Local conflicts in the context of Iranian culture and society (Case study of the Owbaja rite in Sheshtamad -Khorasan Razavi)

Document Type : original research article

Authors
1 Associate Professor of Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Hakim Sabzevari University,Sabzevar, Iran
2 Assistant Professor of Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Hakim Sabzevari University,Sabzevar
Abstract
The problem that whether Iranian are participative or not, has been an important question during the half of the recent century among rural studies. While some studies focus on local struggles in Iran society, assume Iranian inexperienced in group cooperation, others based on field observations have emphasized on the consensus aspects of rural areas of Iran.The present study investigates that how cultural mechanisms manage and control conflicts around the division of water -as a scarce source - among farmers in a rural area in Khorasan Razavi province. Inspired by theoretical notions of anthropology and use of qualitative methodology, this study analyzed the noted rite as a mediated situation between political conditions. Results showed that in-spite of local conflicts and tensions, Iranian society has maintained its own solidarity as well as stability by help of cultural and ritual mechanisms.
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