Nafar
ORIGIN
Nafar,
the fifth of the “five tribes”, has lost all significance in the tribal
organization of Fars and is mentioned here for purposes of record only.
The
tribe is of Turki origin and the language of the remaining tribesmen is Turki.
It became separated from the Persian Turki tribes before the formation of
Qashqai as a tribal group and has had no subsequent connexion with Qashqai.
Some of the sub-tribes of Qashqai include sub-sections with the name of Nafar
but the connexion, if any, of these sub-sections with the Nafar of Khamseh
dates back to the period before the appearance of the name Qashqai.
HISTORY
The
Nafar were recorded in 1918 as being sedentary in the Gerash (UT96) district
west of Lar and in the Mervdasht plain. It is uncertain whether the Nafar
resumed partial migration between 1918 and 1923 or whether they in fact always
sent part of their number with the tribal flocks and herds when the rest of the
Khamseh moved to summer and winter quarters. The Governor of Khamseh, Amir
Arfa, has stated that Reza Shah’s officials forced the Nafar to settle in the
late twenties, partly in the summer quarters at Ramjerd (UC33) and partly in
the winter quarters, at Sahra-ye Bagh, a district about 15 miles south-west of
Lar. The Ramjerd section took to agriculture but on the fall of Reza Shah again
concentrated their attention on sheep-breeding and from 1942 until 1945
regularly sent a group of shepherds with their animals to spend the winter in
Sarvestan (UH93). The Lar section has shifted its centre from Gerash but does
not seem to have been nomadic for more than 30 years. Throughout the year
however they move, in search of fresh pasture, within a radius of 15 miles of
their centre at Sahra-ye Bagh.
The
Nafar tribe has become scattered and reduced in numbers to such an extent that
it occupies a less important position in the Khamseh administration than many
small attached tribes such as Lashani.
RAMJERD
SECTION
The
Ramjerd plain is a most productive area, owned largely by Shiraz landlords. The
Nafar tribespeople settled in the district do not, with one exception, own
their own land.
The
plain, a description of whose physical features and climate can be found under
other tribal headings of Khamseh, is watered by a series of irrigation channels
drawn off the Kur River 6 miles to the west by means of a wooden barrage
rebuilt each spring by Abdol Hossein Dehqan’s tenants. (Dehqan, a Shiraz Bahai,
is one of the main landowners of the area.) The produce of the area includes
beet, rice, wheat and barley. Surplus crops are very large but the profit from
these goes into the pockets of the landowners. The Nafar who are indifferent
farmers live in very poor conditions which would be worse were it not for sales
of produce from their flocks and herds. The stock-raising is a relic of what
was once the mainstay of their economy. A number of the Ramjerd Nafar join the
Arab migration from the north to the south and take their flocks to Sarvestan
for the winter.
A
track from Persepolis to Ramjerd, motorable in summer only gives access to this
section of Nafar (see KHAMSEH-COMMUNICATIONS―(c) Settled Tribes―(iii)).
The
Nafar of Ramjerd are loosely bound under the supervision of Rahman who does not
hold an official appointment as kalantar. His assistant is Afrasiab. The five
sub-sections have no kadkhodas but come under the control of the man in charge
of the village in which they live. This man in charge is the agent of the
Shiraz landlord who owns the village. Rahman is the representative of Nafar and
forwards complaints etc. to the Governor of Khamseh.
The
Nafar, both of Ramjerd and Lar, have a good reputation and appear to be on good
terms with the neighbouring Persian villagers.
A
Nafar tribesman retains scarcely any Turki facial features or characteristics
of dress or way of life. He has intermingled thoroughly with his Persian
neighbours and in appearance is practically indistinguishable from them.
Nafar
of Ramjerd total about 120 families (600 souls). They comprise 5 sub-sections
which are still distinct groups: Zamankhani, Bagdeli, Khoshnami, Kulikhani and
Shudi.
SAHRA-YE
BAGH SECTION
The
Sahra-ye Bagh district, lying in the mountains south-west of Lar, is one of the
most barren areas and possesses one of the most unpleasant climates of Fars.
The land scarcely supports life and the 300 Nafar families living in the
district exist rather than live. Very little agriculture is possible except in
winter and the tribe engage principally in stock-raising. For this reason they
spend the summer wandering among the foothills of the mountains to find grass
for their sheep and goats. They penetrate the mountains 15-20 miles east and
west of the Lar-Lengeh track. They are forced to buy much of their food from
the Lar bazaar and meet such expenses with the profits gained from hiring out
their camels and donkeys for transport of grain and other produce in the Lar
area.
Sahra-ye
Bagh can be reached in a stout car by way of the abandoned motor track from Lar
to Bastak and Lengeh.
Nafar
of Lar (the name usually given to this section) have no kalantar and their
sub-sections have no official kadkhodas. A number of leading men represent
their people when summoned by the Governor of Khamseh. These include Sardar-e
Dulikhani, a retired thief.
A
few families of Nafar of Lar have taken themselves off to other parts of
Larestan. The Qobatkhanlu group of Dulikhani lives in the Ab Rud Shur (Sabeh)
district south-east of Darab, wandering in the desert in search of grazing for
their Dulikhani and Margemari sub-sections are similarly occupied in the Juyom
district. The activities of these small groups and such rogues as Sardar-e
Dulikhani have given the Nafar of Lar a bad name which they do not deserve. In
reality they are well-behaved.
The
Nafar of Lar also have lost all Turki characteristics.
The
Sahra-ye Bagh section of Nafar combined with the small groups in the Darab and
Juyom districts total about 330 families. The total is made up as follows:
|
Sub-section
|
No. of families
|
Habitat
|
|
Lar
|
150
|
Sahra-ye Bagh
|
|
Dulikhani
|
150
|
Sahra-ye Bagh, Juyom and Ab Rud Shur*
|
|
Margemari
|
30
|
Juyom
|
|
TOTAL
|
330 FAMILIES
|
|
*Qobatkhanlu group
G. F.
Magee, The Tribes of Fars, Simla, 1948, pp. 153―154.
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