The character of the wandering tribes is very opposite to that of the other inhabitants of Persia. They are sin cere, hospitable, and brave. They stand not in need of falsehood and deceit, and therefore are not in the habit of practising them ; but they are rude, violent, and rapa cious ; and if the vices of their condition be fewer than those of the inhabitants of cities, this evidently arises from their ignorance of luxury and refinement,and the absence of temptation ; for it is remarked, that they never settle in towns without exceeding the inhabitants in every species of profligacy. These tribes receive the common appella tion of Illiats. They constitute the military force, and their chiefs the hereditary nobility of the empire. They derive their origin from different nations : the Turkish from Turkistan, or Tartary ; the Arabs from Arabia, and the original tribes of Persia, consisting of Kurdish, Lac, Zund, and many others. Many of them speak the lan guage, and preserve the manners of their Scythian ances tors ; and each tribe has its records, and pretends to trace its genealogy to the first generation. The Baktyari, Fiel hi, and Kujurs, are the most ancient and renowned, and are probably the descendants of those ferocious bands who inhabited the country in the days of Alexander. A cer tain portion of land seems to have been allotted to each tribe for the pasturage of their flocks. These districts, from long and undisputed possession, are considered the property of the different chiefs ; and the lines of demarca tion have been strictly observed from the most remote ages. The Baktyari, who form the best infantry in the kingdom, and the Fielhi, pitch their tents in the fertile districts of Laristan ; the Affshars in Aderbijan, near the lake of Oormia ; the Kujurs, of which the present king is the head, are in possession of Asterabad and Mazende ran ; and the Karagoozoloo, or black-eyed tribe, who are esteemed the finest horsemen, inhabit the plains of Hama dan. It would be in vain to enumerate all the other tribes, as they are so subdivided, that some of them do not ex ceed a thousand families. This people, for the most part, lead a pastoral life, and subsist principally on the produce of their flocks. They change their residence with the season, pitching their dark tents during winter in the plains, on the banks of a rivulet or a stream, and in sum mer on the summits and declivities of the mountains. Their tents are walled with mats, and covered with a coarse kind of black cloth, manufactured by themselves; and the abode of the chief is only distinguished by its size from that of the lowest member of the tribe. Their encampments are generally formed in a square; the horses, mules, and sheep, are turned loose to feed ; and while the women are employed in their domestic duties, or assisting the aged men and boys in tending the flocks, the young men, if not engaged in hunting, or in practising military ex ercises, are commonly seen sitting in circles, smoking, or indulging in repose. Several of the tribes during winter settle in villages ; and in Dahistan and the northern parts of Khorassan, instead of tents, they dwell in small portable wooden houses. Besides the dark coverings of their tents, they manufacture several other small articles for their own use ; and the most beautiful Persian and Turkish carpets, so much admired in Europe, are the works of this wandering people. Inured from their infancy to dan gers and fatigue, they are most tenacious of the honour of their tribe, and at the same time constitute the defence and glory of the empire. Each tribe is divided into branches, and each branch has a particular leader, all of whom, however, are subservient to the chief. These chiefs affect a kind of independence, and measure their deference to the authority of the monarch by their existing situa tion ; their submission or resistance being always deter mined by the weakness or strength of his power. From their birth and influence they are the first men in the em pire. They are mutually hostile and jealous; and the king, by fomenting their quarrels, and nicely balancing the power of the one against that of the other, insures nis own safety, and the peace of his dominions. During peace, they usually reside with their families at court, or at the capitals of the provinces, and leave their followers, whom they occasionally visit, to the direction of the chiefs next in rank. They are thus regarded as hostages for the fidelity of their tribe; and when allowed to retire, the son is detained as security for the good conduct of the father. Being thus brought up at court, they are well educated, and polished in their manners ; and, except in being more haughty, are not materially different from the other nobles and principal officers of the country. But the majority of their tribes continue in a state of the most degraded igno rance. Professing the Mahomedan religion, they circum cise their children at the proper age ; and contract mar riages according to the prescribed customs ; but they receive no religious instruction, and are consequently ig norant and neglectful of what their law enjoins. They are all plunderers, and even glory in admitting that they are so; but they make a distinction between plundering and theft, which last they pretend to hold in abhorrence. The one, they say, is the application of force, which implies strength, and the other of fraud, which is an evidence of weakness. They are, however, remarkable for their hos pitality to strangers ; and their word, when once pledged, is inviolable. A hard black bread, sour milk, and curds, constitute their general diet. They sometimes feast upon meat ; and now and then, though not often, indulge in in toxicating liquors. They are passionately fond of listen ing to romantic tales and national songs. Many an idle hour is thus spent ; and the person who has cultivated this talent, enjoys a great share of the respect of his asso ciates. He can excite their minds to deeds of valour, by merely repeating some of the lines of Ferdosi which ce lebrate the renown of their ancestors ; and there are in stances in the history of this people, of an adventurer col lecting many thousand followers, and maintaining his authority over them, by continuing to sing some favourite provincial air. The females of these wandering hordes
enjoy more freedom and respect than the other women of Persia ; and though they may be inferior to the natives of cities in beauty of person and softness of manners, they are superior to them in industry, in chastity, and many other virtues. They are held in more consideration, by being more useful to the community. If they arc not of high rank, they perform all the domestic and menial of fices ; and strangers who visit their tents are certain to receive from them the kindest and most hospitable wel come. But there is nothing in their manner that can be mistaken; it is fearless but not forward ; and evidently proceeds from the consciousness of security, not the ab sence of shame. They not only share the bed, but the fatigues and dangers of their husbands. The masculine habits which they thus acquire do not displease, for they seem suited to their condition of life. Though, in gene ral, their complexion is dark and sun-burnt, they have sometimes, when young, a considerable share of beauty : a sense of their free condition gives lustre to their eyes; and they often add to fine features a very graceful form. The veil is seldom used by them, but their beauty is soon destroyed by hard labour and continual exposure to the climate. Among the lower orders of these tribes, poverty and custom confine them in general to one wife. They cannot afford to support more, and unless she is old, bar ren, or unfit to work, they seldom marry another. The greatest respect is paid to maternal claims ; and the influ ence of a mother over her son continues through life. It is her duty to preside over his family ; and if he is rich, he usually'intrusts to her not only the choice of his female partners, but their management. An anticipation of the en iovment of this power makes the women of Persia anxious ly desirous of having male children. The birth of a son is hailed with joy, while that of a daughter is always a disappointment.
The Arabian tribes, who inhabit the shores of the Per. sian Gulf, are more assimilated in their habits to the peo ple from which they are derived than to those among whom they dwell. They continue to use the language, and to preserve the dress and customs, of their original country. Their diet is chiefly dates, of which they arc particularly fond. Though less rude in manners than the other tribes of Persia, they retain much of the wildness and independence of their ancestors.
The natives of Persia are restrained by religious consi derations from marrying more than four wives; but as they conceive themselves entitled to an unlimited indul gence in the pleasures of the harem, they often increase the number of females in their family to any extent that may suit their inclination or convenience; and according to law and usage this may be done either by purchase or by hire. Their marriages are conducted through the me diation of the parents; and though the female, according to the Mahomedan law, may refuse her consent when the priest comes to require it, yet this rarely happens, as the parties never see one another before they are united. The marriage ring is sent in due form; and presents are exchanged between the families. The bride is con ducted to the house of her husband, attended by all her friends, and accompanied by dancers and music ; and the bridegroom receives them arrayed in all the finery that his circumstances can obtain. In the marriage feast, a ruinous spirit of emulation drives many to exceed their means; and it is not unusual for a man to waste all that he has spent his life in acquiring on his wedding day. These feasts, among persons of rank, are protracted to thirty or forty days. The observance of the established forms re quire three at least. On the first the company are assem bled : on the second the important ceremony of staining the hand with a red dye ; and the third is appropriated to the nuptials. The great point in the marriage-contract is the settlement of the dower, which is made payable from the property of the husband, and is assigned over to the female or her friends before the consummation of the mar riage. It becomes her entire right; and though she may exonerate her husband from any part, or even from the whole of it, yet this seldom occurs, as it constitutes the principal part of her provision, in the event of her hus band's death, and her sole dependence if she is divorced. Divorce, however, is of rare occurrence among this peo ple. A Persian can institute such a proceeding at plea sure; but the expense and scandal of it renders it very unfrequent. A man of rank would consider himself dis graced by taking a step which would expose a woman who had been his wife, to be seen by others; and the difficulty of paying the dower prevents the poorer classes from hav ing recourse to it. In the case of adultery, the woman subjects herself to capital punishment.
Among the citizens of Persia, temporary marriages are very common, in which the parties agree to live together, for a fixed period, which varies from a few days to ninety nine years. The sum agreed upon as the woman's hire, is inserted in a contract, which is legally drawn, and re gularly witnessed. This contract may be dissolved by the man when he chooses, but in such a case the other party has a right to the whole amount of her hire. If the par ties are willing, the deed is renewed at the period when it expires. This species of legal concubinage, however, usually takes place between persons of very unequal rank, and the woman is generally of a very inferior family. It is customary with the higher classes to purchase female slaves in considerable numbers, some of whom are appro priated to the haram, and others to the service of their wives ; but, whether as servants or as sharers of their master's bed, they are alike subject to be sold again. That jealous sense of honour, however, which all Ma homedans entertain regarding females with whom they have cohabited, renders such a circumstance very uncom mon.