Bakhtiari
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bakhtiari |
|---|
| Total population |
|
c. 1 million (est.) |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Southwestern Iran: 1,000,000 [1] |
| Languages |
| Bakhtiari dialect of Luri, Persian |
| Religions |
| Shi'a Islam |
| Related ethnic groups |
| Other Iranian peoples |
The Bakhtiari (or Bakhtiyari, Bakhtyari) are a group of southwestern Iranian people.
A small percentage of Bakhtiari are still nomadic pastoralists, migrating between summer quarters (yaylāq, ييلاق) and winter quarters (qishlāq, قشلاق). Bakhtiaris speak Luri, and are a subgroup of the Luri people.[citation needed] Numerical estimates of their total population widely vary. In Khuzestan, Bakhtiari tribes are primarily concentrated in the eastern part of the province. Bakhtiaris trace a common lineage, being divided into Chahar Lang and Haft Lang groups. The Bakthtiaris are Shia Muslims.
Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit the provinces of Lorestan, Khuzestan, Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari, and Isfahan. In Iranian mythology, the Bakhtiari consider themselves to be descendants of Fereydun, a legendary hero from the Persian national epic, Shahnameh.
Many significant Iranian politicians and dignitaries are of Bakhtiari origin.
Famous Documentary "Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life" (1925) tells the story of the migration of Bakhtiari tribe between summer quarters Chahar-e-Bakhtiari to winter quarters in Khuzestan. This film also tells the story of how these people crossed the river Karun with 50,000 people and 500,000 animals. The documentary "People of the Wind" (1975) retraces this same journey, 50 years later. As of 2006, the migration still takes place, although the livestock are now transported in trucks, and the shepherds no longer walk barefoot in the snow between provinces.
Contents |
[edit] Famous Bakhtiaris
- Sardar Assad, Bakhtiari Haft Lang Chieftain and Constitutionalist
- Soraya Esfandiary, Queen of Iran (1951-58)
- Pezhman Bakhtiari, poet (1900-1974)
- Shahpour Bakhtiar, Politician and Prime Minister of Iran (1979)
- Rudi Bakhtiar, FOX TV news-anchor and journalist
- Iman Mobali, football star.
- Bahram Moshiri, Historian and scientist
- Oman Samani, poet
- Teymur Bakhtiar, Iranian general and head of Savak
- Lailee Bakhtiar van Dillen, author and television producer[1]
- Davar Ardalan, NPR producer and author, whose mother Mary Laleh Bakhtiar is a Bakhtiari
- Laleh Bakhtiar, author[2] and former professor at the University of Chicago, who wrote a feminist re-interpretation of the Koran which is now making news.[3][4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Lailee Bakhtiar van Dillen, "The Roses of Isfahan", SERA Publishing (1998), 115 pages. ISBN 978-1891165047.
- ^ Laleh Bakhtiar, "Muhammad", Diane Publishing (1994), 39 pages. ISBN 978-0756778026.
- ^ Badawy, Manuela. "Woman re-interprets Qur'an with feminist view", Reuters, 2007-03-24.
- ^ Spencer, Robert. "Woman re-interprets Qur'an with feminist view", Jihad Watch, 2007-03-24.
[edit] References
- Fariba Amini. The first moderate: Shapour Bakhtiar. January, 2003.
- Ali Quli Khan Sardar Assad and A. Sepehr. Tarikhe Bakhtiari: Khulasat al-asar fi tarikh al-Bakhtiyar (Intisharat-i Asatir) (The History of Bakhtiari). 766 pages. ISBN 964-5960-29-0. Asatir, Iran, 1997. In Farsi.
- Bakhtiari language summary
- Shapour Bakhtiar. Memoirs of Shapour Bakhtiar. Habib Ladjevardi, ed. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1996. 140 Pages. In Farsi. ISBN 978-0932885142.
- Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiary. Le Palais des Solitudes. France Loisirs, Paris, 1991. ISBN 2-7242-6593-9.
- Ali Morteza Samsam Bakhtiari. The Last of the Khans: The life of Morteza Quli Khan Samsam Bakhtiari. iUniverse (http://www.iUniverse.com), New York, 2006. 215 pages. ISBN 978-0-595-38248-4.
- Mark Gasiorowski, "Just like that: How the Mossadegh Government was overthrown", in particular bullet point 2 on the role of Soraya Bakhtiari; compare with her account in Le Palais des Solitudes cited above.
- Arash Khazeni, The Bakhtiyari Tribes in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, 25, 2, Duke University Press, 2005.
- Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. Grass: A nation's battle for life. Film, B&W, 71 minutes, 1925. Available on DVD.
- Anthony Howarth. People of the wind. Film, Color, 110 minutes, 1976. Available on DVD.
- Pierre Loti. Vers Ispahan. Edition Calmann-Levy, Paris, 1925. 330 pages. Travelogue with Bakhtiari contact. See also Ross and Sackville-West from same period.
- Dr. Elizabeth N. Macbean Ross, M.B., Ch.B. A lady doctor in Bakhtiari Land. Leonard Parsons, London, 1921. Out of copyright and available online here. Travelogue, see also Loti and Sackville-West from same period.
- Vita Sackville-West. Twelve Days: An account of a journey across the Bakhtiari Mountains in South-western Persia. Doubleday, Doran & Co., New York, 1928. 143 pages. Travelogue, see also Loti and Ross from same period.
