TEHRAN - Semnan province, with its ancient history and remarkable cultural heritage, is home to a rich collection of Iran’s oral traditions, customs, traditional arts and local narratives.
These intangible cultural treasures, passed down through generations, reflect the historical identity and way of life of its people. Documenting and preserving them is essential to ensuring that the province’s cultural legacy remains alive for future generations.
In a note, Fatemeh-Zahra Haghighi, a tourism lecturer and PhD student at Semnan University, highlights the importance of oral heritage as a means of connecting younger generations with their ancestors and understanding the historical and cultural roots of their homeland, Miras Aria reported on Monday.
Semnan’s historical significance is evident in its numerous archaeological and architectural landmarks, including Tarikhaneh Mosque in Damghan, the Mirak, and Hissar archaeological mounds, and the thousand-year-old Seljuk-era minaret in Semnan. These monuments demonstrate the province’s longstanding role in Iran’s history. However, Haghighi emphasizes that preserving historical structures alone is insufficient. Traditional lifestyles, clothing, crafts, customs and personal accounts of the past must also be documented.
One effective approach is conducting oral history interviews with elderly residents, traditional artisans, master craftsmen, local researchers and cultural heritage practitioners. With their consent, interviews should be recorded in audio or video formats, carefully transcribed, classified and preserved in accessible archives. Cooperation with village councils, local associations, universities and cultural heritage activists can help identify individuals whose knowledge and memories represent valuable links to the past.
The province’s linguistic diversity is another important aspect of its cultural identity. Often described as a “sea of accents,” Semnan is characterized by a variety of languages and dialects, sometimes differing considerably between neighboring towns and villages.
For instance, distinct linguistic traditions can be heard in Semnan, Mahdishahr, historically known as Sangsar, and Shahmirzad. Similar variations exist across villages and districts, including Shahroud and Sorkheh. This diversity represents a valuable cultural resource that requires systematic documentation.
Recording everyday conversations, local vocabulary, proverbs, folk songs, stories and traditional expressions could help establish a comprehensive archive of the province’s linguistic heritage. Without such efforts, some dialects may gradually disappear as younger generations adopt more widely spoken languages.
Haghighi also stresses that preserving oral heritage is a collective responsibility. By documenting the memories and experiences of older generations, communities can strengthen their cultural identity and ensure that their traditions, knowledge and historical narratives continue to reach future generations.