نشریه نامه انسان شناسی
پیاپی 38 (بهار و تابستان 1403)

Proverbs are a set of thoughts and ideas that are expressed as succinct allegorical expressions and sentences and reflect the cultural values of the people of a society. Proverbs carry a deep insight into the customs, traditions and cultural heritage of a society and therefore help the people of that society to have a common conceptualization of the world and the experiences of their daily lives. It is mainly due to the disclosure of cultural and common values, that the proverbs always play a central role in anthropological studies from different point of views. Using the theory of cultural models, which is one of the most important theories proposed in cognitive anthropology, this article examines twelve Persian proverbs that are used in challenging situations among twenty Persian-speaking informants. Using descriptive-analytical method, the similarity test and multidimensional scaling, this research want to show what kind of cultural models Persian speakers use in critical situations as problem solving strategies. In fact, the purpose of this research is to pave the path to find an answer from a mental-cognitive point of view to the question of what are the cultural models and cultural strategies to solve the problem in critical and challenging situations among Persian speakers. The results showed that "trying to change conditions", "changing attitude towards conditions", "adapting to critical conditions" are among the cultural models that they use as problem solving strategies in times of crisis and challenge.

Parables are one of the main components of popular culture and a genuine translator of various aspects of people's lives in every period. Morality, education and training are amongst the most important areas of people's lives that can be studied and researched through parables because such areas are among the most prominent features of the parables and also major factors in their promotion and survival among the masses. In this descriptive-analytical study, which is based on library documents and sources and field data, moral vices in the domain of Lak people parables, one of the aboriginal and cultured Iranian tribes, have been studied and analyzed. The results of the research show that the subject of many of Laki parables is the condemnation and prevention of moral vices, and in this regard, such Laki parables can be viewed as a practical and comprehensive moral model. Here are some of the moral vices which Laki parables warn us against: extravagance, revelation of secrets, stinginess, malice, conspiracy against others, ignorance, unemployment and laziness, blind imitation, greed, jealousy, disrespecting God, anger, selfishness, betrayal of trust, lying, stealing, enmity, insult, abuse of others' problems, gluttony, outrageous jokes, oppression, haste, blame-seeking, pride, resentment, arrogance before God, stubbornness, strife, hypocrisy, and false promise.

Mourning is one of the rituals that has a different shape according to the thought and religion of each society. Cutting hair is one of the rituals of mourning that has been reflected in various literary texts and its objectives are examined in terms of literary research and anthropology. This research attempts to examine hair cutting and its goals in a descriptive-analytical way in epic, lyrical, mystical, fictional and historical narrative texts until the seventh century. The results show that this custom is a type of non-blood scripture and one of the ways to moderate suicide and human sacrifice, and due to the socio-cultural differences of societies, it is not possible to issue a single ruling for its motives. According to studies, this custom was common in various cultures including Iran, Greece, Rome, India and Mesopotamia in the mourning of kings, princes, warriors, elders, children, and was often used in symbolic meanings such as: symbolizing life, staying true to your spouse, denying sex, austerity, breaking the bond with your spouse's relatives, mourning, sacrificing breath, bonding with the cosmos, disrepute, and offering beauty.

In the beliefs and opinions of the Iranian people, giving birth and having children is one of the most important stages of life, and every woman enters a new stage of her life by having a child, and upon entering this stage, the society recognizes her in a new form and identity, under the title of mother. Although the Rituals related to pregnancy and birth have similarities throughout Iran, they also have structural differences. Customs and beliefs related to birth in Jiroft are very diverse and have been formed under the influence of the environment, religion and mythological beliefs. The main purpose of this research is to study and investigate birth rituals and beliefs in the folk culture of Jiroft, referring to the texts related to the popular culture and seeking to answer the question, what function these rituals and beliefs have had in Jiroft and how they have guaranteed the survival of the human race in this region. The data of this research have been collected through library sources, field observation and interview.

Universities in Iran face numerous challenges that hinder their ability to fulfill their intended roles. One potential approach to addressing these issues is better understanding students' subjective world. As a social reality product of human actions, the university is influenced by the social context. This article aims to uncover the hidden layers of perceptions regarding knowledge,  university, academic interactions, and obstacles to educational. This qualitative research employed the grounded theory method. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews, each lasting 40 to 60 minutes. The sampling method was non-probability, starting with purposive sampling and transitioning to theoretical sampling as the interviews progressed. Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached, and the core category of "stagnation of academic engagement" emerged. Three focus group sessions were held with the research participants to validate the concepts and articles obtained. 92 concepts were identified, 22 subcategories were formed, and 6 main categories were established.These categories were organized based on the paradigmatic model into five axes: causal conditions (personal motivations for university enrollment, soft-structural deficiencies, inverted professors), intervening conditions (hard-structural deficiencies), contextual conditions (outdated traditions), strategies, and outcomes. The research findings indicate a stagnation of academic engagement among the study sample.

The axial subject of this article is tooth, one of the biological common things among the different species and culturalized in human species. Similar to body, tooth as a culturalized biologic thing has both natural history and socio-cultural dynamics and historicity, so it can be a matter for interdisciplinary studies because of its many natural and cultural implications. Tooth is a matter for biology and medical sciences because it is a natural thing, and on the other hand it can be a subject for study in human sciences, because it can be assumed as a total cultural and social phenomenon. This article is written in the domain of one of the branches of Cultural and/or Biological Anthropology i.e. Dental Anthropology. It is influenced by Marsel Mauss consept of Total Social Phenomenon, therefore has tried to pay attention to the variable socio-cultural  implications and aspects of tooth in the Iranian socio-cultural contex such as: linguistical, economical, organizational, professional, labour-related, mythical, literatural, artistical, historical and so on. The data of this writing have been gathered from documents, observations and the writer's lived experience in a part of this contex and have been represented from his point of view.

Persian proverbs, as a form of folk literature, reflect the cultural and intellectual inclinations of the people towards peace and non-violence. Considering the importance of revisiting cultural heritage to understand the capacities for peace, coexistence and reducing social conflicts, this study extracts and categorizes examples of social tolerance in Persian proverbs, including religious tolerance, behavioral tolerance, passive tolerance, and general tolerance. Utilizing the concept of discourse as outlined by Laclau and Mouffe, this study reveals aspects of the dominant intellectual patterns reflected in these proverbs, identifying sources of power and factors influencing the representation of social tolerance. The research findings are categorized according to Peter King's components of social tolerance and by employing the discourse analysis method, the impact of religious, individualistic and peace discourse on social tolerance as an element of public morality is explored. The results indicate that the discourse of peace and its associated humanitarian tendencies are most frequently represented as markers of social tolerance in the Persian proverbs studied.

Emigrating and departing from one's homeland often induces problems in the immigrant life, leading to numerous identity crises that one type of it pertains to one's name. Name is a fundamental and integral component of individual's identity, serving as a tangible representation of one's overall sense of “Self ”. The immigrants, who are often perceived as “Others” or foreigners in the new country, sometimes change their name in an attempt to assimilate and gain a sense of belonging. This change of names is evident among not only the first-generation, but also the second-generation of immigrants, i.e., their children. Considering the necessity of clarifying different dimensions of migration literature, this article attempts to analyze the phenomena of the immigrant’s name crisis as one of the components of identity which is an important matter in the fields of anthropology and sociologiy of literature. We have done this by analyzing literal textes in the three novels “Postcard” and “Who Believes Rostam” written by Rouhangiz Sharifian, as well as "Return” written by Goli Taraqqi, using a descriptive analytical approach. The findings suggest that the immigrants experience identity crises. Name crisis serves an identity function and can be studied and analyzed in two groups of the first and second generations of immigrants.

In recent 60 years, Iran has transformed from a society with rural to a one with urban majority. Rural culture and life style has been very weak facing against ongoing procedure of development and modern technologies and its diverse achievements; and had no remedy but submission. Most of the surviving villages have maintained only parts of rural life and become a place between a city and a village; and, if you can find a village keeping its foretime life style, it is remote from cities or lacks convenient ways of access. The village “Ista” is an exeption; it people, according to the religious doctrine of “Tavaqqof”, have turned from urban life in Tabriz to a rural area near Taleqan county where they have made life in conditions and with facilities of Iranian villages of Qajar era in order to hold on with the same style and facilities. This research, with field method, tries to recognize and analyze the emergence of this village and its people’s life style, customs, habits and in general, culture in order to indicate that although Ista is a village according to official matters and from the view of human and economic geography; it is also like a prehistoric tribe ruled by chief who is also the religious leader.

One of the phenomena that can endanger the health and development of children in different dimensions is Marriage in childhood because it is associated with many physical, psychological and social harms. Child marriage is common while many countries have made it illegal and criminalized due to its harm and have implemented measures to prevent its occurrence. The question is why this phenomenon still remains despite the changes that the society has experienced. This field research has been conducted using semi-structured interviews to collect data with fifteen female participants who were purposefully selected and have experience of marriage at a young age in Khorram Abad county. Then the content of the interviews were analyzed in order to extract causal, contextual and process themes. The findings show that the process of child marriage is  influenced by the pressure of community and the choice of families, so that community arranges these marriages by applying pressure and families by forcing their daughters. As a result of these processes, children are also forced to marry, so that they do not have much understanding of their marriage at these ages. In some cases, girls choose marriage because of getting rid of unfavorable family conditions or sacrifice. The pressure of community and the choice of families is the result of the context in which they are located. Things like poverty and traditions create an space in which many families force their children to marry at a young age.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, women encountered numerous physical and psychological pressures as their responsibilities in caregiving, infection prevention, and treatment of family members increased—compounded by their ongoing societal duties. This intensified caregiving role, coupled with the enforcement of health and safety protocols, brought about notable lifestyle changes that warrant close study. This research, therefore, seeks to identify these shifts in women’s lifestyles that emerged during the pandemic and asks whether, with the pandemic's end and a return to daily routines, these changes have reverted to their former state. In conducting this study, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were carried out with 20 women in Tehran who experienced the pandemic. Data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis, revealing that women’s post-pandemic lifestyles have been deeply influenced by the challenges of the COVID period. These influences include lingering symptoms like chronic COVID, impacting the perceptions of those who experienced illness, and directing their lifestyles toward increased medicalization, heightened hygiene practices, and an intensified focus on health. This shift has permeated all aspects of life—from physical activities and dietary habits to social interactions—encouraging a reevaluation of the scope and nature of their personal connections.

The distinguishing feature of Paul Radin's research approach with other ethnologists is the observance of the principle of neutrality as much as possible and the self-conscious removal of the researcher from his historical background in order to achieve the originality of the research on primitive peoples. During his studies and experiences, Radin came to the general opinion that the history, individuality and psychological and social facts of these peoples should be taken into account by ethnologists and he found the broad commonalities of the perceptual nature of primitive and progressive societies. Not only did he not consider all primitive people to have a pre-rational and low mind, but he also stated that in all societies, whether primitive or advanced, there are people with the essence of philosophizing and thinking, who are able to meet their needs and their material or spiritual needs benefit from their inner creativity and lead the common and practical people of the society to accept and believe in these capabilities. In Paul Radin's ethnological research, the primitive people of a society composed of practical and thoughtful people are introduced with different levels of independence of individual truth to attraction to social realities. Therefore, Radin removes himself from expressing and developing specific theories to describe the nature of primitive societies, and despite his eloquent attempts to identify them by focusing on their history and individuality and using analytical psychology, he always leaves open the parentheses of his explanations.