Anthropology: Bakhtiyari in Iran and Thull in Pakistan - Essay Example

Anthropology” Culture is basically defined as the activities which the human beings do. The ethics and the importance of certain things in an individual’s life can also be said to be a part of Culture. This word forms a wide theory on the different events taking place. Culture is an important part in the life of one individual. The world consists of people from different cultures who have different ethics according to this culture. One individual is only easily recognized by the culture he belongs to. For e.g. the culture of Afghanistan can be said as having conservative thoughts where as the culture of UK would have more modernist thoughts. Each and every country has its own culture and an own environment for its civilians. Similarly every area in which the people are living has also defined its own culture. This article would further examine the culture of two different tribes in two different countries, one belonging to the northern areas of Pakistan while one belonging to the country named Iran. It would define as to the culture followed by these tribes is the same or not. Thull is the name of a place which is located in the northern areas of Pakistan. The people of this area are extremely conscious about their values and culture. The people living in Thull take most of their cultural activities from the tribes of Pathans. These pathans are people with strict rules of culture and activities. They strongly follow their religion and are extremely conscious about their honor. Similarly the people of Thull have great respect for their culture. Here not only the people are following their culture properly but are also respecting it for its ethics. Similarly another area known as Zargos in Iran comprises of a group of people known as Bakhtiari are bound to their culture. These people like the clan of Thull are extremely conscious about their traditions and culture. The clan of Bakhtiari follows their ancestors from a very long time in all their actions. Like their ancestors the Bakhtiari clan migrates to different places in different seasons. They not only take their herd of sheep with them but also take their family which includes women and children during their migration. This migration is done in the winters and summers mostly. While on the other side the people of Thull do not indulge in the activities of migration. They live in the only space they are given and earn their living through the agricultural systems. However there is similarity found in the culture of these two tribes as both of these tribes earn their living in the form of herding, grazing and agriculture. The people of Bakhtiari migrate from the mountains to the lower lands due to the scare of landslides and other natural disasters which would not only harm the lives of these people but would also destroy the crops. And as crops and grazing is the only way of earning by these people, they have to migrate to different places. Similarly the tribe of Thull also earns by the cropping of potatoes. As the country of Pakistan has modernized in the recent years the road of the Thull tribe have been developed and the cropping of potatoes has been of immense profit to the farmers here. Hence after the roads have been made the way of earning through grazing and herding in Thull has decreased and the number of sheep owned by the people has decreased. Where as the tribe of Bakhtiari still earns through both the means, though grazing being the main source of income for them. Both these tribes belong to the religion of Muslims which is known as Islam. However the sect that the Bakhtiari belongs to is different than the sect to which the people of Thull belong to. In the recent years the people of Thull have increasingly been into killings and violence. And to curb out the problems of killing and violence there have been special ‘jirgas’ (elders of the tribe) arranged. These jirgas sort out the problems faced by different people and make the trouble makers leave the place of Thull. Where as on the other hand the people of the Bakhtiari tribe do not have any sort of violence amongst there people. There has been no such system of Jirga among this tribe. The people belonging to both these tribes are advancing and some are even leaving their home place to look for opportunities in the outer world. As both these tribes belong to the religion of Islam they are strict on their marriage principles. The tribe of Thull and Bakhtiari both have prevalent inter family marriages going on till date. However the way women are treated in Thull is different than that in Bakhtiari. The women in Thull are considered as an honor for the men living there and they are highly protected by these men. The violence which takes place in the areas of Thull is majorly because of honor related activities. And as in the recent years the government of Pakistan has took important measures of making transport easier in this area, violence in Thull has increased to alarming levels. Transport of goods has not even made easier the selling of potatoes and other crops to the outer land but has also increased the income of the people. This income has helped the people of Thull to further buy modern weapons and use them in their fights. In the earlier years of the history of the tribe of Thull women comprised a great part of the tribe which worked in the farms, however in the recent years as developments have been made the men have taken over the working line. Similarly in the Bakhtiari tribe the working force of men is greater to that of the women. Women are not actively found in the fields whereas the force of men can still be found out in the fields. The parents even take their children along them so that they can learn the values of agriculture. From the religious point of view both the tribes are almost same. Both have a common belief in Allah but as both are from different sects they have differing perspectives on different subjects. However if viewed from an overall perspective both belong to the religion of Islam and have quite the same concepts. Both these tribes have an environment where they can practice their culture easily. However as times are passing by the people of the tribes are leaving their culture back and are advancing. But even then a number of successful people belonging to these tribes can be found throughout the world and are still practicing their culture respectively. It can be said that nowadays a person recognized by the culture he belongs to. Where ever a person has to go he must make others identify himself through his culture. The people belonging to the tribes of Thull and Bakhtiari are one of the people who would never leave their culture behind for anything but would further take actions to promote it. Similarly t he government nowadays are taking measures to improve the living standards of these clans and is providing them with all the facilities that are needed. Bibliography: Garthwaite, Gene R. Khans and Shahs: A Documentary Analysis of the Bakhtiyari in Iran. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Cambridge University Press, 1983. Biddulph, J. Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh. Quellen zur Entdeckungsgeschichte und Geographie Asiens, 2. Graz: Akadem. Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, 1971. Barth, Fredrik. Indus and Swat Kohistan: An Ethnographic Survey. Oslp: Forenede Trykkerier, 1956. Shuster, William Morgan. The Strangling of Persia: A Record of European Diplomacy and Oriental Intrigue. London: T.Fisher Unwin, 1912. Read More