Settlement of the Iranian Nomads and Development of their Social Life (A Case Study of Vary-Alinazar Tribesmen of Ilam Province)

This article explores the feasibility of developing the Iranian nomads’ social life. Such feasibility is evaluated based on an integrated conceptual framework and by means of a multi-dimensional scale. The results indicate that overall the Iranian modern states have been treating the nomads politically rather than giving them a rational treatment. In the Pahlavi era the nomadic tribes and the tribal system as a whole generated their own solidarity and the nomads lacked inclination toward sedentarization. Many attempts were made to forcibly settle the nomads in villages. In recent decades along with deformation and the consequent demise of the tribal system the nomads have been volunteering for a sedentary life, both in rural and urban settings, in order to benefit from the modern amenities. This is probably the reason why the government has not taken voluntary and planned sedentarization much seriously. Today most of the nomads are facing the problems of anomie and its negatives consequences. The development of the nomadic life cannot be achieved under a deformed tribal system. Thus, the government should acknowledge such a situation and seriously pursue voluntary and planned sedentarization geared towards developing the nomads’ life under a new sub-system which is integrated in the national system.