Qashqai Nomad, Iran
Photo by Marie Wilson/ Shutterstock

Iran has been home to both immigrant and settled tribes, which had great role in the evolution of Iranian politics. Cultural diversity of Iranian nomads in their clothes, cuisine, music and daily life attracts tourists from all around the world to their habitats in plains and mountains of Iran.

Historically, Aryans are the first immigrant tribe residing in Iran, which later a branch of them established the glorious Achaemenid Emperor. Both in pre-Islam eras of Iran, and the Islamic Iran these tribes played important role in government and many times took the control of the country. Seljuk, Timurid, Safavid, Turkmen, Afsharid, Zandieh, and Qajar are among the most famous immigrant tribes that became the main rulers of Iran.

Aryans are the first immigrant tribe residing in Iran, which later a branch of them established the glorious Achaemenid Emperor.

Common characteristic of all Iranian tribes is living in harmony with nature and overcoming challenges. It is important to mention that the term tribe and nomad are different from each other. In fact nomads are immigrant group who belong to one of Iranian tribes of Turk, Fars, Lur, Kurd, Turkmen and Arab. The distribution of these tribes divide the country to five main region. 1) north and north west, 2) west, south and south west, 3) north east, 4) north east and south east, and 5) central region.

The main occupation of Iranian nomads in all aforementioned regions is animal husbandry, a job that makes the nomad be in constant search for pasture and meadow, and therefore, emigrate from one place to another. Agriculture and producing handicrafts are also among nomad’s activities, which has its limitation regarding the environmental condition. It is interesting to say that kinship is very important for nomads and considered as basis for tribal relationship. The kinship has three forms of Nasabi, Sababi and Armani.

The main occupation of Iranian nomads is animal husbandry, a job that makes the nomad be in constant search for pasture and meadow, and therefore, emigrate from one place to another. Kinship is very important for nomads and considered as basis for tribal relationship. The kinship has three forms of Nasabi, Sababi and Armani.

Bakhtiari Nomad, Iran
Photo by Abbas Jafari

The Nasabi relations are in form of blood relations that include immediate and far relatives that come from the same ancestor and share a common origin. This form of relation can be traced on both mother side and father side.  If the emphasis is on the bloodline of the father, then the name, family, and social status is inherited from father and the male child is prioritized. If the emphasis is on mother, then the name, family and social status is inherited from her and the female child is prioritized.

Qashqai Nomad, Iran
Photo by MehmetO/ Shutterstock

The Sababi relation is gained through marriage and not blood relations. In families that have both girls and boys in marriage age, sometimes, double weddings are held and a girl from each of the families marries the boy from the other. This tradition is called Ƶen (/Ʒen/) Be Ƶeneh (/Ʒene/) in Kurdish Tribe. The Armani relation does not include blood or nuptial relations, and includes a far common ancestor among the members of the tribe. The difference of this relation with Nasabi one is that in this form one has to go several generation back to find the common ancestor, but the Nasabi Relatives are closer in this regard.

There are different group of nomads here in Iran but the most important ones in term of population are Bakhtiari, Shahsavan, Qashqai, Baluch, and Khamseh. Each of them have their own governmental structure, culture, rules and tradition.

In recent years, the lifestyle, culture and products of the Nomadic tribe became universally known and appreciated. As a result, more and more people were interested in visiting them, and they became popular tourist destinations of Iran. Some nomads prepare facilities for tourists to stay that is not only a means of income, but also a way of preserving a lifestyle that emphasizes simplicity and unity.

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Two ethnic groups of Lur and Lak, each with their own language, live in Lorestan. Geographically, the Zagros Mountain range surrounds all parts of the region where there are three climatic zones including:

1. cold mountainous and semi-arid
2. temperate and semi-arid,
3. and warm and dry regions.

Lorestan Province, Iran

Historically, the lands inhabited currently by the tribes of Lur were under the influence of the Ilam (Elamite) Empire (2700- 539 B.C.) before the arrival of the Aryans. The primary inhabitants of Lorestan were the Kassite or Kashos, a name which is probably driven from a location entitled Kashkanrud.

Lur-e-Kuchak (the smaller Lur) also known as the Khorshidian as the branch of Lur tribes, founded by Shojaedin Khorshid Lur, ruled the northern and western parts of the region with Shapurkhast (Khorramabad) as their center of government. The last ruler of Lur-e-Kuchak, Shah Verdi Khan, was killed during the reign of Shah Abbas I of Safavid Dynasty (1501-1736).

The combination of beautiful oak forests, numerous mountains, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and caves attract the attention to Lorestan province. In addition to natural landscapes, various cultural and religious resources such as castles (e.g., the historical castle of Falak-ol-Aflak), minarets, bridges, and mosques add to the beauty and attractiveness of Lorestan. Among the most prevailing handicrafts of the province are Varsaho-Sazi (nickel silver dishes), herbal dyeing, leather making, enamel, illuminated manuscript, and sculpture making.

Eatable souvenirs of the province include local honey, dairy products, Doogh (a mixture of yogurt, water, salt, and dried herbs), bread, cookies, various medicinal plants, and Varsho (Nickel-silver). Some of the local dishes also include Borujerdi dolma, Ghalieh Torsh Stew, Tuff, and Kashk (curd), rennet of natural cheeses (Golma), and Aush (a kind of soup). Of the celebrities of the province, we mention Loris Tjeknavorian (Iranian-Armenian Musician) and Abdolhossein Zarrinkoob (historian and writer).

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In the Ilam province including 10 counties and its center called Ilam as well,  people are from various ethnic groups of Kurds, Lur, Laks (the mixture of Lur and Kurd), and Arabs. However, the most prevailing costume and language in the province referred to as the Kurdish residents who speak slightly different from Kurds in Kermanshah and Kurdistan provinces.

Historically, the Elam (Elamites) Empire’s (2700- 539 B.C.) territory contained the southwestern parts of Iran’s Plateau with Susa (roughly the areas of modern-day Khuzestan) province, as the center of their ruling. Besides, some parts of the southeastern area of Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia belonged to Elam though difficult to determine the precise border of the lands they ruled over. The Elamites called their homeland “Hatamti” meaning the land of God, while during the Akkadian Empire (the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia in 2334-2154 B.C.) it was referred to as Elamoto.

It seems that the name of Ilam city has originated from the word Elamoto. Assurbanipal, the king of Assyria reigned in a span of 669 to 631 B.C., defeated Elam and plundered Susa; after this, this area never again turned into an independent government. Upon the Achaemenid ruling (550-330 B.C.), the area became a tributary of the central government. Importantly, over the years, the name of this area changed several times, out of which include Sirvan (taken from a river with the same name) and Poshtkouh (because of its geographical location in the western Zagros range behind Lorestan) during the Qajar era (1796-1925).

The pristine and beautiful nature of the area is considered the most important natural attraction of Ilam. On the other hand, the historical and cultural attractions of the province include Vali Castle of Ilam, Falahati Palace, Taq-e Shirin and Farhad, Siahgel Fire Temple, and the remains of the Sassanid city of Sarab-e Kalan. In terms of handicrafts, the most prevailing ones in the region are carpet and kilim usually woven in a floral pattern. The wool used in creating the threads of this carpet is of high quality, while silk threads are also very common in this region.

The nomadic handicrafts of the province include Chit, Tough, Davar, Gouchan, and Douk. When it comes to eatable souvenirs, Kermanshahi oil, Tuff (made of milk and cheese), mountain honey, and chewing gum are known in Ilam. The main ingredients of the local foods are peas, beans, and meat.

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