Paris

Paris (pari, peri), a spirit, a character in mythology, folklore and written literature of the peoples of the Near and Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Volga region.

It goes back to the most ancient layers of the mythology of Iran, where it embodies exclusively negative qualities. Over time, the image of paris was reinterpreted and acquired positive properties.

In the Turkic–speaking mythology, folklore and written literature of the early Middle Ages, pari is a rather complex and contradictory character, embodying not only evil principles (in this capacity he is on a par with Ajdakh and diyu), but also good ones. It appears in female, less often in male form, in the images of an animal, a dove, a flame. Sometimes referred to as diyu-pari.

In Tatar fairy tales, tales and dastans, heroes endowed with extraordinary beauty and strength are considered to be born from the peerages. Sometimes they represent another world – an underwater kingdom. In some folklore works we are talking about the herds of Paris and the cities of Paris.

According to the ideas of the Barabinsk Tatars, paris is a sinister infernal force that rushes through the air, its touch can deprive a person of speech and hearing.

Peers can substitute for people, especially children.

Sometimes they appear as angels of beauty, heavenly maidens-houris (an interweaving of pagan and Muslim ideas).