The Basseri of Iran

The Basseri of Iran

Introduction

Iranian Basseri are more known as a tent-dwelling people, nomads, descended from many middle east nations like Persian and Arabs. Amanolahi (2003) tells us that now Iranian Basseris have been made to lose their tribal memberships and customs and incorporated into the Iranian state. Their primary mode of subsistence used to be pastoral, cattle's herding. In the 1950s the numbered about 16000, when studies and research for the classic ethnography, “Nomads of South Persia” by Frederic Barth was carried out (Amanolahi, 2003). Anthropologists have found great links connecting the chief mode of subsistence and aspects of culture like social organization, kinship and political organization. This paper will look at some of those connections between Iranian Basseri's primary mode of subsistence and their cultural aspects.

Thesis Statement

“Iranian Basseri of Iran may be called as the pastorals”

Discussion

Kinship

As normally defined in anthropology (see Scupin, 1995), Pastoralists have 'pre-state' localities and societies, hence they never had a state. They are organized and connected through tribal kinship relations. The 13 tirehs of Basseri were further divided into many oulads. The pastoralists, descents are named and traced through the male or the father ('patrilinial') not like horticulturalists who are matrilineal (Nowak & Laird, 2010). This particular kind of ethnic pattern of kinship is distinctive of a segmentary lineage system. This particular tribal kinship organization managed the communal use of the land, assets and resources by Iranian Basseri in the pastoral mode of subsistence. In fact whole of the social organization was based on this particular tribal kin relationship.

Social Organization

Iranian Basseri moved through the land of thousands of miles along with their herds and live stocks. During summers they settled in some area, where they would also cultivate wheat, and were kind of more nomadic during the winter (Keesing, 1981). Basic necessities of life are required during this procedure of mobility of thousands of miles and along with thousands of people or tribesmen who must possess social organization which would have to be very much flexible and mobile. Key factors of consumption and manufacturing were the family groups. These groups with tents had male representative or head and were given 100% privilege and power on property. At times they performed as self working political entities, as presented by Barth (Keesing, 1981, pp. 138). Each and every property of the tent groups was moved along with the herds, when the group migrated. During the season of winter, the families and their members divided into minute clusters of 2 to 5 tents as herding groups. During the remaining days of the year, bigger camps of around 10 to 45 tents migrated with each other. People there were supposed to be the solitary communities. But their mobile pattern would sometimes results in both temporary and permanent fission (Keessing,1981). Nowak & Laird noted that Iranian Basseri, residing in camps of 35 to 55 camps, would strike tents and migrate every four to five days.

As per Murdock's (1967) ,pastoralists were in large regions with an average size ...