Social Structure among Nomads in Iran
Document Type : Original Article
Author
Ph. D. in Sociology and Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Tehran University, Iran
Abstract
The traditional social structure which manifests the power structure is a centuries-old historical phenomenon. In order to study this phenomenon one has to define the society accommodating this structure, that is, the nomadic society or community of Iran. What kind of community is this and what is its place within the framework of the entire Iranian society?
The present article in the first place tries to make a distinction between the rural and nomadic society. Hence three criteria have been forwarded for a nomadic society, that is, its tribal structure, common territory, and tribal self-consciousness. Attempts have been made to study the structural and nomadic strata of Iran from sociological and anthropological points of view, particularly the tribes of Buyer Ahmad. Specifically their social structures and their political power structures are studied and their social structures have been compared with those of the Qashqai, Kurdish Bakhtiyari, Turkomen, and Arab tribes of Khuzestan. At the end the political power structures of the said tribes have been studies and analyzed in this article.
The present article in the first place tries to make a distinction between the rural and nomadic society. Hence three criteria have been forwarded for a nomadic society, that is, its tribal structure, common territory, and tribal self-consciousness. Attempts have been made to study the structural and nomadic strata of Iran from sociological and anthropological points of view, particularly the tribes of Buyer Ahmad. Specifically their social structures and their political power structures are studied and their social structures have been compared with those of the Qashqai, Kurdish Bakhtiyari, Turkomen, and Arab tribes of Khuzestan. At the end the political power structures of the said tribes have been studies and analyzed in this article.
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