Qashqai

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Qashqai caravan
In a Qashqai tent

The Qashqai , Kashkai or Kashqai ( Persian قشقائی, DMG Qashqā'i , Azerbaijani قشقایی Qaşqay ; in German also Ghaschghai and internationally also Qashqai ) are a tribal association and a Turkic-speaking people in the south of Iran . In the course of time, Kurds , Lurs , Persians and Iranians of Arab origin also joined the political tribal union of the Qashqai . Their carpet production is important (→ Persian carpets ).

Settlement area

The last census in 1982 recorded around 200,000 Qashqai members. According to other sources, the Qashqai consisted of 30,000 families around 1980, which corresponds to around 400,000 people. Today their number is estimated at one to one and a half million. The people mainly settle in the Iranian province of Fars , i.e. in the south-west of the country, and still live partially nomadic to this day . In the summer months they live with their herds in the Zagros Mountains and in the winter months in the southern part of the province. Its political center is the city of Shiraz .

Language and religion

The Qashqaic language (often called Turki "Turkish") is closely related to South Azerbaijani , that is, to the variant of Azerbaijani spoken in Iran. Due to Iranian politics, almost all Qashqai also speak the Persian language .

The Qashqai belong almost exclusively to the Twelve Shiah . Individual tribal fragments profess the Christian religion . The Qashqai belief is interspersed with archaic elements, the rules of Islam are less strictly followed than elsewhere.

Culture and society

Tribes

The Qashqai are a tribal society . They consist of tribes , the most important and largest of which are the Dare Shuri , Shish Baluki , Farsimadan , Kashkuli and Amaleh . The latter traditionally provided the supreme leader, the Ilkhan . Other smaller tribes are Karadscha , Rahimi and Safi Khani . There are around 30,000 families in the traditional sense. The tribes, in turn, break up into family groups comprising between 40 and 200 tents.

Traditional social structure

The traditional Qashqai society was divided into five classes: the ruling class to which the Ilkhane belong, the class of tribal leaders or Kalantar , the leaders of the family associations, the simple tribesmen and finally the lower caste, which included the craftsmen.

Daughters of one class were only allowed to marry with members of the same class. Monogamy was the rule. Marriages were arranged, the bride price consisted of sheep, horses or a sum of money ( bashluq ). The marriage was entered into orally and the husband had the right to dissolve it. In the event of divorce, the dowry was to be reimbursed. Possession is inherited only in the male line. The family of her deceased husband was responsible for caring for a widow.

Today's social situation

Today only a minority of the Qashqai lead a nomadic way of life. In the Iranian census of 1998, between 145,000 (winter quarters) and 170,000 (summer quarters) nomads were recorded in the Fars province. The vast majority have thus settled down, which is only regretted by a few. Even though many of the troubles have disappeared, there are still major social problems: Unemployment is between the official 20% and the unofficial estimated 35%. Social security systems are underdeveloped and many families have difficulty accessing medical care due to a lack of health insurance. Cattle breeding and seasonal work are the most important sources of income, and carpet weaving also plays a major role, which is mainly run by young women who work from home.

Qashqai carpet with the widespread “Hebatlu” motif

Carpet art

The Qashqai tradition of making carpets goes back centuries. Among the artisanal production of the Fars province, the Qashqai carpets are considered to be the finest, which is why other Shiraz goods of better quality are also sold under their name. Old Qashqai carpets made by nomads are always knotted on a woolen chain. Your pattern is almost symmetrical, but slightly irregular, as it was not based on a template, but rather from the spontaneous imagination of the knotter. Today, sedentary knotters mostly make modern carpets on cotton warps. They are finer, but less expressive, because the pattern is more rigid. The Kashkuli carpets, which are still dyed with natural colors today, are of outstanding craftsmanship. Particularly typical Qashqai carpets use the “Hebatlu” motif with four hooked diamonds in the corners and one in the middle. The inner field is littered with numerous small, stylized plant elements and depictions of animals. The dominant colors are red and dark blue.

The carpets of Fars, especially those of the Qashqai, often contain the heraldic motif of the Persian lions allegedly spotted in Fars as early as the 1960s .

Costume

Kashkuli Qashqai women spinning in traditional costume
Qashqai costume

The traditional clothing of Qashqai women includes billowing petticoats that are dried over one another.

history

From the origins to the first Ilkhan

Qashqai nomad from Sepidān with a water pipe ( hookah ).

The ancestors of today Qaschqai probably came during the Oghuz migration in the 11th century in Iran. They are believed to go back to the Khalaj tribe . First they settled in the north-west Persian province of Ardabil . In the 15th century they belonged to the state association of Timur Leng and then to the tribal federation of the black mutton . The Qashqai have lived in the Fars province since the beginning of the 16th century at the latest. It is less likely that they were first sent there by Shah Ismail I to counteract the Portuguese who had settled there. Rather, their summer quarters seem to have been close to today's ones as early as the early 14th century. The first recorded tribal leader of the Qashqai was Amir Gazi Schahilu , who lived in the 16th century. He seems to have supported Ismail I in establishing Shiism as an Iranian religion.

The tribal association only acquired real political importance in the 18th century. According to legend, the two sons of the then Qashqai Khan Jani Agha took part in Nadir Shah's Indian campaign , but came into conflict with him. As a result, the Qashqai were expelled to Khorasan Province . They were allowed to return under the reign of Karim Khan , and Jani Agha's son Ismail Khan rose to rule the tribes of Fars Province. He was considered a close confidante of the Shah. After Karim Khan's death in 1779 there were armed conflicts over his successor, in which the Qashqai were also involved. The Zand Prince Ali Murad Khan had Ismail Khan executed. His son and successor Jani Khan supported Jafar Khan, who was later also defeated in the struggle for the succession to the throne . After the troops of the Aga Mohammed Khan took Shiraz in 1788, the latter began a campaign against the Qashqai, who had been warned and withdrew to the Zagros Mountains. After the assassination of Jafar Khan in 1789 Jani Khan supported his son, the last Zand prince Lotf Ali Khan . After his defeat in 1794 Jani Khan had to flee again into the mountains, where he hid until the death of Aga Mohammed Khan in 1797. In revenge, he drove parts of the Qashqai to northern Persia. On the other hand, numerous Lurian and Kurdish tribes, who had also come to the province of Fars under Karim Khan, joined the Qashqai tribal association. In 1818/19 Jani Khan was the first to receive the title of Ilkhan , which all Qashqai leaders have held since then.

19th century

After his death in 1823/24 he was followed by his son Mohammed Ali Khan. Due to his weak constitution, this led his official business mainly from his palace in Shiraz. Nevertheless, he managed to expand his power to other important tribes in the region. He also established ties to the Qajar dynasty through arranged marriages - one of his sons married a sister of the ruler Mohammed Shah . However, in 1836 he forced him to the court in Tehran , where he had to stay until the Shah's death in 1848. Returning to Shiraz, he died in 1852. He was followed by his brother Mohammed Kuli Khan. The new ruler in Tehran, Nāser ad-Din Shah , strengthened the central authority and declared war on the autonomy of the tribes. The Ilkhan was virtually under arrest in Shiraz, and at the instigation of Tehran, the Bahārlu , Aynallu , Nafar and Baschiri as well as Arab associations split off to found the tribal association of the Khamseh ("The Five").

Mohammed Kuli Khan was followed in 1867/68 by his less able son Sultan Mohammed Khan. He was unable to cope with the great challenge posed by the dramatic famine at the beginning of the 1870s and withdrew from his active role in 1871/72. The Qashqai association began to disintegrate, with around 5000 families joining the Bakhtiars and just as many the Khamseh. There were frequent predatory attacks against the sedentary population. This period of anarchy and disintegration did not end until 1904 when Ismail Khan Sovlat al-Dowla became the new Ilkhan. Under the reign of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah (1896–1907) the central power lost influence over the provinces. Sowlat al-Dowla dominated the hinterland while his arch-rival Kawam al-Mulk ruled out of the competing Kawami in Shiraz. During the Constitutional Revolution , the Kawami belonged to the royalist camp, whereupon the Qashqai supported the constitutionalists. In 1909, after taking Tehran by the Bakhtiar the eleven Ahmad Shah Qajar was used, the Qaschqai established together with the Sheikh of Mohammerah and the wali of Ilam directed against the Bakhtiar and their allies Kawami Südallianz . The British, who had received their first oil concession in the province of Chuzestan in 1908 (→ Anglo-Persian Oil Company ), felt threatened by this . They blamed Sowlat al-Dowla for the high road toll that was demanded on the road from Bushehr to Shiraz. On October 19, 1910, British naval troops went ashore near Bushehr and occupied Shiraz. The unrest in Fars Province culminated in July 1911 when Qashqai fighters, together with troops loyal to the provincial governor, attacked Kawami positions in Shiraz. British pressure forced the Ilkhane to withdraw from the scene in September 1911. In the same year the number of qashqai was estimated at 200,000.

First World War and Reza Pahlavi's reign

During the First World War , the province of Fars again became the scene of clashes (→ First World War in Persia ). After Enver Pascha's dreams of a revolt of the Turkic peoples of Iran against the English (→ Pan-Turkism ) came to an end, Germany entrusted the diplomat Wilhelm Wassmuss , formerly consul in Bushehr, with the task of persuading the South Persian tribes to resist the British. He promised the anti-British-minded Soviet al-Dowla support through a Turkish invasion of western Persia. In May 1918 Qashqai fighters attacked a division of the British-led South Persian Rifles Protection Force . British units came to the rescue and inflicted a decisive defeat on the outnumbered Qashqai.

Reza Shah Pahlavi's reign (1925–1941) brought the Qashqai a period of oppression. In 1926, Sowlat al-Dowla and his eldest son Nasir Khan were appointed to the Majles , the Iranian parliament. In fact, however, they became prisoners of the Shah. They were forced to cooperate with the central government, whose aim was to disarm the Qashqai tribes. Eventually they were both arrested after their parliamentary immunity was withdrawn. Military governors were imposed on the tribes, the Qashqai were subjected to conscription and new tax laws, and the tax collectors were often corrupt. In the spring of 1929 the pent-up resentment of the nomads was released in a broad rebellion in southern Persia, in which the Qashqai played a leading role. After a few months of fighting, the government signed a peace agreement. She reinstated the Ilkhan and his son in the Majles, withdrew the military governors from the tribal areas and passed a general amnesty. Nevertheless, Reza Shah stuck to his goal of ending tribal rule. After the Lurs, the Kurds and the Arabs, the Qashqai were finally hit. Another rebellion in 1932 was unsuccessful. In 1933, Sowlat al-Dowla died in prison. Shortly thereafter, the army cut off the Qashqai's migration routes in order to force them to settle down . Those who stayed in the mountains suffered from severe repression. The tribal elders were replaced by incompetent followers of the government. They were denied access to the wells, their flocks were decimated, and their property was confiscated. In this way, many nomads became farm laborers, or they found jobs in road and railroad construction. However, they were left with only unhealthy, sometimes malaria-infested regions as settlement areas.

After the efforts of Reza Shah Pahlavi did not "bear fruit", most of the Qashqai returned to their old nomadic way of life. Pressure on the qashqai to settle down had increased again in the early nineteen sixties, intensified by the land reform of 1963, and led to revolts against the government in South Fars, which were militarily suppressed in the late 1980s. Many thousands of Qashqai nomads nevertheless remained nomadic.

World War II and Iran crisis

After the fall of Reza Pahlavis, who sympathized with Nazi Germany , by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran , Nasir Khan, who had been imprisoned since 1933, and his brother Chosrow Khan were released and immediately returned to the tribal areas. Nasir Khan declared himself an Ilkhan and saw to it that the seasonal migrations resume. The tribal areas gained extensive autonomy. Nasir Khan refused to pay taxes to Tehran. His dislike of the British drove him into an alliance with the Germans. Bernhardt Schulze-Holthus , Abwehr agent , became a military advisor in Firuzabad in early summer 1942. At the urging of the British, the central government sent troops to the south of the country in the spring of 1943. There were numerous clashes with the Qashqai and other renegade tribes. After several loss-making defeats, the government concluded an armistice with Nasir Khan, which guaranteed the Qashqai their autonomy and their arming. In return, u. a. Persian garrisons are set up in Firuzabad. In 1943 Nasir's brothers Malek Mansur Khan and Mohammed Hussein Khan returned to Iran from exile in Germany. However, they were set by the British and exchanged for Schulze-Holthus in 1944, whose presence had become a burden for Nasir Khan.

In 1946 there was another uprising of the tribal unions in southern Persia. This time it was instrumentalized by the central government under Prime Minister Ahmad Qavām , which sought support in its resistance to Soviet influence (→ Iran crisis ). Nasir Khan, in turn, saw the chance to play an important role in Iranian politics as the leader of a large anti-Soviet coalition. At the same time he tried to improve the living conditions in the province of Fars. A conference of tribal and religious leaders called in September 1946 called, among other things, to form provincial parliaments, to improve representation in the Majles and to allow two thirds of the province's tax revenue to benefit. When these demands were rejected, the tribes between Khuzestan and Kerman rose up . Qashqai fighters occupied the cities of Abadeh and Kazerun and penetrated the outskirts of Shiraz. The government's calculations worked, and in October the ministers belonging to the pro-Soviet Tudeh party were dismissed. Prime Minister Ahmad Qavām gave in to most of the demands of the insurgent tribes, and Chosrow Khan was elected as a member of the Iranian Democratic Party of Qavāms to represent the Qashqai in the Majles. Parliament rejected the Soviet oil concessions in Iran and the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad , which was under Soviet protection, was liquidated.

Post War and Islamic Revolution

The years 1945–1953 saw the Qashqai flourish. They enjoyed almost complete autonomy under the leadership of the "Four Brothers", Sovlat al-Dowla's sons. Nasir Khan and Malek Mansur Khan were tribal leaders in Fars province, while Mohammed Hussein Khan and Chosrow Khan represented their interests in Tehran. In 1953 they supported Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in his attempt to overthrow the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (→ National Front ). After Mossadegh's imprisonment during Operation Ajax , Qashqai troops threatened to occupy Shiraz in order to persuade the new government under Fazlollah Zahedi to release Mossadegh. As a result, the Four Brothers were forced into exile in 1954 and their property was confiscated. The government then increased the pressure on the nomads to settle down. Many tribesmen settled in the cities to work in factories or in the oil industry. With the traditional way of life, the political structures of the Qashqai also disintegrated. In connection with the White Revolution , the government finally declared the tribal structures to be abolished in 1963, and the rights of the remaining khan were stripped of their rights. Malek Mansur Khan and Mohammed Hussein Khan were even allowed to return to Iran, although they were not allowed to enter the Fars province. However, there were also social improvements for the Qashqai nomads. Mobile teachers have made great strides in literacy .

Many Qashqai also took part in the demonstrations that led to the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. In the course of the Islamic Revolution , Nasir Khan and Chosrow Khan were able to return to Iran. At first they were close to the new regime under Ayatollah Khomeini . However, this quickly changed when the theocratic government embarked on a tight centralization course. Chosrow Khan was accused of being a CIA agent . When the Revolutionary Guards tried to arrest him in Tehran in June 1980, a rift broke out between the Qashqai and the central authorities. Chosrow Khan fled to Firuzābād , where he organized the resistance together with Nasir Khan. With 600 Qashqai fighters they set up a fortified camp in the nearby mountains, which they defended against attacks by the Revolutionary Guards for two years. A surprise attack at night by Revolutionary Guards transported by helicopters finally forced the Qashqai to give up their position in April 1982 and retreat to the high mountains, leaving behind their material. A few days later, when Abdullah Khan, Nasir Khan's eldest son and only doctor, died of a heart attack, Nasir Khan gave up the resistance. With Kurdish help, he was able to flee Iran in May 1982. In July 1982 Khosrow Khan signed an agreement with the government to end the uprising. In September a revolutionary court in Shiraz sentenced him to death. The sentence was publicly carried out on October 8, 1982. Other Qashqai leaders, including Malek Mansur Khan, were also detained. The history of the Qashqai tribal union ends with the death of Nasir Khan as the last Ilkhan in January 1984.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl Schlamminger, Peter Lamborn Wilson: Weaver of Tales. Persian Picture Rugs / Persian tapestries. Linked myths. 1980, pp. 145–147 ( The Lions ) and pp. 178–193 (Lion carpets of the Qashqai).
  2. ^ Karl Schlamminger, Peter Lamborn Wilson: Weaver of Tales. Persian Picture Rugs / Persian tapestries. Linked myths. 1980, p. 172 f.
  3. ↑ KW Bash, J. Bash-Liechti: The Qashqai . In: Developing Psychiatry . Psychiatry Series. tape 43 . Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 1987, ISBN 978-3-642-82915-4 , pp. 96–109 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-642-82915-4_7 (English, preview on the first two pages ).