The Truth Is in The Rhyme

June 20, 2013

3 min read

Political chants, like quatrain poems, can present a biting message subliminally and ambiguously. This was on display once again in Iran as people crowded public spaces and chanted in celebration, first for the election of Hassan Rouhani, and then for the national football team qualifying to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Much has been said about why so many Iranians turned out to vote for Rouhani, but an overview of what they were chanting across Iran’s cities can perhaps offer the clearest view of all.

A quick note on language: all of these chants rhyme ingeniously in Persian, and are stripped of their wit and sharp playfulness in translation. The nimbleness with which Iranians produce rhymes to express complex political thoughts originates in centrality of poetry in Iran’s literary culture. Some Iranians consulted their volumes of Hafez the night before the election, opening to a random page to see what the poet foretold, a tradition known as fal-e Hafez.

Many of the chants heard across Iran on Saturday and Sunday nights reflected relief at Rouhani’s victory, and directed anger at the status quo and its symbols, President Ahmadinejad and Saeed Jalili. One particularly popular chant, charming in its Persian rhyme, went: “For no apparent reason, Damn you [Saeed] Jalili”. Also popular were: “Ahmadi, Ahmadi, go and never come back”,“Rouhani bring your key, turn the Basij in and out”, and “No to Jalili or Qalibaf”.

Most interestingly the scars of 2009 and the lingering appeal of the Green movement’s vision were both highly present in the chants. In response to Ahmadinejad calling protestors in 2009 dust and dirt that could be swept away, the people chanted, “You are the dust and dirt, you are the enemy of this country!” In memory of Neda Agha Soltan: “Tonight is a night of celebration, Neda is missed”

Poignantly, many chants reflected a wish to subsume Rouhani into the Green movement’s mantle and a clear attachment to the movement’s original leaders: ““Hassan [Rouhani] is Hossein [Mousavi], Our Love is Mir Hossein”, Hassan [Rouhani] the key builder has come with affection, the government of sadness has ended”, “Mousavi and Karroubi must be freed”, and Hassan [Rouhani] show us your key, and open up Evin [Prison]!” There was some surprise at the unexpected double turn of good news: “Following the footsteps of Rouhani, We are going to the World Cup!”

It was noteworthy that, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was spared the threatening slogans that were directed at him in 2009. This time, people chanted in gratitude, “Dictator, dictator, thank you, thank you!”

Iranians also seized the moment to express their thoughts on issues of wider concern beyond, from the Islamic Republic’s involvement in Syria to women’s rights. One chant, criticizing the exclusion of women at football stadiums, went: “The stadium is great, but the women are missed!” Another, “Forget about Syria, think about us!”

Jamshid Barzegar, a senior analyst and editor at BBC Persian who collected and posted nearly a 100 chants on his Facebook page, said their wide range of expectations and demands reflect a division amongst Iranians as to how to respond to Rouhani’s victory. “One group is more cautious, and says we must careful and not say or do things that prompt them to shut us down again,” he says. “The other believes that we voted for precisely such demands, for the freedom of the Green leaders and political prisoners. That if we don’t make the demands today when we have momentum, tomorrow it will become impossible.”

Another smattering of chants amongst the many heard across Iran: