Nomads in Postrevolutionary Iran: The Qashqa'i in an Era of Change

Description

Examining the rapid transition in Iran from a modernizing, westernizing, secularizing monarchy (1941-79) to a hard-line, conservative, clergy-run Islamic republic (1979-), this book focuses on the ways this process has impacted the Qashqa’i―a rural, nomadic, tribally organized, Turkish-speaking, ethnic minority of a million and a half people who are dispersed across the southern Zagros Mountains. Analysing the relationship between the tribal polity and each of the two regimes, the book goes on to explain the resilience of the people’s tribal organizations, kinship networks, and politicized ethnolinguistic identities to demonstrate how these structures and ideologies offered the Qashqa’i a way to confront the pressures emanating from the two central governments. Existing scholarly works on politics in Iran rarely consider Iranian society outside the capital of Tehran and beyond the reach of the details of national politics. Local-level studies on Iran―accounts of the ways people actually lived―are now rare, especially after the revolution. Based on long-term anthropological research, Nomads in Postrevolutionary Iran provides a unique insight into how national-level issues relate to the local level and will be of interest to scholars and researchers in Anthropolgy, Iranian Studies and Middle Eastern Studies. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments List of terms List of identities Timeline 1 Introduction Interlinking perspectives The process of research With my daughter Organization of the book 2 Past and present: Forty-four years of transformation Circumstances in 1970 Circumstances in 2013 Transformational processes Demographic patterns among the Qermezi, 1970–2000 3 The revolution and the Islamic Republic: Reflections on 1978–2013 Experiencing the revolution Imprisonment of Qashqa’i leaders Martyrs of the Iraq–Iran war The state and the tribe New revolutionary Islamic councils for nomads and villagers New faces in the tribe 4 Reclaiming culture: The politics of resistance and defiance: Reflections on 1992 Attire Religious belief and practice Ritual and ceremony Nasir Qermezi’s wedding Ibrahim Qermezi’s wedding 5 The hope of spring: Reflections on 1995—winter and spring Struggles over land Life in town Welcoming the New Year 6 Death and memory: The end of the life of a Qashqa’i tribesman in Iran: Reflections on 1995—summer Borzu Qermezi’s last spring Borzu Qermezi’s demise and burial Third-day memorial Seventh-day memorial Adorning the gravesite Thursday afternoon visitations Fortieth-day memorial Events in the year after the death One-year memorial, 1996 Second anniversary, 1997 7 Life moves on: Reflections on 1996 Shahriyar Qermezi, parliamentary deputy Teachers, schools, and students: The promise of formal education 8 Decisions and consequences: Reflections on 1997 and 1998 Mohammad Karim Qermezi sells his flock A split in the family Abbas Qermezi and his rifle 9 Facing the future: Reflections on 1999 Revolutionary Islamic councils for villages and towns A wedding postponed Assaults against their lands A new settlement at Mulleh Balut Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Index