The Afshar Tribe of Iran - Essay Example

the afshar tribe of iran Culture Case Study Gabriela Draghici December 5, I. Introduction Iran possesses a specific geographical character, historical tradition and an unique human culture which helped its survival throughout history. Iran is a diverse country consisting of people of many religions and ethnic backgrounds cemented by the Persian culture. The majority of the population speaks the Persian language, which is also the official language of the country, as well as other Iranian languages or dialects. Turkic languages and dialects, most importantly Azeri language, are spoken in different areas in Iran. Additionally, Arabic is spoken in the southwestern parts of the country. Macroenvironment The exact ethnic breakdown of Iran is unknown as there are no official numbers; however some international organizations have made estimates. The estimates are as following: Persians (65%), Azerbaijani (16 %), Kurds (7%), Lurs (6%), Arabs (2%), Baluchi (2%), Turkmens (1%), Turkic tribal groups such as the Qashqai (1%), and non-Iranian, non-Turkic groups such as Armenians, Assyrians, and Georgians (less than 1%). According to them Persian is spoken as a mother tongue by at least 65% of the population and as a second language by a large proportion of the remaining 35%. Microenvironment Afshars, also called Avshar are a branch of the Turkic Oghuz groups. These originally nomadic Oghuz tribes moved from Central Asia through Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and finally most of them s ettled in Anatolia. Anatolian Afshars (Avshar) shared the same history with other Oghuz tribes until entering the Anatolia. Until the 10th century, they are believed to have lived along the banks of the Syr Darya (Seyhun) river and on the northern steppe of the river. Beginning from the 9th century, they started migrating towards west. Avshars are believed to have entered Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. They settled in various places in Anatolia. During the Mongol invasion in the following period, some Avshar tribes migrated to Syria and later formed what was called Halep Turkmens, which eventually migrated back to Anatolia and settled there. II. Aspects of Culture Social System The Afshar tribes of Iran are two distinct Turkic-speaking ethnic groups. The larger group is concentrated in the north of the country, and the smaller in the south. Afshar or Afshari, is a Turkic language spoken in Turkey, Syria, parts of Afghanistan and Iran. It is considered by many to be a dialect of Turkish. The Turkic dialect spoken by the Afshar of the north is closely related to the Azeri language, while the dialect spoken by the southern Afshar is more closely related to the Qashqai language. Living in the northeastern Azarbaijan province, Shahsevans (renamed II Sevan after the victory of Islamic Revolution) were organized by Shah Abbas I in the 17th century as a militia from tribes of diverse origin. Mainly Turkish speaking, they were used to put down rebellions of other tribes. They were divided between Iranian Azarbaijan and the Russian or former Soviet Azarbaijan after the occupation of part of our country by the aggressive Russian forces during the Qajar Kaab. Having arrived in Iran in two waves under the Seljuks and the Mongols in 11th and 13th centuries, respectively, Afshars are pastoral nomads. Some Afshar tribes are also scattered in areas between Kerman and Bandar-e Abbas in Southern Iran. Today, an ever-increasing number of Afshars have settled down and became farmers. The Afshari Tribe is settled around Sirjan, Sharh Babak and Rafsanjan in the northern portion of the city of Kerman. The Afshari people have Turkmen origins and long ago lived in northwestern Iran near Urmia Lake. Nader Shah was the most famous King that came from the Afshar tribe. He seized India and ruled Iran around the eighteenth century. He moved the Afshar tribe to its current location. In 1735, Nader Shah successfully drove out the Pashtuns from Isfahan and established the Afsharid Dynasty. He then staged an incursion into India in 1738, securing the Peacock throne, Koh-i-Noor, and Darya-ye Noor among other royal treasures. His rule did not last long, however, as he was assassinated in 1747. Many famous Iranian figures are of Afshar origin, and commonly share the "Afshar" surname. The Afshars in Iran still remain a largely nomadic group, but are considered non-Iranian nomads. Avsars (Afshar) are 100% turkish. Today in Iran live more than 20 million of Turks, called Azeri, Afshar, Qacar, Baxtiyari, Turkmens, Özbek In Southern Kerman province, near the border of Fars province, there are some tents of some Afshar nomads.  The name of this area is Boshu. Afshar Sub-Tribe Kerman consists of different Clans and immigrants who, after the Arabs conquest, moved from the west to the south-east of Iran. Therefore the Sub-Tribes and tent-dwellers settled in Kerman Province are actually a combination of Balooches, Kurds, Arabs and indigenous people. There are about 40 Sub-Tribes, 191 Clans and 230 migratory Families in the neighborhoods of Kahnooj, Baft, Sirjan, Jiroft and Bam counties. Afshar Sub-Tribe, one of the largest at the time of Safavid Shah Tahmasb, and now live in an extensive area stretching from the south-west of Rafsanjan towards the south-east of the Kerman-Bam highway. Their center of trade is at Baft. Their winter residence is Balook Orzooyeh and the summer residence is Balook Aghtae. Economic System Iran, like neighbouring Turkey to the West and Afghanistan to the East, belongs geologically to the vast Tertiary mountain belt stretching from Europe via the Middle East to Central and Eastern Asia. Mountain features, in combination with Iran’s distinctly arid climate, therefore, are determining factors in the country’s geography and for the development of a pastoral nomadism for which terms like “mountain nomadism” or “vertical nomadism” are appropriate characterizations. Travelers, scientists, and especially political agents of European countries increasingly deliver data and descriptions of Iran’s politcal, military, and economic situation in which pastoral nomads play an important role. The overall situation of Iran’s nomadic population in the second half of the 19th century is characterized by the widespread existence of nomadic tribes with major military power and tribal territories which were by no means under the control of the Qajar rulers. Only since the mid-19th century did social changes occur in Iran that also resulted in the disintegration of nomadic groups and cultures. A part of the tribal community of the Afshar and Atta-ol-Lahi in Kerman in the 19th century AD comprised of 15,000 and 3,000 tents respectively. The development of the Baḵtiāri, the biggest confederation in the 19th and 20th centuries, is typical not only of the general situation of mountain nomadism in Iran at large, but also of the more general problem of the potentials and constraints of pastoral nomadism and its ecological impact on the environment. Political System There is no doubt that the ecological balance of nomadism has been disturbed profoundly, not only by a growing degradation and spatial limitation of the nomadic environments, but also by Iran’s changing political, social, and economic conditions, the impact of which have been equally profound. Also the enforced sedentarization of nomads was successful for only a short period and did not lead to the planned disintegration of nomadism. A second attempt to destroy the social and economic functions of nomadism was connected with the land reform of the shah’s so-called “White Revolution” in the 1960s. Traditional collective pastoral rights were replaced by private deeds distributed by the government, usually for 15 years. Nomads who had received fertile pastures enlarged their flocks and made more profit, while those who had obtained ecologically fragile or economically poor grazing areas had to exploit their pastures beyond sustainability. But degradation of the natural environment, population pressure, modernization of transport and traffic, and a series of legislative actions have changed these traditional patterns of migrational behavior. The development of roads has increased the use of trucks and pickups, and these transport innovations had also negatively impacted the nomads’ traditional lifestyles.  Yet the modern forms of transportation have helped the nomads to adjust to changing political and economic conditions, since they reduce the migration periods and thus help them to avoid conflicts with both villagers and urbanites. B Beliefs System The Afshars became Shi’ites and were loyal to the Safavids. During his reign, Nadir Shah declared his own version of Shi’I, the Jaffari sect, named after the seventh imam, Jaffar al-Sadiq. His version was added to the Safavid Shi’i and, as Jaffari Twelfth Imamate, is still the state religion in Iran today. Most of Afshars are followers of Shia Islam. Their Specialty The tribes of Kerman are originally Turks and speak in Turkish, but due to contacts with tribes of other areas, Farsi words have penetrated their mother tongue. Animal husbandry is their main activity. They also engage in handicrafts. Handmade materials of the Afshar Sub-Tribe are of a high quality, and are known throughout the country. Products like: carpets, ornamental weaving (jajim), gelim, panniers (khoorjin), satchels chanteh), Shiraki, Salt containers (namakdan), spoon holders (Ghashoghdan), and other necessary household goods made by the tribesmen and tribeswomen bring them a considerable sum of money. Soft wool, obtained from their sheep is amongst the best and enjoys world renown. The tribe is involved in the trade of grain and fruit, but The Afshars are known as excellent carpet weavers. The population does not use them for their personal use, to decorate their tents, but they sell them so to make a living. The carpets are manually 100% woolen, thin, very well textured pile made (woven). Warp is cotton, pile is wool. Weavers of Afshar rugs make their rugs and carpets very tight and use flat weaving. It may take months for a carpet to be finished. Carpets and runners from Afshar have various rectilinear designs and are made in Sharh Babak, Sirjan, and Rafsanjan. There is no unique pattern that distinguishes Afshar carpets from other tribal carpets. The carpets come in different sizes. Most Afshar carpets do not exceed 5 x 8 feet. Afshar rugs and runners usually have natural colors, particularly light red, light ivory and khaki. Afshar carpets are of excellent quality, are beautiful and in high demand, making them more expensive than similar carpets from different zones. Expect to pay $5-$20 per square foot for a carpet from Afshar. Most of the Afshar tents have the same reed sides used by Arab tribes in this same region of Iran. The tents are hand woven from black goat hair. Educational System Iranian schools are not particularly concerned about multicultural education issues. The greatest concern is the lack of educational opportunities for tribes’ persons in the rural areas. Because of some of the basic Islamic beliefs, there is still a perception that education for girls is not of greatest importance. There is still a strong interest in literacy in order for young people to become knowledgeable of the basic philosophical principles of the Islamic religion. Many factors forced nomads to change their traditional lifestyles and in addition, a great number of rural and urban developments that attract nomads and lead them voluntarily give up their mobile way of life in favor of a rural or urban existence. Many of these important factors to the change seem to be especially attractive for the younger nomads. Cities offer not only access to the schools, hospitals, mosques, and other public services, but they also provide more opportunity for professional careers outside nomadism. It is a widespread supposition that “nomadism is dead”, and yet in Iran both residual forms of nomadism and adaptations of rural and urban lifestyles in combination with animal husbandry are still practiced. But characteristic elements of traditional mountain nomadism in particular the economic basis and the habitat, are changing or have already vanished. Sooner or later, the black tent of the nomads will therefore disappear entirely in favor of an animal husbandry where the owners of the herds are sedentarized, no matter if they are farmers or former nomads. In the 20th century, some governments have in vain attempted to carry out national integration, in the hope that tribal and cultural distinctions would disappear with the economic and political development of the country. There are many divisions and sub-divisions for each of the main tribes and tens of smaller tribes. With the expansion of education and better communications the young generation of Iranian tribes has made great progress. INDEX Introduction 2 Origin 2 Macroenvironment 2 Microenvironment 3 Aspects of Culture 3 Social System 4-5 Economic System 5-6 Political System 6-8 Belief System 7-8 Their Specialty 8 - 9 Educational System 9 - 10 Impact of globalization and culture change 10 Bibliography Countries and their cultures. (2011). Retrieved December 3, 2011, from http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Iran.html Read More