Arasbaran
Arasbārān (Persian: ارسباران) or Qaradağ ( قرهداغ or Garadagh in English texts), is a UNESCO registered biosphere reserve (since 1976) and an Iranian Dept. of Environment designated "Protected Area" in East Azarbaijan Province, Iran, with a varying altitude from 256m in the vicinity of Aras River to 2896m and covers an area of 78560 hectares. The biosphere is also home for 23,500 nomads who are living in transition buffer in 2000 altitude.[1] Arasbaran is confined to Aras River in the north, Meshgin Shahr County and Moghan in the east, Sarab County in the south, and Tabriz and Marand counties in the west. The historical name of the region is recorded as Qaradagh (قرهداغ) or Qaraja dagh (قراجهداغ),[2][3] but in official records since Pahlavi era the name Arasbaran has been in usage. Still, the name Qaradağ is used by the inhabitants[4].
Arasbaran Ecotourism Potential
The area is home to 215 species of birds, notably Caucasian Black Grouse, Grey Partridge, Black Francolin, and Common Pheasant, 29 species of reptiles, 48 species of mammals, notably wild Goat, wild Boar, Brown Bear, Wolf, Lynx, and Leopard, and 17 species of fish. There is an effort going on to revitalize the extinct sub-species of Caspian red deer local to the area. The local flora include Hornbeam, Sumac, and Berberis.[5][6] A recent study has indicated that three sites have the highest potential for ecotourism. These sites, which are located alongside the road connecting Kaleybar to Asheqli (Abbasabad-Aynali-Vayqan direction), include Makidi valley, Aynali forests and Babak Castle.[7] There are, however, more unexplored touristic potentials. One example is a holy mountain located at the coordinate (38°55'16.64"N,46°47'24.62"E). Most inhabitants of the now abandoned village, Garmanav, were Izadis, the followers Yârsân religion. They used to slaughter sacrificial animals in the site, which is located at the slopes of a hill. Nobody bothered to ask the reasons behind the holiness of the site. However, the pleasures of an occasional feast was so tempting that the followers of the Shia' sect attended the holy site, too. Nowadays there is few worshipers and the centuries long tradition are almost forgotten. The revival of these rituals may attract cultural visitors.
Demography
In the wake of Russian-Iranian wars of early nineteenth century a significant fraction of the inhabitants lived as nomadic tribes (ایلات). Moreover, a significant fraction of the inhabitants lived as nomadic tribes (ایلات); Cilibyanlu 1500 tents and houses, Karacurlu 2500, Haji Alilu 800, Begdillu 200, and various minor groups 500.[8] At the time Ahar, with 3500 inhabitants, was the only city of Qaradağ[9] By the beginning of twentieth century the settlement of tribesman were growing and in 1920 there were more than four hundred villages, less than thirty of which were Armenian.[10]
The defeat of Azerbaijan People's Government and the following tragic events, resulted in mass migration of inhabitants to Tabriz and Tehran. Most of these migrants settled in the shanty towns and worked as painters. The land reforms of 1962–1964[11] accelerated the migration. The case of a typical village, Abbasabad, is a good example to demonstrate the population depletion; the number of families dropped from 60 families at 1970 to 12 at 2006.
After the election of Ahmadinezhad as president of Iran, a rumour was circulated that the UNESCO will compensate the residents to have the village evacuated for the wild-life protection efforts. Some early emigrants returned and built decent houses. At the present the region is undergoing a population boom as more wealthy city residents want to spend their retirement in cleaner environment. For instance, the number of families in the foretold Abbasabad has gone up to 20.
Language
The spoken language is Azerbaijani, which belongs to the western group of southwestern, or Oghuz, branch of Turkic language family. It has a high degree of intelligibility with Anatolian Turkish.[12] Most inhabitants are familiar with Persian language, which is the official language of Iran and the sole language of education. Until 1980, the elders of four villages (Chay Kandi, Kalasor, Khoynarood, and Arazin) were communicating in Tati.[13][14]
Religion
The majority of people are followers of Shia Islam. The last Armenian person passed away in 1978. The region is also home to a large number of the followers of the Yarisan religion (Shamloo).
Cultural Heritage
Turkish language has a rare and unusual point of grammar called the hearsay tense.[15] Consequently, in Turkish speaking society the boundary between the private and shared memories becomes fuzzy, and the magnitude of time lapse between the events shrinks. This is an ideal feature for the generation of oral cultural artifacts, particularly mythology, epics and folkloric music.
Mythology
The inhabitants of every village attribute spiritual importance to at multiple sites, scattered throughout the village territory. They are generally located in areas with rapid variation on the land topography, and are in some way linked to Djins via established narratives. Most of these sites possess any significantly conspicuous landmark. At some sites, which are considered sacred by many villages, people will occasionally gather to slaughter sacrificial animals or offer a simple meal of freshly baked bread and cheese with tea. At some sites, they have collected medium sized rocks around some trees and hang color treads or ribbons from the trees.
In most villages, there are more sites with narrative associations, which are not considered sacred. These sites are in secluded locations formed by natural topography of the landscape. Often the narratives involve bears as the principal subject. The main theme of the narratives is the following. A male bear kidnaps a blackberry picking pretty girl and takes her to his din. A hybrid child is born, but the girl runs away at the first opportunity leaving the lamenting bear entreatingly crying for his lost wife.
Toğs; relics of Ashura day?
Ashura, the 10'th day of the lunar month Muharram, is the day at which the mourning celebrations commemorating Imam Husayns' martyrdom reach their climax.[16] In Qaradağ three Toğs, palm sized metallic icons fixed on a medium sized wooden handles, are harbingers of the exact hour when Husayn was killed; they relapse to utter in-animation following ten days of relentless erratic movements at the hands of their carriers (alamdars). The three tuğs -believed to be sisters- are housed in the mosques of Alherd, Vayqan, and Kalasor villages and are greatly revered by the inhabitants of all neighbouring villages. Unfortunately, there is no systematic studies or first hand reports on these fascinating relics. Still, every year, as a ritualistic obligation, the expatriates flock to the said villages to receive the blessings of the sacred day in the company of their sacred Toğs,
Ashughi Music and Qaradağ's contribution
Bəlkə bu yerlərə birdə gəlmədim (I may not come to these mountains again)
duman səlamət qal dağ səlamət qal (Farewell to the Mist and to the mountain)
arxamca su səpir göydə bulutlar (Clouds sprinkle drops of rain)
leysan səlamət qal yağ səlamət qal (Farewell to summer days, farewell to the rain)
These opening verses of a contemporary Ashug song, composed by Məhəmməd Araz, may well represent the essence of Qaradağ's cultural identity; frequent allusions to a mountain with the intention of arousing an emotional state with a tone of mild melancholy- a state well expressed by the Ashughi Music.
A century long autocratic nation building policies of Pahlavi era in Iran has succeeded in cultural assimilation in the favor of a government sanctioned culture. The mountainous region of Qaradağ, however, relatively escaped the demise due to its remoteness and inaccessibility. Many elements of the indigenous culture, particularly local music, have survived to the present day. More recently a slow but persistent cultural revival has been in progress and the inhabitants along with their city dwelling relatives perceive an awareness of their common cultural roots with the inhabitants of eastern Turkey and Azerbaijan republics,where a cultural renaissance is well underway since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Ashughi music is cornerstone of this shared identity.
Unfortunately, there is no record of the Ashughs, except a mention of Aşıq Ali of Kaleybar in an ashik story narrating a romantic adventure. The number of ashughs has significantly increased after Aşiq Imran Heydəri (عاشیق ایمران حیدری) started accepting pupils to his academic style classes in Tabriz. Imran's efforts effectively shifted the general impression of the ashugh music from association to the nomadic life in mountains to a music suited for performances in urban settings. At present, the de facto representative of ashughs is Aşiq Rəsol Qorbani from Abbasabad village.
Economy
Up until Islamic revolution the region had a subsistence economy – all food was produced within the villages and the surplus was bartered with items supplied by travelling salesman. Rainfed agriculture on the steep slopes had severely eroded the farms and productivity had dropped to unsustainable low level, and the inhabitants had to supplement their income by taking seasonal construction jobs in Tehran. After revolution, thanks to the construction of roads and accessibility of larger town markets, livestock production became the dominant mode of the region's economy. However, the quarrels over grazing rights didn't allow large scale animal agriculture.
In recent years beekeeping is the only occupation that can provide a family with sufficient income. The honey produced in villages close to pastures is renowned for the its quality and has an established niche market.
Notable people
- Sattar Khan was originally from Qaradağ. He is considered as a national hero of Iran and is referred to as سردار ملی (meaning National Commander). He headed Constitutionalist rebels from the Amirkhiz district of Tabriz in early twentieth century.[17]
- Babak Khorramdin, who until recently was fairly unknown to locals, is becoming a national hero particularly among new generation of Iranians as a symbol of resistance against Arab invasion twelve centuries ago. During the relative liberalism of Khatami era (1997–2005) every year on the last week of June Azerbijani nationalists celebrated his birthday symbolically at the Babak Castle.[18]
- Karim Pasha Bahadori, a prominent landlord, was the secretary of former queen, Farah Pahlavi.[19]
- Andre Agassi, the retired professional tennis player and former World No. 1, is the son of man originally from Arasbaran.[20]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?code=IRA+01&mode=all Profile at UNESCO biosphere reserve directory
- ^ مستوفی، حمدالله. نزهةالقلوب (مقالهٔ سوم). به کوشش محمد دبیرسیاقی. چاپ اول. قزوین: حدیث امروز، ۱۳۸۱. ISBN 964-7536-17-8.
- ^ https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%85
- ^ امیر تقی پور, قره داغ، زبان و تاریخچه آن, http://www.aharri.com/?p=2818
- ^ Asef, M.R. (2007) Macrofungi flora of Arasbaran 1. Cortinarius subgenus Myxacium. Rostaniha 8(2) 178–185
- ^ Asef, M.R. (2012), Lepiotaceous fungi (Agaricaceae) in the Iranian part of Caucasia, Turkish J. of Botany. 36: 289–294. doi:10.3906/bot-1006-10
- ^ Neda Mohseni, Shahram Roostaei, Arasbaran ecotourism potential assessment whit emphasis on the scientific and additional values, International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences. (2012) 3:1143–1147
- ^ R. Khanam, Encycl. Ethnography Of Middle-East And Central Asia, 2005, p. 313
- ^ Bibliothèque orientale Elzévirienne, Volume 52; Volume 55, 1887 p.224.
- ^ Report on India and Persia of the deputation: sent by the Board of foreign missions of the Presbyterian church in the U.S.A. to visit these fields in 1921–22, p. 513
- ^ William Bayne Fisher (editor), The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 1, 1968 p.684
- ^ Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World, 2010, Elsevier, p. 110-113
- ^ James Stuart Olson, Lee Brigance Pappas, Nicholas Charles Pappas (Editors), An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires 1994, p. 623
- ^ E. Yarshater, Iranian Languages and Texts from Iran and Turan, edited by Maria Macuch, Mauro Maggi, Werner Sundermann, 2007, page 443.
- ^ Orhan Pamuk, Istanbul: Memories and the City, Random house (2004)
- ^ Reinhol Loefler, Islam in Practice: Religious Beliefs in a Persian Village, State University of New York Press, 1988, p. 290
- ^ Ervand Abrahamian, Iran Between Two Revolutions, Princeton University Press, 1982 p.97
- ^ Rafie Hamidpour,Land of Lion, Land of Sun, 2010, authorHouse, Page 17
- ^ Farah Pahlavi, Patricia Clancy, An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah: A Memoir, 2005, Miramax Books
- ^ Dominic Cobello, Mike Agassi, Kate Shoup Welsh, The Agassi Story, 2008,BCW PRESS
