فصلنامه مطالعات فرهنگی اجتماعی خراسان
سال چهارم شماره 3 (پیاپی 16، بهار و تابستان 1389)

Certainly one of the most difficult fields of historical research is narrating local history. Those who are familiar with the history of a distanced place like Ghayenat know that besides the injustice it suffers from nature it has also been faced with injustice from historians to the point that no local history is available about it. The attempts of Abdul Hossain Fanoodi whodesired to narrate the local history of this region in the last years of Qajar dunasty was also left unfinished due to his sudden death. Anyhow, the writer tries to narrate even a part of the history of this region through relyingon reliable sources, especially first hand material. There were many reasons behind choosing the Qajar dynasty era. In addition to the fact that Ghayenat was kept obsolete during this era in contemporary research, the importance of this era due to its coincidence with different developments in terms of society and economy was also an important element which led to its selection. It should be mentioned that this article is only part of the vast subject covered by the writer in his dissertation under the title of “Ghayenat during the Qajar Era”2.

Felt rug making in Southern Khorasan is an important issue since this job is among the traditional local handicrafts of this region. Felt rug and its by products, have a background of thousands of years and they can be labeled as one of the first hand woven articles of human kind. Due to the modernization of societies, many handicraft fields and arts are in danger of extinction. The city life of today has fewer relations with these works of art. Felt rug is the symbol of work and art on the one hand and is an explanation of the deep relation between man and nature on the other which not only does not harm the environment but has magical effects as well. Due to the lack of library resources on this subject this article is based on the field findings of the researcher, while mainly focusing on interviews. This research shows that many felt rug making business were at work in Southern Khorasan in the past and currently master Ali Hossaini’s business in Salm Abad village near Sarbishe city is among the last remaining kinds of its own, which seasonally makes “Kapatak” (special clothing for shepherds). If this business is not paid enough attention to then it will be closed like many other shops in the region.

The spiritual value of each region is in debt to its scholars and thinkers; the name of a country which does not have wise and thoughtful people will disappear in the course of history. Therefore it is our responsibility to remind everyone of Southern Khorasani great poets and writers and through this achieve our real position in Iran’s culture. That is why the writer of this article has celebrated the release of Sheikh Abdul Hossain Fanoodi’s poetry by Dr. Mahmoud Rafiee and has tried to introduce the personality and contextual meaning of the poems of this great poet to its audience. The poems are discussed verbally and contextually. In the verbal section, poems are divided into eight categories based on their form and in the contextual part poems are divided into four categories of love, eulogy, lamentations and social lyrics. In each section descriptions based on his poems are provided so to reveal his thoughts and let the reader get familiarized with his brilliant and progressive thoughts. In addition the influence of other poets on Fanoodi is also explored. In the end to evaluate his capacity as a poet, the literary terms of his poems are discussed; allegories, quotations of verses of Quaran, Hadith, and religious poems are mainly focused on.

Ancient folk literature in different parts of Iran is considered the connection point of the people of this vast land and forms its national and tribal identity. The values hidden in proverbs, local idioms and sayings are among the most complete cultural elements which the majority of the society has accepted and follow them in their societal systems. Therefore they are called the public culture. Focusing on such subjects results in the production of ideas, efficiency of language forms, elevation of public culture, and the transfer of values and moral-social concepts from the past to the present and future generations. The aim of the writer is to familiarize the reader with cultural legacies and the value of “work” and related issues, while making the culture of work bolder in the minds of the audience so that everyone can stabilize and deepen the experience of their development and planning platforms through this.

This article focuses on Norouz from a mythological, historical and culturalview while stressing on the works of past and present writers. This articlehas tried to present the subject in a manner that the reader can choose thepart they want to read based on their time and need. Therefore, it ispresented in three separate parts. The first part explores the entrance ofIslam to Iran; the second part focuses on common traditions, beliefs, andceremonies of Norouz in all Iranian tribes with a glance at the traditions ofSouthern Khorasan public culture; and the third part focuses on Norouz inIran after Islam while stressing on its continuity as a national ceremonybesides religious ones.

Caravansaries are among valuable Iranian historical structures, and the building of such structures with different characteristics in villages and cities along the dessert or mountains increased during the Islamic era. The Ghohestan region in East of Iran and South of the Great Khorasan, has remained an unknown region despite its numerous historical monuments. The presence of historical monuments which go back to pre-historic eras, hills and ancient rock paintings show the importance of this region in the course of history. Caravansaries are considered among the historical monuments of Birjand, and were made to maintain and promote business and economy. The long distance between business centers, the intervention of natural effects like desserts, the danger of numerous civil wars, and organized foreign invasions and their constant threat required safe places for caravans and merchants to rest. Caravansaries in Birjand go back to the Qajar and Pahlavi era and have four-arch or two-arch architectural features. Most of them were located alongside the River (Jomhoori Islami Street) or the Bazaar, the most important of which is Ghaisariye which looks similar to Tehran’s old Passages, like the well known Hajebodole passage which has two floors. Ghaisariye was mainly a resort place for merchants, especially Yazdi merchants who were considered among the most active merchants and were spread from Bombay in India to Yazd. Other caravansaries were Mostofi, Mohsenzade, Molla Mohammad Hasan Moudi, Alavi, and Kharazi. This article introduces and investigates the architectural features of caravansaries in Birjand based on the remaining evidence like maps and aerial photographs.

Folk literature and the public culture have attracted the attention of many researchers and cultural analysts. Public belief is a set of knowledge, beliefs, and group of behaviors which are not consistent with scientific and logical standards and paying attention to these beliefs seems necessary in terms of keeping the valuable legacies of public culture. One of the issues that could be investigated in public cultures is the predictions of people about different phenomenon; since the weather plays a great role in the life style and professions of people, part of the vulgar beliefs in each region is devoted to weather forecasting. Since Southern Khorasan has a dry dessert climate, it is usually faced with drought and a lack of rain, therefore part of the vulgar beliefs in this region focuses on demanding rain. This article tries to investigate the rain demanding beliefs and its related traditions in Southern Khorasanis, to understand their method of thinking and its formation, hence attempting to save the public culture.