Namaeh Farhangistan

Namaeh Farhangistan

About »Drinking wine or something from someone’s skull«

Document Type : Original Article

Author
PhD in Persian Language and Literature, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/nf.2025.352342.1233
Abstract
Some idiomatic expressions have historical roots and become proverbial following specific events; among them is the expression »to drink wine, blood, or water from someone ’s skull«. In connection with the ancient practice of using animal bones to make everyday tools, historical sources from both Arab and Iranian traditions record the cruelty and hard-heartedness of certain rulers and warriors who used the skulls of their enemies as vessels for drinking. This article examines these accounts and demonstrates-on the basis of historical evidence-how this practice developed into an idiomatic expression in the Persian language and came to be used in literary and historical texts.
However, the sources also present another image, derived from Khayyām’s thought, in which the human skull turns into earth from which a »jug« or a »goblet« is made. In this study, poetic evidence is cited and analyzed in chronological order. According to the available evidence, the first poet to employ this idiom was Khāqāni Sharvāni. The findings of the article emphasize the need to investigate the historical roots of other Persian idiomatic expressions.
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Volume 24, Issue 4 - Serial Number 98
September and October 2025
Pages 69-82

  • Receive Date 14 January 2023
  • Revise Date 29 January 2023
  • Accept Date 04 April 2023