Qashqai people


Qashqai is a conglomeration of clans in Iran consisting of mostly Turkic peoples but also Lurs, Kurds and Arabs. Almost all of them speak a Western Oghuz Turkic dialect known as the Qashqai language, which they call "Turki", as well as Persian 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 travelled with their flocks twice yearly to and from the summer highland pastures north of Shiraz roughly 480 km or 300 miles south to the winter pastures on lower lands near the Persian Gulf, to the southwest of Shiraz. The majority, however, have now become partially or wholly sedentary. The trend towards settlement has been increasing markedly since the 1960s.
The Qashqai are made up of five major tribes: the Amale / Amaleh, the Dere-Shorlu / Darreh-Shuri, the Kashkollu / Kashkuli, the Shishbeyli / Sheshboluki and the Eymur / Farsimadan. Smaller tribes include the Qaracha / Qarache'i, Rahimli / Rahimi and Safi-Khanli / Safi-Khani.

History

Historically, the Turkic languages are believed to have arrived in Iran from Central Asia from the 11th or 12th centuries onwards.
The Qashqai were a significant political force in 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 Germans. During World War II the Qashgais attempted to organize resistance against the British and Soviet occupation forces and received some ineffectual help from the Germans in 1943 by the means of Operation ANTON, which proved a complete failure. 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. The revolt was put down and within a few years many Qashqais had settled. 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 of the Qashqai Tribal Confederation

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

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. By 1956, the Amaleh tribe comprised as many as 6,000 families.

Dere-Shorlu / Dareshuri / Darehshouri

The Dareshuri are said to have joined the Qashqai tribal confederation during the reign of Karim Khan Zand. According to Persian government statistics, there were about 5,169 Dareshuri families, or 27,396 individuals, in 1360 sh./1981.
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 resulted in the loss of 80–90 percent of the Dareshuri horses, but the tribe made a recovery after World War II.
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 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”. 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 and Qarachahi tribes. The remaining tribe became known as the Kashkuli Bozorg tribe.
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”.

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. 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.
The population of the Farsimadan was estimated by Afshaar-Sistaani at 2,715 families or 12,394 individuals, in 1982.

Qashqai carpets and weavings

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

Culture

The Qashqai are pastoral nomads who rely on small-scale cultivation and shepherding. Traditional dress includes the use of decorated short tunics, wise-legged pants, and headscarfs worn by women.

Cultural references