The Role of Myth and Sacred Narratives in the Construction of Collective Identity among the Tribes of Lorestan
Document Type : پژوهشی اصیل
Authors
1
Department of Anthropology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2
PhD student of sociology of Social-Rural development, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
3
University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences.
10.48311/cfl.2026.86376.0
Abstract
The present study seeks to investigate and analyze a local legend in the Pāpi tribe (Lorestan), known as the legend of Shul-e Gad, and its relationship with and impact on the political life of this tribe. Gad among the Pāpi people means a hornless goat, and Shul-e Gad is the narrative of a legendary goat, a disciple of Geymed (Prince Ahmad), the sacred Imamzadeh of the Pāpi tribe, which is killed by his enemies. The Pāpi people, the Hivedi clan (from the Bakhtiari tribe), and some other clans, by referring to this legend, refrain from slaughtering the Gad goat and consider eating it forbidden. Based on this legend, they also believe that a scorpion's sting never affects them, and if someone dies from a scorpion sting, they must certainly not be of the pure lineage of these clans. This article, while analyzing this mythical narrative using ethnographic methods—specifically a combination of data from in-depth interviews, participant observation, and analysis of historical sources—seeks to answer the question of why and how these clans and tribes construct such a narrative, and what functions such narratives have had in the tribal life of these people. The results of this study show that various tribes and clans of Lorestan and Bakhtiari, by adhering to such legends, distinguish between self and other, construct a sacred/secular identity, and thereby strengthen their internal solidarity and cohesion to prevent the decline and collapse of their tribal structure.
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