Religion and Daily Life in the Mountains of Iran: Theology, Saints, People

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Until the 1960s, little was known inside or outside Iran about the tribes living in the country. The anthropological research of Erika Friedl is now renowned for presenting comprehensive data collected over a 50-year period from her time among the Boir Ahmad tribal people living in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. In this new book, Friedl turns her attention to the subject of religion, which she had only touched upon in her previous work. About ninety percent of people in Iran and nearly everybody in Boir Ahmad are Muslims of the Twelver Shia group. However, studies of tribal peoples religiosity, beliefs and rituals are scarce, and many researchers have discounted their views and experience, regarding the tribes as only nominally religious because their practices do not fit in with the mainstream practices and ideas in Iran. Religion and Daily Life in the Mountains of Iran corrects this view and provides a hallmark study of tribal peoples religiosity. Demonstrating the great diversity of their philosophical and religious ideas, the book reveals the ways in which the tribes choose and express their religion, define their communities and understand their world. From conversations about God and his relationships with people, to observations on ageing and death, and research into the tribes use of spells, amulets and sacrifices, to their beliefs about saints, health and well-being, the book is an original ethnographic exploration of religion and daily life.

Reviews

This book is a treasure. From it, we can learn more deeply what anthropology is, how to go about anthropology, and how to understand people and their culture. * American Ethnologist *

Author Bio

Erika Friedl is The E.E. Meader Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Western Michigan University, USA. Between 1965 and 2015 she won numerous grants to carry out fieldwork in Boir Ahmad, West Iran. Friedl is the author of several books on the people of Boir Ahmad, including: Women of Deh Koh (1991), Children of Deh Koh (1997), Warm Hearts and Sharp Tongues (2015), as well as Folktales and Storytellers of Iran (I.B.Tauris, 2014) and Folksongs from the Mountains of Iran (I.B.Tauris, 2017). In 2020 she was announced as the winner of the Association of Iranian Studies Lifetime Achievement Award.