Haji firouz

Haji Firuz (Persian: حاجی فیروز‎‎ – Hāji Firuz) or Khwaja Piruz (خواجه پیروز – Xwāje Piruz), also spelled Hajji Firuz, is a fictional character in Iranian folklore who appears in the streets by the beginning of Nowruz. His face is covered in soot, and he is clad in bright red clothes and a felt hat. He dances through the streets while singing and playing a tambourine.

The actual origin and meaning of the term Haji Firuz is obscure. However, it is comprehensibly a term used after the Arab conquest of Iran, as many Iranian words and titles were transformed by the Arabic language.

Haji, as written with the eighth letter of Perso-Arabic alphabet (حاجى), has a meaning unrelated to that of the word Hajji; it is a form of address, much like using sir to address a person in English, without the person being a knight. As written with the penultimate letter of the Perso-Arabic alphabet (هاجی), it derives from the word heja (هجاء), meaning 'satire'.Firuz is the Arabized version of the Persian word piruz, meaning 'victor'.

Khwaje Piruz is the other version of the term, which consists of the word khwaje, identified as an Iranian title meaning 'master', and the non-Arabized piruz.

In the traditional songs, he introduces himself as a serf trying to cheer people whom he refers to as his lords. As a black-faced serf, he is a controversial character, seen as symbolically racist. Therefore, half of his face is sometimes painted white in order to avoid the criticisms.

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