نشریه مطالعات ایرانشناسی
پیاپی 9 (تابستان 1397)

Bukan is one of the most important Kurds-residing cities of the South of West Azerbaijan and the third most populous city of this province after Urmia and Khoy. Some of the events and incidents in relation to Bukan and its great figures have been recorded in the travelogues of a number of travelers and researchers such as Minorsky, Demorgan, and others during the Qajar era. Historical evidence suggests that this city was built during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar based on the foundation of a small and sparsely populated village. At this time, the city of Bukan experienced great growth and expansion due to the attention it received from Aziz Khan Mokri Family. The present paper aims to provide a response to the questions of: “what were the important elements affecting the development and expansion of Bukan?” and “what were the reasons for choosing the present location as the official ruling center of the region during the Qajar period?” It is assumed that the main reasons for this choice were the particular spatial status and linking feature of the village of Bukan among all the residential areas of the region. Through benefitting from library and field methods, the findings of the study indicate that, in addition to the specific linking and geographical conditions of the region, the efforts of its local rulers, particularly Mokri Family, played a significant role in the establishment of administrative, religious, and non- profit units in this area. Moreover, some new spaces were added to the Qajar core of this city during the Pahlavi period.

In the course of history, Ahavaz has hosted several migrant ethnic groups that have brought their own particular culture and language to this city. One of such ethnic groups is the Sabians or Mandaeans. The members of this monotheist ethnic group have been present in this region since pre-Islamic periods and have carefully preserved all their religious books and traditional rituals. The Sabians are an immigrant group who moved from Jerusalem towards the East and reached Iran after a very long time. This study aims to examine the geographical dispersion of Sabians in Ahvaz. The main questions here are what their religion was and why they chose Ahavaz as their place of residence. Following an analytic and historical method and based an the findings of this study, the authors concluded that the Sabians, who are called the Sabi today, were advocates of John the Baptist and have been residing in Iran since the time of Parthians. Moreover, since most of their religious rituals are performed beside rivers, they chose Ahvaz as their place of residence due to its particular geography and the existence of several dams and rivers there.

The Persian garden design or the Charbagh layout is a cultural, historical, and fabric phenomenon in the land of Iran and displays the philosophical relationship between human beings and God’s nature. In Iranian culture, a garden is considered to be an enclosed area housing some plants, waterways, and buildings which are designed based on a particular architectural system offering a desirable, secure, and peaceful environment to its guests. One can recognize and find a meaningful relationship among all the components of Persian gardens in the light of the knowledge of the original Iranian culture. From an architectural point of view, besides their fences and buildings, the plan of Charbagh, which is recognized as a Persian and Islamic quadrilateral garden layout, is one of their main elements. When Babur, one of Timur’s grandsons, attacked and captured India, he employed the Persian garden design there, and it can justifiably be claimed that most of the gardens made during the Mughal period enjoyed the layout of Charbagh. During this era, Mughal Kings and their interest in Persian gardens played the main roles in the emergence of this style in India. At the same time, Safavid Kings and the political conditions of Iran contributed greatly to the process of transferring architects, artists, and craftsmen to India.

In this paper, while making a short reference to the different goals Orientalists and travelers follow in Iran, the author examines the purpose of Heinrich von Poser, the German Iranologist, from traveling to Constantinople, Iran, and India. This paper has been written based on Professor Friedrich Kochwasser’s studies on Poser' s notes following a descriptive-library method. Here, the author has also dealt with Poser's view of the cultures, customs, traditions, and languages of eastern nations. He was greatly interested in traveling and observing the nature of far-off lands. It seems that he traveled to Iran (Shiraz, Isfahan, Yazd, Tabriz, and Birjand) for the sake of pleasure, which greatly motivated him to study this country at the same time.

The Make-it-Rain ritual dates back to ancient periods and is rooted in some mythical and religiousbeliefs and ideas. Presently, this ritual is performed in different ways in several cities and villages. One of the customs in relation to this ritual is the making of the Rain Doll by women and children. A glance at ancient history indicates that, given their inabilities and helplessness before natural phenomena, human beings began creating some gods and goddesses as the sources of metaphysical powers in order to find a way to overcome their problems. One of such goddesses was Anahita or the goddess of water, who is the counterpart to Ishtar goddess in Babylonian culture.Due to the importance of water in people’s lives, in this paper the writer has focused on the quality of performing the Make-it-Rain ritual, the role of dolls in this regard, and the influence of Anahita in the making of such dolls in West Azerbaijan. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that this dramatic ritual is rooted in a long lasting cultural belief among Iranians. This study was carried out following the descriptive method, and the required data were collected using formal interviews, direct observation, and library studies.

Songs are one of the most used genres of Bakhtiari oral and folk literature. In Bakhtiari culture and literature, the presence of human being in their individual and social senses plays a significant role in the lyrics of songs. Here, the role of women is even more noteworthy and important. The present paper deals with the particular role of women in Bakhtiari songs. Generally speaking, the songs are divided into eight main categories in terms of structure, and their lyrics have been examined following the descriptive-analytic method and field studies. In most cases, Bakhtiari women are both the song writers and the singers and express their thoughts and ideas in relation to what they do at different stages of their life in the mould of songs. In the course of this study, the researchers also came across some songs which have not been written by women but have been created by men on description of women.

One of the ways to learn about the behavioral norms of a nation is to gain the knowledge of their popular culture and folk-beliefs. Popular culture is an everlasting treasure containing the invaluable thoughts, emotions, tastes, and achievements of several generations in a country. Among the various manifestations ofspecific cultures, hand-woven carpet holds a particular place which, due to its long history, abounds in profound cultural beliefs. One of the regions where carpets have been produced extensively since long ago is Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari. The artist female weavers of this province consider certain themes and ideas at the different stages of carpet production and then incorporate them in the design of their products at the level of execution. Each of these ideas or themes is rooted in the beliefs that have been transferred from one generation to another through the word of mouth. This paper explores some of the social and cultural beliefs of female carpet weavers of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province based on library documents and field methods.