Bibi Fotima
Pamiri · mortal · Pamiri traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Bibi Fotima, the daughter of the Prophet and wife of Ali, is the great feminine figure of the Panjtan and the patroness of women, childbirth, the hearth and the spindle. Her name governs the women's rite called Bibi Fotima and is invoked over spinners and over brides. In the cosmology of the house she is the Kitsor pillar, diagonally opposite the door, the bride's seat of honour; her attributes of the red dress, bangles and rings openly recall the ancient Iranian goddess Anahita, lady of the waters and of fertility, whose cult the Pamiri house is understood to preserve beneath Fatima's name.
Parentage
- parent: MuhammadDaughter of the Prophet.Bobrinskoy, A. A. (1908). Gortsy verkhov'ev Piandzha, on the Panjtan. (secondary)
Children
Domains
- women and childbirth
- spinning and women's work
- sacred waters fertility
Powers
- guard women in childbirth and at the hearth
- bless the spindle and the spinner's hand
Relations
- parent: MuhammadDaughter of the Prophet.Bobrinskoy, A. A. (1908). Gortsy verkhov'ev Piandzha, on the Panjtan. (secondary)
- spouse: AliWife of Ali.Bobrinskoy, A. A. (1908). Gortsy verkhov'ev Piandzha. (secondary)
- child: HasanMother of Hasan.Bobrinskoy, A. A. (1908). Gortsy verkhov'ev Piandzha. (secondary)
- child: HusaynMother of Husayn.Bobrinskoy, A. A. (1908). Gortsy verkhov'ev Piandzha. (secondary)
Sources
- Bibi Fotima, daughter of the Prophet and wife of Ali, is the Pamiri patroness of women, childbirth and spinning, and in the symbolism of the house her red-clad pillar is identified with the ancient goddess Anahita.: Basilov, V. N. (1970). Kul't svyatykh v islame. (secondary); Andreev, M. S. (1953–1958). Tadzhiki doliny Khuf. (secondary)