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Marine Corps Intelligence Activity |
(U) Values and Social Mores
Schwarz Kathryn(U) Hierarchy and Status
This section highlights the values and social mores of the Lur and Bakhtiari tribes(U) There is a social hierarchy within the Bakhtiari tribe, and a member’s social status can be learned in various ways. Tents and clothing are important symbols within tribes. These items are cultural status symbols; when viewed at a camp during migration, tents and clothing speak to the season, the cultural identity, and the socio-economic status of the occupants.
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(U) Social class is indicated not by the attire of an individual Bakhtiari but by the cleanliness of that outfit and the amount of ornaments, jewelry, or decorations sewn into the headband or worn separately. Only those with higher status can spare time to clean and care for their clothing or replace it when it is worn.
Schwarz Kathryn(U) Importance of Owning Land
This section highlights the values and social mores of the Lur and Bakhtiari tribes(U) The Bakhtiari value land ownership. The Bakhtiari see land as a means to economic and political power. This is probably the result of the central government in medieval times granting a khan land in return for loyal service, usually military service. The government in Tehran often deferred decisions and influence to the large landowners. Therefore, owning substantial amounts of land was important for individuals to hold social prestige and political power.
(U) The land reforms of the mid-1960s, instituted by Muhamad Reza Pahlavi Shah (who married the daughter of a Bakhtiari khan), nationalized land that the Bakhtiari and Lur tribes used for grazing. These reforms were inconsistent with how the land had been used for centuries and hurt the tribes economically and socially. Their traditional paths of migration were interrupted, which caused many to move to towns and take up a more urban, modern lifestyle. This shift caused some social confusion as members of the younger generation pulled away from their traditional life and the roles that older generations expected them to carry out.
(U) For the Lur, the importance of land increases as the government encourages the tribe to give up their nomadic roots and settle into agrarian lifestyles. As their traditional ways of surviving fade and the government’s support remains questionable, ownership of land affords absolute certainty of access to the supplies necessary to ensure survival of the family. As the Lur say, “sheep die while land endures.”
Schwarz Kathryn(U) Leadership
This section highlights the values and social mores of the Lur and Bakhtiari tribes(U) The Bakhtiari tribes seek a leader whose qualities include courage, assertiveness, knowledge, wisdom, and generosity. Accession to leadership of the bab (group) is based on lineage, primacy of age, mother’s rank, wealth, internal and external support, and perceived fitness for office.
(U) Although the tribes choose their own khans, the central government reserves the authority to dismiss a khan it deems unfit or disloyal. It is common for the Shah to depose khans, though assassinating tribal khans is now uncommon.
Schwarz Kathryn(U) Education
This section highlights the education of the Lur and Bakhtiari tribes(U) Formal education was not part of nomadic life until the mid-1960s when reforms were passed to improve the national literacy rate. Teachers were sent from cities to rural areas of Iran. The quality of the teachers was fairly low because the best teachers preferred urban to rural postings. Wealthier Lurs now send their sons to school because they can afford to hire someone to work in his place.
(U) Few Lur children achieve an education higher than primary. Young men who have been sent to school become their fathers’ business managers; the value of their education is confined to their increased ability to negotiate deals, balance resource holdings, and increase relations among other tribesmen. Personal ambitions that travel beyond the tribe are almost nonexistent for nearly all Lur and Bakhtiari.
Schwarz Kathryn(U) Skepticism of Strangers
This describes how the Lur and Bakhtiari view strangers.(U) Theft is acceptable within the Bakhtiari, though they usually limit themselves to stealing from people outside their own camp. There is no consideration for the relative wealth or poverty of the victim; he will take the same from a wealthy landowner or an illiterate and impoverished shaikh (religious mystic).
(U) Robbery and physical violence are still an everyday occurrence among the Lur. The competition over limited resources continues, and theft is common and generally accepted. As a consequence, people are considerably wary of each other.
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