Qashqai

Qashqai traditional market (top) Qashqai boy wearing a traditional hat (bottom)
Total population
c. 300,000-2,000,000[1][2][3]
Regions with significant populations
Southern Iran, Central Iran
Languages
Qashqai, Persian
Religion
Shia Islam[4]
Related ethnic groups
Lurs, Kurds, Arabs,[5] Other Turkic peoples Especially Chaharmahali Turks

Qashqai people^[a] (pronounced [ɢæʃɢɒːˈjiː]; Persian: قشقایی; Kaşkayı in Türkish) are a Turk tribal confederation in Iran Almost all of them speak a Western Turkic (Oghuz) language known as the Qashqai language — which they call "Turkī" — as well as Persian (the national language of Iran) in formal use. The Qashqai mainly live in the provinces of Fars, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Bushehr and southern Isfahan, especially around the cities of Shiraz and Firuzabad in Fars.

The majority of Qashqai people were originally nomadic pastoralists and some remain so today. The traditional nomadic Qashqai traveled with their flocks twice yearly between the summer highland pastures north of Shiraz roughly 480 km or 300 miles south and the winter pastures on lower (and warmer) lands near the Persian Gulf, to the southwest of Shiraz. The majority, however, have now become partially or wholly sedentary. The trend towar settlement has been increasing markedly since the 1960s under government pressure, and encouragement, which has built housing for those willing to settle, starting in the early 20th century during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty; However, for those who continue their migratory lifestyle, the Iranian government maintains and controls travel corridors for the Qashqai and their livestock, and other populations practicing pastoral migrations.^[6]

The Qashqai are made up of five major tribes: the Amale (Qashqai) / Amaleh (Persian), the Dere-Shorlu / Darreh-Shuri, the Kashkollu / Kashkuli, the Shishbeyli / Sheshboluki and the Eymur / Farsimadan.^[7] Smaller tribes include the Qaracha / Qarache'i, Rahimli / Rahimi and Safi-Khanli / Safi-Khani.

History

Historically, the Turkic-speaking people are believed to have arrived in Iran from Central Asia from the 11th or 12th century onwards.

Told to Marie-Tèrése Ullens by the Ilbeg Malek Mansur, brother of the Ilkhan, Nasser Khan, Chief of the Qashqa'i, in 1953:

To survive, nomads have always been obliged to fight. They lead a wandering life and do not accumulate documents and archives. But in the evenings, around fires that are burning low, the elders will relate striking events, deeds of valour in which the tribes pride themselves. Thus the epic tale is told from father to son, down through the ages. The tribes of Central Asia were forced by wars, strife, upheavals, to abandon their steppes and seek new pasture grounds...so the Huns, the Visigoths, and before them the Aryans, had invaded India, Iran, Europe. The Turks, forsaking the regions where they had dwelt for centuries, started moving down through the Altai Mountains and Caspian depressions, establishing themselves eventually on the frontiers of the Iranian Empire and in Asia Minor. Though these versions differ, we believe that the arrival of our Tribes in Iran coincided with the conquests of Genghis Khan, in the thirteenth century. Soon after, our ancestors established themselves on the slopes of the Caucasus. We are descendants of the "Tribe of the Ak Koyunlu" the "Tribe of the White Sheep" famed for being the only tribe in history capable of inflicting a defeat on Tamerlane. For centuries we dwelt on the lands surrounding Ardebil, but, in the first half of the sixteenth century we settled in southern Persia, Shah Ismail having asked our warriors to defend this part of the country against the intrusions of the Portuguese. Thus, our Tribes came to the Province of Fars, near the Persian Gulf, and are still only separated from it by a ridge of mountains, the Makran.

The yearly migrations of the Kashkai, seeking fresh pastures, drive them from the south to the north, where they move to their summer quarters "Yailaq" in the high mountains; and from the north to the south, to their winter quarters, "Qishlaq". In summer, the Kashkai flocks graze on the slopes of the Kuh-è-Dinar; a group of mountains from 12,000 to 15,000 feet, that are part of the Zagros chain. In autumn the Kashkai break camp, and by stages leave the highlands. They winter in the warmer regions near Firuzabad, Kazerun, Jerrè, Farashband, on the banks of the river Mound, till, in April, they start once more on their yearly trek. The migration is organised and controlled by the Kashkai Chief. The Tribes carefully avoid villages and towns such as Shiraz and Isfahan, lest their flocks, estimated at seven million head, might cause serious damage. The annual migration is the largest of any Persian tribe.

It is difficult to give exact statistics, but we believe that the Tribes now number 400,000 men, women and children.^[8]

The Qashqai were a significant political force in Qajar Iran during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During World War I, they were influenced by the German consular official Wilhelm Wassmuss and sided with the German Empire.^[9] During World War II, the Qashgais attempted to organize resistance against the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, receiving some ineffectual assistance from Nazi Germany in 1943 by the means of Operation ANTON, which (along with Operation FRANZ) proved a complete failure.^[10]

In 1945–1946 there was a major rebellion of a number of tribal confederacies, including the Qashgais, who fought valiantly until the invading Russians were repelled. The Qashgais revolted during 1962–1964 due to the land reforms of the White Revolution.^[11] The revolt was put down and within a few years many Qashqais had settled.^[11] Most of the tribal leaders were sent to exile. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the living leader, Khosrow Khan Qashqai, returned to Iran from exile in the United States and Germany.

Major tribes

The Qashqai tribal confederation consists of five major tribes, including the Dareshuri, Farsimadan, Sheshboluki, Amaleh, and Kashkuli.^[12]

Amale / Amaleh

People of the Amaleh tribe were originally warriors and workmen attached to the household of the Ilkhani, or paramount chief; recruited from all the Qashqai tribes they constituted the Ilkhani's bodyguard and retinue.^[13] By 1956, the Amaleh tribe comprised as many as 6,000 families.^[14]

Dere-Shorlu / Dareshuri / Darehshouri

The Dareshuri are said to have joined the Qashqai tribal confederation during the reign of Karim Khan Zand (1163-93/1750-79).^[15] According to Persian government statistics, there were about 5,169 Dareshuri families, or 27,396 individuals, in 1360 sh./1981.^[16] The Dareshuri were "the greatest horse-breeders and owners among the Qashqai". The policy of forced sedentarization of the nomadic tribes pursued by Reza Shah Pahlavi (1304–20 SH./1925-41) resulted in the loss of 80–90 percent of the Dareshuri horses, but the tribe made a recovery after World War II.^[17] Reza Shah Pahlavi also executed Hossein khan Darehshouri the head of Darehshouri family in order to take back the control of the Fars province which was controlled by Darehshouri tribe during Ghajar empire.

Kashkollu / Kashkuli

During World War I, the Kashkuli khans supported the British in their struggle against Ṣowlat-al-Dowla (Iyl-khan) and the German agent, Wilhelm Wassmuss. After the war, Ṣowlat-al-Dowla punished the Kashkuli. He dismissed the Kashkuli leaders who had opposed him and "deliberately set out to break up and impoverish the Kashkuli tribe".^[18] Two sections of the tribe, which consisted of elements which had been loyal to Ṣowlat-al-Dowla, were then separated from the main body of the tribe and given the status of independent tribes, becoming the Kashkuli Kuchak ("Little Kashkuli") and Qarachahi tribes. The remaining tribe became known as the Kashkuli Bozorg ("Big Kashkuli") tribe.^[19] The Kashkuli Bozorg tribe comprised 4,862 households in 1963. As Oliver Garrod observed, the Kashkuli Bozorg are "especially noted for their Jajims, or tartan woolen blankets, and for the fine quality of their rugs and trappings".^[20]

Eymur / Farsimadan

The Farsimadan claim that they are of Ḵhalaj origin, and that, before moving to southern Persia, they dwelled in Ḵalajestan, a region southwest of Tehran.^[21] The tribe was already in Fars by the late 16th century, for it is known that in October 1590 their leader, Abul-Qasem Beyg and some of his followers were punished for having sided with Yaqub Khan the Zul-Qadr governor of Fars, in a revolt against Shah Abbas I.^[22] The population of the Farsimadan was estimated by Afshaar-Sistaani at 2,715 families or 12,394 individuals, in 1982.^[23]

Culture

The Qashqai are pastoral nomads who rely on small-scale cultivation and shepherding. Traditional dress includes the use of decorated short tunics, wide-legged pants, and headscarves worn by women.^[24]

Carpeting and weaving

The Qashqai are renowned for their pile carpets and other woven wool products. They are sometimes referred to as "Shiraz" because Shiraz was the major marketplace for them in the past. The wool produced in the mountains and valleys near Shiraz is exceptionally soft and beautiful and takes a deeper color than wool from other parts of Iran.

"No wool in all Persia takes such a rich and deep colour as the Shiraz wool. The deep blue and the dark ruby red are equally extraordinary, and that is due to the brilliancy of the wool, which is firmer and, so to say, more transparent than silk, and makes one think of translucent enamel".^[25]

Qashqai carpets have been said to be "probably the most famous of all Persian tribal weavings".^[26] Qashqai saddlebags, adorned with colorful geometric designs, "are superior to any others made".^[27]

Notable individuals

• One of the famous Qashqai tribes, Ismail Khan Qashqai is known as Solat al-Dawla, the leader of the nomads (born 1257 AH / 1295 AH). The history of his struggles during the constitutional period as well as in the role he played in the Persian campaign of World War I is very significant. He is one of the famous Qashqai patriarchs who has played an important role in the history of the Qashqai tribe as well as in the political events of the country. Solat al-Dawla died in Qasr Prison in Tehran on October 6, 1931. (1350 AH?) [69]
• Another figure named Jahangir Khan Qashqaei is from the Darhshouri tribe (born 1206 AH / 1243 AH) who migrated with the tribe until he was 40 years old and had a primary school education. During a trip to Isfahan to repair his room, he encounters a person who advises him to pursue science. His prominent students include Mohammad Ali Shahabadi, Seyyed Hossein Tabatabai Boroujerdi, Seyyed Hassan Modarres, Nokhodaki Esfahani and others. He died in 1289 AH (1328 AH) and was buried in "Isfahan Steel Throne". [70]
• Haj Ayazkhan Qashqaei, the author of the travelogue of Hajj and Atbat-e-Aliat during the reign of Ahmad Shah Qajar (author of the first Qashqaei travelogue) is another Qashqai famous. He is considered to be the advisor and trustee of Ismail Khan Solat al-Dawla Qashqai and one of the famous Qashqai during the First World War. He was born in 1287 AH (1248 AH) and died in 1979 AH (1318 AH). [71]
• Mohammad Ibrahim, nicknamed Mazun Qashqaei, is a famous Qashqai poet from the Qaderlu Borbur tribe of the Amla tribe. He was born in 1246 AH and died in 1313 AH. Mazoon has mystical and romantic poems in Persian and Qashqai languages and Shahbaz Shahbazi (collector of Qashqai poets) considers him the greatest Qashqai poet. [72]
• Mohammad Bahmanbeigi (26 Bahman 1298 - 11 May 1389) was a great writer of the Qashqai tribe and the founder of nomadic education in Iran.

Cultural references

• In 2006, Nissan named its new European small SUV "Qashqai", after the Qashqai people.^[28][29][30] The designers believe that the buyers "will be nomadic in nature too".^{[31][32][33][34]}
• The everyday life of nomadic Qashqai people was portrayed in the 1996 Iranian film Gabbeh directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf. ^[35]