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Preface
The purpose of this book is to present folktales in the Herati dialect of the Afghan Persian language of modern Afghanistan as spoken by the sedentary population of the region of Herat (Herat city and some adjacent districts) in the northwest part of modern Afghanistan. “Afghan Persian” is used to designate the Persian of Afghanistan, otherwise known as “Kabuli Persian (in the broader sense)” or “Dari.”
Linguistic, cultural, and ethnographic studies in the region of Herat are of great importance. For centuries, Herat was one of the main cultural centers of Khorasan province, which played a significant role in the development of the Persian classical language and literature. According to the reliable historic source the Târikh-i Sistân (The history of Sistan), it was in Herat that the first poetical piece in New Persian (Farsi) was composed. A great number of the most prominent Persian (Persian-speaking) poets, such as Ferdowsi, F. ‘Attâr, and Khayyâm, came from this province (Khorasan), while some of them, like Jâmi and Ansâri, were originally from the Herat area (their shrines are located in the city). The language of the Persian classical literature is deeply influenced by