explicit;
broader typological parallels remain interpretive.
reviewer_status:
status: draft
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Needs review for name normalization and the functional use of cosmic-mountain
and sacred-exchange tags.
extracted_by: Codex
extracted_at: '2026-04-27'
notes: Worker B extraction focused on exposed-child rescue, wonder-bird fosterage,
and the Simurgh's rescue feather.