Two lovers dream of each other, and the land that both separates and unites them in this sensual poem. When the warm weather comes, and the woman has gone off with the tribe to the ‘Cold Country’ (called sardsir, sarhador yelaq,). For the first time, the man has been left behind in the ‘Warm Country’ (garmsir), to …
This ballard describes brave men and a gorgeous woman who were also included in Henry Layard’s account of his 1841 sojourn and fighting alongside the Bakhtiari – shortly before he discovered Nineveh/Nimrud (see www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/bakhtiari-kuch/eet/layard/ for more information and images). The poem is about the battle between the Duraki and Behdarwand tribes. Ja’far Quli Khan was chief of …
This traditional lament shows the depth and strength of grief. It is said to be ‘very old’. Lorimer apparently originally recorded 24 lines, but only reported the first eight. He writes “It is said that after a man’s death his clothes are tied up in a bundle (buqca). Then, every day in the year that …
This poem has a hilarious satirical kick – literally – in its ending. It is not clear which Qajar king this might have been addressed to; and Lorimer is not even sure if the language in this poem is convincingly Bakhtiari. However, it’s certainly an example of satire. I want a man wise and crafty, …
The mother of Abul Qasim composed this poem after his death, and made him famous among all the Bakhtiari. The story was given by the reciter as follows: “Abul Qasim went to Shiraz. The daughter of his father’s brother was betrothed to him. He went to get a camel, so that he might celebrate his marriage …