In the Persian epic of Shahnameh Div-e Sepid (Lit.White Demon) is the chieftain of Divs (Persian for Demons) of Mazandaran. He is a huge being. He possesses great physical strength and is skilled in sorcery and necromancy. He destroys the army of Key Kavus by conjuring a dark storm of hail, boulders, and tree trunks using his magical skills. He then captures Kay Kavus, his commanders, and paladins; blinds them, and imprisons them in a dungeon. The greatest Persian mythical hero Rostam undertakes his "Seven Labors" to free his sovereign. At the end, Rostam slays Div-e Sepid and uses his heart and blood to cure the blindness of the king and the captured Persian heroes. Rostam also takes the Div's head as a helmet and is often pictured wearing it.[1]
It is written by the Royal Central Asian Society in the Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society that the struggle between Rustam and the white demon represents a struggle between Persians and invaders from the north, from the Caspian provinces.[2]
The Div Sefid is believed by scholar Joseph J. Reed to have been a northern prince.[3] The scholar Warner believes that he is a personification of the Mazandaranians, who by their climate are an unhealthy pale color.[4] Some scholars hold the opinion that these divs of Mazandaran are merely wild people of the jungle.[5] Others are in the opinion that they are a group of enemy kings of ancient Mazandaran (which might have been different from its modern location) and Tabaristan.[6] It is theorized by the Folklore Society (Great Britain) that Ahriman himself was believed as having white skin.[7] Scholar P. Molesworth Sykes believes that the name "White Div" represents a white nation.[8]
According to one source Zal spoke of the horrid race of white-skinned people.[9] This however contradicts with the fact that Zal was an albino himself [10]