فصلنامه مطالعات فرهنگی اجتماعی خراسان
پیاپی 3 (زمستان 1385)

To set up special customs and ceremonies is one of the longlasting indicators of each ethnic recognition, running through the life of a nation, transmitted from one generation to another, and reflecting the ideas, beliefs and perceptions of the very people in a colorful picturesque scene. Now-rouz is one of the most ancient and widely-recognized traditions of Iranians who have constantly tried to respect and to celebrate it with special customs. The observance of this public celebration in different areas of Iran has its own particular local color. It has been tried in this paper to review various celebrations of the tradition in towns and villages of Southern Khorassan. The methodology of the research has been field study through interviews, direct witnessing and memoirs rewriting of about 100 school faculties in different parts of Southern Khorassan, which has considered the beliefs and ceremonies relating to the beginning of New Year, and afterwards traditions in four separate sections.

World War I, 1914-1918, influenced lots of countries, each of which trying to use some implements to win the war, among them the Afghan's intrigue against the Allies. This strategy caused the importance of Khorassan, a neighbor to Afghanistan, in the eyes of the United Armies. One of their most important affairs was to create "the belt in east of Iran" including Russian and British forces of the United Armies to Afghanistan. Some of its political, economical and social consequences of such issues are considered in this paper.

Dowries or marriage documents are among the historical documents of great importance in Iranology and Local History. They are like comprehensive encyclopedias introducing economical, literal, religious, artistic and ethnological aspects of a society. In this study, the great importance of dowries (mahrnamas) in historical studies and their influence in clarification of some hidden aspects social life has been considered through the study of some Qadjar's dowries in Birjand.

In this study, some correspondences resulted in establishment of the police department in Birjand are considered. There is also an overlook to peacefulness before the establishment of the police department, and securing the expenditures of unofficial guards, and also some other social-political issues of the city.

Local knowledge as the result of a long interaction of human society and his environment has been obtained through trial and effort issues. A stable equilibrant development can also been planned by including cultural and social capabilities, the most important aspect of which is the local knowledge, and through which ecological and social stability may be gained resulting in social and economical, or better to say, human development. It has been tried, in this paper, to explain the ideas like local knowledge and stable development by illustrating the procedure of rural stable development to pay attention to a scientific application of local knowledge, namely, the traditional corporative systems by a field study of Tirkar traditional agricultural corporative in the town of Darmiyan.