Basseri Nomads of Iran Essays

Basseri Nomads of Iran Essays Basseri Nomads of Iran Paper Basseri Nomads of Iran Paper * The Basseri Nomads of Iran The nomads of the Middle East are a vast and diverse group of people who travel in tribal groups across the lands. The Basseri people of Iran are a nomadic group of people that inhibit the mountainous regions of southern Iran. Like many other nomadic tribes in the Middle East, theirs is a rich history that at times has involved persecution and forced change by foreign invaders, religious rule, domestic oppression. The Basseri are a Persian speaking tribe of tent-dwelling pastoral nomads. They primarily migrate in the steppes and mountains of the Fars province, south, east and north of Shiraz in Iran. They do not â€Å"occupy† any exclusive part of Iran but instead own the right to migrate along a route called â€Å"il rah†. They follow this route, which varies every year due to vegetation maturation cycles, as part of their migratory cycle. This migration is planned, scheduled and approved by the tribes through the tribal chief known as the Khan. The Basseri live in tents with each household occupying their own tent. The tent is the basic family unit in Basseri society. The average household has at least sixty sheep but may have as many as one hundred. During prime migratory seasons as many as forty different tents may make camp together, combine their flocks with several herding units and function as a migratory camp. These larger camps are the primary units of the nomadic society and function similarly to a small village of a sedentary society. When two or more of these larger migratory camps combine they are called an â€Å"Oulad†. An Oulad may share a common lineage and consist of ninety or more families. A level above the Oulad, is the Basseri tribe, which may have a population as large as some 15,000 members. The Oulads have a political allegiance to the Basseri tribal chief. The Basseri tribe has political allegiance to a powerful tribal chief, with little or no notion of common descent. Their allegiances are that of a purely political allegiance and not allegiances derived from familial ancestry, territory, or religious affiliations. The different Basseri tents or camps are free to move and join other groups within the Oulad at any time. Often, inter-tent or camp quarrels are resolved simply by one tent or camp moving to join other communities. The communities within the Oulad do not view other Basseri communities as any type of threat. The Basseri people are unified under one powerful Basseri tribal chief, or Khan. The Khan has great power and prestige and members of his family are also viewed as the â€Å"elite† within the Basseri communities. The Khan often has substantially greater income than that of the average Basseri, typically collected in the form of taxes from other tribesman and Oulads, personal and tribal investments in land holdings, etc. Because of his great wealth the Khan’s generosity and hospitality is expected to be boundless. The Khan’s main function is to allot land for pasturing the flock, scheduling and coordinating the migrations, and settling disputes. He also has the responsibility of representing the tribe to sedentary authorities and looking out for the tribe’s interests. Camps and Oulads seek out strong chiefs and submit themselves to him seeking his protection and help safeguarding their interests. It is important to remember that for the Basseri people â€Å"a tribe† is a political concept and allegiance and not merely an ethnic concept. The unity of the tribe depends wholly on their loyalty to the chief. To earn his tribe’s trust and loyalty he Khan deals directly with the members of his tribe not the intermediaries. The Basseri tribal people are Muslim. However, they do not self-identify as Muslim first. They are deeply spiritual people known for their focus on shrines, belief in the â€Å"evil eye†, exorcisms, and other supernatural influences. As nomads, much of the structure of the Muslim mosque observances, such as holy days are religious rites, are not often followed. In fact, the Basseri have taken special pride in their lax approach to religion. There is no historical evidence of religious fanaticism, they claim no special piety or favor in the eyes of Allah. The Basseri’s central rite observed is the Spring migration. As pastoral nomads their survival and prosperity is dependent upon the land and nature. Therefore, they feel a need to be in tune with their environment and protect it as many other Muslims would feel about their mosques. The Basseri people value their freedom, both political and religious, in comparison to that of settled communities. 1. 1. Social Change 1. 2. 1. Sedentarism? 1. 2. 2. Education and Western influences 1. 2. 3. Environmental changes 1. 2. 4. Urban sprawl References Amanolahi, S. (2003). Socio-Political Changes among the Basseri of South Iran, Iran the Caucasus, Vol. 7, No. 1/2 (2003), pp. 261-277. Retrieved on September 12, 2011 from jstor. org/stable/4030980 Barth, Fredrik (1961). Nomads of South Persia. Boston: Little, Brown Co. Retrieved on September 12, 2011 from archive. org/stream/nomadsofsouthper002252mbp#page/n0/mode/2up No Author (No Date). Persian of Iran. Retrieved on September 12, 2011 from joshuaproject. net/people-profile. php? peo3=14371rog3=IR ZEIDAN, D. (1995). THE MIDDLE EAST HANDBOOK, INFORMATION ON STATES AND PEOPLE GROUPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, VOLUME 4 NOMADS OF THE MIDDLE EAST. Retrieve on September 12, 2011 from angelfire. com/az/rescon/MEHBKNMD. html