TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

THE MOUNTAIN NOMADS 0' IRAN: BASSERI AND BAKHTIARI 285
Shushtar join those proceeding up the Karun from Ramhormol and
follow the course of the Zayandeh Rud to Faradan.
The Chahar-Iang, the amaller and weaker of the two Bakhtiari
sections, begin their migration from around Dezful. Evidently, BOme
ofthe Chahar-Iang follow the same route as do the Haft-lang from the
Shushtar area, since Cooper, who traveled with the Baba Ahmadi
(a group that winters around Dezful), passed through the Shambar
valley on his way to Chahar Mahal. 2I Other Haft-lang sections
proceed either up the left bank of Rud-e Del, and thence through
the headwaters of the Rud-e Shur via Tembi to the northwest flank
of Zard Kuh at Gardan Pambakal, or joumey BOmewhat closer to
the Karun through Chilau and over the BOuthem passes of the Zard
Kuh. 2G Since the majority of the H~langsummer in Faradan, their
path crosses that of the Chahar-lang, the majority of whom Bummer
in Chahar Mahal, and disputes oyer the right-of-way probably
account for the mutual hostility of the two groups mentioned by de
Bode. Once acr08l Zard Kuh, those sections going to Faradan follow
the H~lang route down the Zayandeb Rud, while the m-.jority of
the ~hahar-Iangenter Chahar Mahal through the Alikuh pUl over
Kuh-e Saldaran. so
Once over the m~or mountain barriers, the Bakhtiari spread
out into their upland pastures. While BOme of the Bakhtiari clans
are sedentary, the majority are nomadic, and agriculture forms only
a minor part of their economic life. Despite this fact, it is not
uncommon to find nomadic Bakhtiari sowing wheat and barley in
both their summer and winter quarters as a needed adjunct to their
pastoral activities. sl Autumn and the onset of cooler temperatures
signals the retum to lowland gruing and the cIani retrace their Iteps
downslope over the same routes used in their ascent.
In conclusion, while information on the Bakhtiari is surprisingly
limited considering the former power and importance of the group,
enough data is available to indicate the nature and the pattern
of their migratory regime. Despite the imp08libility of identifying
which tribal clans use which available routel and the difficulty in
ascertaining the precise number of routes that can be used, it is
obvious that certain subsections follow traditional paths. Cooper,
for example, traveled with the Baba Ahmadi tribe over the Zard
Kuh range from the Jungari district in Khuzestan to Chahar Mahal,
while the H~lang are largely restricted in their migrations to the
Karun River basin. Because avenues of passage are limited to river
valleys and mountain passes, the movement is restricted to a limited