Anthropological Recognition of Customs and Traditions of Mate Selection in Sirjan, Iran

Abstract

Marriage is an action which happens based on mutually beneficial sexual relations between two opposite couples. Marriage is a complete action; it means that it is an economic, social, cultural and physical relation. Marriage has different traditions in every part of Iran. But it has roots is in religion, faith and culture of that nation. It took a long time that these traditions change in previous centuries but in recent decades they had lot of changes. In this study all old and modern traditions that are happening subsequently in marriage celebration have been mentioned. Sirjan is one of Kerman’s cities which located in a distance about 180 km away from Tehran in direction to Bandar Abbas, Fars, and Kerman to Tehran.  Reviewing different cultural, social and economic traditions and customs aspects of marriage in this city are the main purposes of this research. In this study we have used “intensive method” which is for anthropological and limited scopes of studies. For reviewing mate selection styles and customs and traditions in mentioned city the issues such as “formal proposal, approval, please, betrothal party, bath taking, slinky bath, espousing, formal espousing, touching hands, secret(silent) wedding, loud wedding, handsel gift and the day after wedding(Seyyomoon)will be studied. Since in Iranian culture, literature and science were exclusive to noblesse and court, in historical books hardly can find signs of people’s vulgar culture conditions in a special region of Iran. It is supposed that public’s life details, especially in far regions, are hidden behind the historical and social realties innocently. Therefore, for finding the roots of public culture that marriage is one of its important branches and its spiritual recording and recognition of cultural identity of this region and its effect on other structures, relations and family behaviors which are population evolutions, modernism effects scientific developments, mutual cultural effects, help us in management construction and solving problems of such communities.