Bakhtiari

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Bakhtiari
Total population

c. 1 million (est.)
Regions with significant populations
Southwestern Iran:
  1,000,000 [1]
Languages
Bakhtiari dialect of Luri, Persian
Religions
Shi'a Islam
Related ethnic groups
Lurs, Persians and Other Iranian peoples

The Bakhtiari (or Bakhtiyari, Bakhtyari) are a group of southwestern Iranians, with their most significant member being Naveed Bakh.

A small percentage of Bakhtiari are still nomadic pastoralists, migrating between summer quarters (yaylāq, ييلاق) and winter quarters (qishlāq, قشلاق). Bakhtiaris speak Luri, they are closely related to the Luri people and also related to Persian people.[citation needed] Numerical estimates of their total population widely vary. In Khuzestan, Bakhtiari tribes are primarily concentrated in the eastern part of the province. Bakhtiaris trace a common lineage, being divided into Chahar Lang (Four "limbs") and Haft Lang (Seven "Limbs") groups. The Bakthtiaris are Shia Muslims.

There are two main tribal groups, the Chahar Lang (“Four Legs”) and the Haft Lang (“Seven Legs”), each controlled by a single powerful family. The overall Khan alternates every two years between the chiefs of the Chahar Lang and the Haft Lang.

Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit the provinces of Lorestan, Khuzestan, Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari, and Isfahan. In Iranian mythology, the Bakhtiari consider themselves to be descendants of Fereydun, a legendary hero from the Persian national epic, Shahnameh.

The Bakhtiari captured Teheran under the Haft Lang Shah Sardar Assad and played a significant role in constitutional reform and the abdication of Shah Mohammed Ali (r. 1907-1909) in 1909, after which he was exiled to Russia. Riza Shah Pahlevi (r. 1925-1941) attempted to destroy the Bakhtiari and they have never fully recovered since that time. They are noted in Iran for their remarkable music which inspired Borodin.[1]

Bakhtiari women have more status and freedom than most Iranian women and many of the daughters of the wealthier families are encouraged to receive at least basic education. Many significant Iranian politicians, governors of provinces and other dignitaries are of Bakhtiari origin.

The famous documentary: "Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life" (1925) tells the story of the migration of Bakhtiari tribe between summer quarters Chahar-e-Bakhtiari to winter quarters in Khuzestan. This film also tells the story of how these people crossed the river Karun with 50,000 people and 500,000 animals. The documentary "People of the Wind" (1975) retraces this same journey, 50 years later. As of 2006, the migration still takes place, although the livestock are now transported in trucks, and the shepherds no longer walk barefoot in the snow between provinces.

Contents

[edit] Bakhtiari Lions

There are three stories about these powerful animals lying on Iranian tombs. The first is that they guarded the tombs, even straying the wild animals that neared the tombs; some people even considered them holy and asked them to make their wishes come true. The second story is that rich people put their valuable items such as jewelry inside the statue. Finally, it is said to be used as a gravestone to show the grandeur and courage of the departed.

The tradition was kept alive until recently in villages of Bakhtiari, Fars, and Azerbaijan and can still be seen in some of their graveyards. It was especially popular among nomads of the western province of Kurdistan.

This research project, which is a pilot study of cemeteries and funeral culture among the nomadic Bakhtiari in Khuzestan and tchahar mahal va bakhtiari, continued throughout 1995-2006. Lion was in the game category for royalty or just hunting for pleasure, and that's one of the main reasons for extinction of this animal. Many miniatures show kings go to hunting lion trips, alone or with troops. As late as the 19th century lion hunting was one of the favorite pastimes of the Iranian nomad khans too. The main emphasis is based on research about Lion tombstones, a field which until now has remained relatively unknown. This project has enabled a classification and analysis of this particular type of tombstones to be made. It is the first time that research of this type has been undertaken among a nomadic tribal group, which is a distinctive social formation of the past but is now under threat by the rapid urbanisation within Iran. The third and last phase of this field research will collect information from tribal groups living in the vicinity, who have preserved this tradition through oral history. The result will be a comprehensive study about funeral culture in a nomadic tribal setting.

[edit] Famous Bakhtiaris

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Ullens de Schooten, Marie-Tèrése. (1956). Lords of the Mountains: Southern Persia & the Kashkai Tribe, pp. 113-114. Chatto and Windus Ltd. Reprint: The Travel Book Club. London.
  2. ^ Lailee Bakhtiar van Dillen, "The Roses of Isfahan", SERA Publishing (1998), 115 pages. ISBN 978-1891165047.
  3. ^ Laleh Bakhtiar, "Muhammad", Diane Publishing (1994), 39 pages. ISBN 978-0756778026.
  4. ^ Badawy, Manuela. "Woman re-interprets Qur'an with feminist view", Reuters, 2007-03-24. 
  5. ^ Spencer, Robert. "Woman re-interprets Qur'an with feminist view", Jihad Watch, 2007-03-24. 

[edit] Books

  • Fariba Amini. The first moderate: Shapour Bakhtiar. January, 2003.
  • Ali Quli Khan Sardar Assad and A. Sepehr. Tarikhe Bakhtiari: Khulasat al-asar fi tarikh al-Bakhtiyar (Intisharat-i Asatir) (The History of Bakhtiari). 766 pages. ISBN 964-5960-29-0. Asatir, Iran, 1997. In Persian.
  • Bakhtiari language summary
  • Shapour Bakhtiar. Memoirs of Shapour Bakhtiar. Habib Ladjevardi, ed. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1996. 140 Pages. In Persian. ISBN 978-0932885142.
  • Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiary. Le Palais des Solitudes. France Loisirs, Paris, 1991. ISBN 2-7242-6593-9.
  • Ali Morteza Samsam Bakhtiari. The Last of the Khans: The life of Morteza Quli Khan Samsam Bakhtiari. iUniverse, New York, 2006. 215 pages. ISBN 978-0-595-38248-4.
  • Mark Gasiorowski, "Just like that: How the Mossadegh Government was overthrown", in particular bullet point 2 on the role of Soraya Bakhtiari; compare with her account in Le Palais des Solitudes cited above.
  • Arash Khazeni, The Bakhtiyari Tribes in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, 25, 2, Duke University Press, 2005.
  • Mohsen Farsani. Lamentations chez les nomades bakhtiari d'Iran, Paris. 2003.
  • Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. Grass: A nation's battle for life. Film, B&W, 71 minutes, 1925. Available on DVD.
  • Anthony Howarth. People of the wind. Film, Color, 110 minutes, 1976. Available on DVD.
  • Pierre Loti. Vers Ispahan. Edition Calmann-Levy, Paris, 1925. 330 pages. Travelogue with Bakhtiari contact. See also Ross and Sackville-West from same period.
  • Dr. Elizabeth N. Macbean Ross, M.B., Ch.B. A lady doctor in Bakhtiari Land. Leonard Parsons, London, 1921. Out of copyright and available online here. Travelogue, see also Loti and Sackville-West from same period.
  • Vita Sackville-West. Twelve Days: An account of a journey across the Bakhtiari Mountains in South-western Persia. Doubleday, Doran & Co., New York, 1928. 143 pages. Travelogue, see also Loti and Ross from same period.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links