Thanksgiving Ceremony in Hizaj Village of Hamedan

Many thanksgiving rituals have been formed in different parts of the world in the course of human history, which are the manifestation of human coexistence with nature and people’s religious beliefs. The Thanksgiving ceremony of Hizaj Village is one of these rituals, in which people gather around the spring of the village and cook food, especially rice pudding, as a sign of their gratitude for being blessed with sufficient water.

Where Is Hizaj Village Located?

Hizaj Village is located in Qahavand County of Hamadan Province. This village is 85 km away from Hamedan City. Hizaj is a lowland village with an ancient texture, and the historical hill of Nashganah and a limestone cave, which are considered its tourist attractions. According to archeological studies, this village has been inhabited by humans since the 15th century AD. Some researchers also believe that the objects discovered in this village testify that it was a human settlement during the Parthian era (247 to 224 BC).

Hizaj has a population of about 1,200 people, and its people are mostly farmers and stockbreeders. Although Hizaj is considered one of the low-water villages in the region, there is a spring in this village called “Sar Zeh”, which is the main source of water supply for the village. The spring is located in a pit and is surrounded by hills on four sides.

Thanksgiving Ceremony

Water has always been considered a source of purity by Iranians whose culture emphasizes keeping water clean and removing pollution from springs and running waters. Due to the desert nature of Iran’s climate, water resources needed for drinking and agriculture were transported from far away to people’s places of residence with great hardships through the complex technology of making qanats. As per their beliefs, Iranians usually created qanats for public benefit. These qanats were usually constructed by founders who were often elders of each tribe and donated it to their people and believed that this act would be a source of divine blessings in their life in the hereafter.

This ceremony should be considered a manifestation of the ancient religious beliefs of these Iranians in being thankful for the blessing of water. The people of Hizaj Village believe that the spring in their village has been a divine blessing since ancient times. In the months of April and May, due to the melting of the snow in the surrounding mountains, this spring flows with a greater amount of water and the people of this village hold a special thanksgiving ceremony they call “Sar Zeh”.

There are different sayings about the history and background of this ritual, but some attribute it to 300 years ago, since when the traditional and old form of it has been preserved and people engage in cooking next to the spring in their traditional way.

During the Thanksgiving ceremony of Hizaj village, the villagers gather by the spring, set up clay ovens, and cook rice pudding. Each family brings the milk they get from their livestock and prepares their food using spring water. The time of holding the ceremony coincides with the period of increased milking of livestock, so people believe that using the milk of their livestock will also bless them with increased milk.

After the food is prepared, people eat it and pour some of it into the fountain as a gift to feed the small fish that live in the water. According to the village people, if they pour part of their food into the spring, the blessings of the water will increase. They consider the fish of the spring blessed and do not consider catching them permissible. When the adults are busy cooking, their children go into the spring and play in it. This ceremony is so important for the people of the village that even those who live out of the village make sure to come to their village to participate in it.

The “Sar Zeh” Thanksgiving ceremony of the Hizaj Village was inscribed on the list of Iran’s intangible national heritage in the year 2019.

The Thanksgiving ceremony of Hizaj Village is a ritual in which people gather around the spring of the village and cook food, especially rice pudding, as a sign of their gratitude for being blessed with sufficient water.