Early modern Iran was witness to the continuation of the conservative cultural collectivism due to the specific life style prevailing all walks of life in Iranian society. First there was only one identity shared by the collectivities and the individuals. Communal and collective identities were also created in kin groups and households in village settlements, nomad encampments or urban areas. Cultivation, pastoral production and craft manufacture, like food preparation, or household, child- and healthcare work, used family and household labour divided along gender and age lines. For men trading the dairy or textile products of female household members, or parents passing on craft skills, rights to land and flocks, or access to religious and administrative office to their children, household and kin connections were vital resources. Advancement through patronage used kinship loyalties, just as marriage decisions were influenced by interests in advantageous alliances, or household production and reproduction. Women’s childbearing capacity, skills and dowries, like children’s aptitudes, were assets to be used and exchanged by partners and parents. The relative self-sufficiency and autonomy of Iranian communities were partly sustained by household and familial self-reliance and co-operation (Source: Religion, Culture and Politics in Iran).
Semi-Urban Life in Modern Iran: Social Collectivism and Growth of Cultural Conservatism
