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00:00In central Iran, in the Zagros Mountains, lives one of the last great nomadic tribes on the planet, the Bakhtiars.
00:17Twice a year they carry out the tough journey between their summering and wintering pastures.
00:23For the last 30 years, despite strong and spectacular traditions, their number has been constantly decreasing.
00:37It's difficult to compete with the allurement of the city.
00:43Yet this proud and independent people have relied on solid foundations of large families and clans for thousands of years,
00:50convinced that their culture and traditions are the guarantors of their survival.
01:09We are close to Chilgert, in the heart of the Bakhtiars territory.
01:15Farzad Alikani comes to meet his father, who has joined several members of his family in front of his summer house.
01:24The men wear the chura, the traditional sheep's wool coat.
01:28Farzad, 25, greets his cousins, his uncles gathered round his father, and two of his father's wives.
01:35Farzad Alikani is not just anyone. He is a Khan, a kind of highly respected leader of a clan that includes several families.
01:5615 years ago, the Khan had more than a thousand animals, especially sheep and goats, which made it possible to give a livelihood to many families.
02:11Here, with his sons around him, years ago he was complaining about the progressive settling of his people.
02:19At the time, Farzad, on the left, was only ten years old. He grew up in one of the towns of the valley of Char-et-Kord, while spending his summers in the pastures.
02:34The Bakhtiars spend the winter with their herds in the southwest of the country, in Kuzistan, where it's hot.
02:42In the spring, they all migrate to the high mountains around the Courang River and the village of Cher-Gerd.
02:49Kuzistan is well irrigated by the river Karun, particularly in its mountainous area.
03:00In Lali, in this mid-April, the temperature easily exceeds 30 degrees.
03:05In this small village, many nomads who have spent the winter in the warm, prepare to leave for Cher-Gerd and its surroundings.
03:12Farzad, who now works with his father, gives an update on the families who are leaving.
03:19In recent years, roads and tracks fit for vehicles have multiplied.
03:24Many families now carry out the Kuz, this seasonal migration, by truck or car.
03:36Farzad goes to Ali Ghebi before leaving. He's a beekeeper, and his honey is first class.
03:42It's a different kind of honey.
03:48Ah, yeah, it's much stronger.
03:52This honey comes from here in Kuzistan, while the other one comes from the valley of Courang, where I am in summer.
03:59The bees go on these different flowers to forage. There it's on bushes. Here it's on a tree called the Kona.
04:09The bees forage its flower, and the taste is completely different. It's very wild and very good.
04:15The hives are ready to go. They will make the journey by car.
04:23Mashtey Suleiman has become a small town.
04:27Fifteen years ago, there were still many small hamlets all around it, where the nomads spent the winter.
04:32Since the government encouraged the nomads to settle down, buildings have sprouted a bit hastily, ready to accommodate the influx of Bakhtiyaz.
04:39But integration is difficult. The nomads find themselves with no work or income. Many buildings are still empty.
04:48On the roads, the Kuch has just started, using traditional methods. Families and tents on newls, flocks and shepherds walking at a steady pace for two to three weeks.
05:07While others pile everything up in a truck to make the journey in about eight hours.
05:12The Husseini family is not yet ready to take the road. They still have to shear a part of the herd.
05:38Farzad is interested in buying some livestock.
05:48They use the kara, a tool that goes back to the dawn of time.
05:53There are two mobile blades that rub against each other while resting on a wooden stick.
05:58It's the right time to shear their wool. The quality is at its best.
06:02We'll first have all this weight. Some animals are still thin, others are bigger.
06:09The thinnest ones, we've left to graze on the mountain before leaving for transhumans, so they gain in strength.
06:16Let's end your
06:25Say it.
06:30You can get between one and two kilos.
06:48It all depends on the quality of the wool.
06:51If the wool is very thick, they will be able to sell it for a good price,
06:54a crucial source of income to compensate for the fall of the price of meat.
07:00It proves that it's good wool.
07:19The quality is perfect for coats.
07:20Look.
07:30They should set out in two to three weeks to reach the Courang Valley.
07:47Close by, two women make a jool, a saddle rug for donkeys and horses.
07:52You want to come and put it out?
08:01The Trail
08:11The trail leading to the Chalmunar Pass
08:32is crowded with flocks on the move.
08:34The Kuchy is well and truly underway.
08:36Farzad is also heading for Chalguerd
08:38to spot quality sheep and buy a few.
08:41He is a cousin of my family.
09:04And funnily enough, he's also called Alikani like me.
09:09Our family and his are neighbours in Kuzestan.
09:19At nightfall, Farzad accepts the Sarderi family's hospitality.
09:24The patriarch is a close relative of his father.
09:32They have settled just after the pass.
09:36The altitude brings a relative freshness and they will only leave for Chalguerd in a fortnight.
09:40I hope my children will be able to change their lives.
09:46I'd like them to continue to study, to go to town, because in the tent it's no life.
09:50A few years ago, the mobile phone made a sudden appearance in the nomad's life, and it was quickly adopted.
10:06Life here is still better.
10:10The air is pure, even if sometimes we find it hard living under a tent.
10:14In the city, there's pollution, noise, it's difficult to put up with.
10:20I cannot live in town.
10:27My life is here in the open air.
10:30In town, they have none of what we have around us.
10:34I could not live as they do.
10:41In the freshness of the early morning, Ismail's wife has had to warm the sheep's stomach,
10:45in which she prepares the fermented milk and then the butter.
10:56The eldest daughter is approaching 15 years of age.
10:59She knows that school will end for her soon,
11:02and that in a few months her father will marry her off.
11:32She knows that school will end for her, and that in a few months her father will end for her.
11:39On reaching the Shimba Valley, we see that the nomad's children still go to school for about two weeks.
11:46Some walk for more than an hour to reach the only two classrooms in the vicinity.
11:51Today, due to the rain, barely half the students have come.
11:55Usually, this container is crowded.
11:57Here we go.
12:11We have the children for about six months.
12:14From autumn to mid-spring, they're all children of nomads.
12:19The first high passes confirm their arrival in the province of Chaharmal-Kurang.
12:49The different groups which make their way towards Schergerd nervously keep an eye on the weather.
12:55Some of them will cross high-altitude mountain passes and have no desire to be blocked by snow.
13:01As is the case with Zahra Nuruzi's family.
13:05The shepherds slow the pace down so that the sheep can take advantage of the grass which grows here in abundance.
13:19Farzad makes the most of his visit to Shamanguli to visit Fatima Saderi.
13:29She produces churas, coats of very high quality. His is starting to look a little worn.
13:37Depending on the richness and complexity of the design, it takes about 25 days to make.
13:45It can be 14 days when the drawings are simpler.
13:49I'm afraid that we're the last to know how to make this kind of coat.
14:01No one wants to take over.
14:03You see this? It's a coat of great value. The work is very precise, the quality is very good.
14:13The way it's woven, that's what gives good quality.
14:16I like to dress western style everyday. Jeans and t-shirts.
14:33But this type of outfit, especially with this coat, and especially with this level of quality,
14:41is definitely used less and less in everyday life.
14:45I put it on for more special occasions, when we meet between bakhtiyas and for parties or family gatherings.
15:02At the top of the Charlie Pass, Farzad spots Youssefi Tamos.
15:06He's been on the road for 10 days. He has 150 goats and 80 sheep, and he pauses for the livestock to rest.
15:14Where have you come from?
15:16And the cow next to Mashti Suleiman.
15:19When did you get here?
15:21It's been 10 days since I arrived.
15:23And the animals are making the most of it then?
15:26I came from the south with my herd to find some good grass. There wasn't enough to eat, it was too dry.
15:31But there are other places.
15:34We're here on this mountain for the livestock. Here they can go anywhere and find food.
15:39But there are other places, no?
15:41No. There's more and more farmland, and you have to pay to graze on certain fields.
15:47Yeah, you have to pay for grazing. Anything else?
15:51There are many problems in this business.
16:05The track doesn't suit me. It's not because of the price, but because it's too hot.
16:09It's not good for the animals. On the trail they can eat properly.
16:39For those who've chosen the trail to reach the pass, the slope is quite steep.
16:53Goudar's Heydari is at the head of a flock of 1,700 animals.
16:57He's a close family member of Farzad, and his flock is magnificent.
17:02We've come from Khrouzistan. I'm a nomad of Shari Kord. I come from Ajari in the south.
17:08How long since you left?
17:10We started the Kutsch ten days before the Neuroz New Year.
17:17We've already spent ten days on the road.
17:23We have a thousand head.
17:25Oh yes, a thousand. Why don't you take them by truck?
17:28I can't transport a thousand animals by truck. We do it in the more traditional way.
17:35And which way are you going?
17:37We want to go to Sibastun. We're going to Sibastun.
17:44We're left at five in the morning, and we don't know what time we'll arrive.
17:55I'm very happy with all these days spent on the Kutsch.
18:14More than 90% of the people I met knew me or my family.
18:19I introduced myself as the son of Hajlaraz Khali.
18:25It was very rewarding for me, even though this lifestyle is not all that simple.
18:31A large number of the 700 goats avoid the road, keeping to a valley where there's still snow.
18:50Further south, families and flocks are also on their way to Tchelgärn.
19:08This track allows them to take advantage of the surrounding lakes, artificial water reservoirs that have been created for irrigation.
19:16Sayid Ramezani has just arrived with five other families.
19:43He plans to stay in Gelugirn for about six months.
19:47The grass is very good and abundant.
19:49The animals seem in good shape.
19:55These sheepdogs are both very strong and efficient,
19:58but they can prove to be very dangerous confronted with a stranger.
20:03It's true that many people today prefer to migrate by truck.
20:06I prefer to walk.
20:12It's safer for the sheep.
20:14They hurt themselves less.
20:15And it's healthier for them.
20:17They get a little exercise.
20:23I like the nomadic life.
20:25It's a lifestyle that suits me.
20:37I've seen a change in the weather in the last 10, 15 years.
20:41It's raining less.
20:42But on the other hand, it's colder.
20:44To head towards Tchelgärn, Farzad gets in Ghazan Farpo Nadiali's truck, a cousin of his father.
21:08It's his second return journey of the day between Sarrent near Lalli and Tchelgärd,
21:13six to seven hours on the road each time.
21:17Ghazan is tired, but he still has a good ten days of return journeys ahead of him.
21:23The men arrived in a pickup truck at the same time as the first part of the flock.
21:48Take that off and do it.
21:50See what he wants.
21:54Take the animal's foot out.
22:11For Ghazan Farpo there's no time to lose.
22:14He must go off again to Khuzistan for another round trip.
22:20As for Farzad, he stops by at his father's summer house.
22:27As well as the flock, he intends to develop several types of crops there.
22:33All around my father's house, there's lots of fields.
22:34And I've also got family who have land.
22:38And my two uncles are here on the other side of the road.
22:41I've started growing herbs and plants that we use for cooking.
22:42And my two uncles are here on the other side of the road.
22:44I've started growing herbs and plants that we use for cooking.
22:45And I'm hoping to be able to sell them.
22:46And my two uncles are here on the other side of the road.
22:51I've started growing herbs and plants that we use for cooking.
22:54And I'm hoping to be able to sell them to Fariborz's co-op.
22:58These herbs are fragile.
22:59We call them Khanna.
23:00I protect all of this plot.
23:01We mix them with rice.
23:02It's very good.
23:03It's very good.
23:04I don't know
23:09plants that we use for cooking and I'm hoping to be able to sell them to
23:14Fariborz's co-op. These herbs are fragile. We call them Kana. I protect all of this
23:21plot. We mix them with rice. It's very good.
23:39That's Calaf, which grows in the mountains. It's part of our tradition here. I'm doing
23:49trials with it. I think it's going to work. On this plot, he's been growing saffron for
23:55three years. He has to be patient. The results are promising but slow in coming.
24:00Farzad goes back to the centre of Schellgerde. He's invited to an engagement ceremony, the
24:14Balé-Bouroum.
24:21The wedding has to take place during the marriage season, that is mid-September before leaving
24:26for the winter quarters.
24:47Mohamed Soleimani is 24 years old and his future wife, Touba Balipu, is 19.
24:53the wedding.
25:23Let's go, let's go.
25:53Men and women are separated by a wall and a rudimentary tarpaulin.
26:16The women dance with each other and with the children.
26:23On their side, the heads of the families must agree on a price for the bride in case of
26:29a divorce.
26:31The amount the husband's family must pay if there are problems.
26:39The agreed price is marked in a notebook.
26:46Mohammed, the husband-to-be, greets all the family heads who are present.
26:59The two fiancées are now going to sign the notebook, thus completing the first stage
27:04before the wedding.
27:06Farzad got up at dawn to go and meet the Noruzi family, who he'd passed on the banks of the
27:14river.
27:15Today, they will try to scale the formidable pass of Zardekou at nearly 3,800 metres altitude.
27:28His help will be most welcome.
27:29We're waiting for the nomads here, at the Zardekou, where the nomads will pass through.
27:38They wanted to go through today.
27:39I came to meet them at 5 a.m. this morning.
27:40But apparently they had a problem.
27:41There's still a huge amount of snow at the pass.
27:45The mules and the other animals couldn't get through, so I think they'll try again tomorrow,
28:14even if they may not make it.
28:16There's too much snow.
28:17I hope they'll manage to get through.
28:31The next morning, Farzad decides to go even further into the mountain to meet them.
28:39After several hours wait, the flock bursts through the snow.
28:58They had indeed been blocked by the snow.
29:02In this part of the mountain, there are lots of bears and they are dangerous.
29:06It's essential to carry a gun.
29:09They've come from Dezful in Khuzistan, with 300 goats and 450 sheep.
29:39The goats are more hardy.
29:40They come along behind.
29:44And it's the women and men with the mules and horses who bring up the rear.
29:53And it's the women and horses who bring up the mountains.
29:57My parents and grandparents were nomads.
30:00I'm a nomad too, and I'm happy with it.
30:05Yes, I'm extremely tired.
30:19Going through this pass is really difficult.
30:30We had to unblock the pass.
30:35We had to unblock the pass.
30:37It was full of snow.
30:40We couldn't have got through without the shovels.
30:42We had to dig away the snow.
30:44It took us ages.
31:09At a thousand meters altitude, there's some snow about.
31:11And there's still the difficult crossing of the river to manage.
31:16We had to go through the river to the river.
31:29We had to do the river to the river.
31:41Oh
32:11Hamid takes five minutes to chat with Farzad.
32:33He has to wait for his mother, who's at the back of the convoy.
32:41It takes a month to do the journey, then we're going to settle in the Koorang Valley.
32:48Not all of the lambs will survive this interminable journey, in spite of being well protected.
33:15There's still a long rock face to tackle before reaching the first valleys.
33:22We had problems.
33:30There were thieves who took some of the goats just down there in the bottom of the valley.
33:37I think they were nomads too.
33:44There were thieves who took some of the goats just down there in the bottom of the valley.
33:49I think they were nomads too.
33:51With the father dead, Zahra, the mother, directs operations.
34:06They're going to spend the night here, out in the open.
34:13I've got seven sons and three daughters.
34:22They're all nomads.
34:23They do the same as me.
34:25The whole family work as nomads.
34:28They do the same as my father and grandfather before me.
34:43They were nomads.
34:45Maybe one day we'll settle somewhere and stay there.
35:00In the valleys down below the Zardeku, the Nourali family set up camp a few days ago.
35:18They arrived by lorry.
35:21I'm a kid here.
35:23You have to leave.
35:24You have to take care of the them.
35:27You have to take care of the other boys.
35:28How much are you?
35:29You have to take care of the people.
35:32All of us.
35:35The neighbors are coming.
35:37You have to rent.
35:38You have to rent.
35:39You have to rent.
35:40I'm a Bostonше.
35:42You have to rent.
35:47The neighbors are coming for the other boys.
35:50Sheep and Fawzad has already picked out a few on foot transhumance is truly physically demanding it's
35:57Exhausting the whole family with me including an elderly person I don't have mules or donkeys anymore
36:07And that's why I make the journey by lorry
36:20I love everything about the in particular nature. I love being with the sheep
36:34I love working the land
36:38Not to mention the fresh air we have here
36:40I think
36:50Even though it's a hard life being a nomad the majority of them are happy
36:56The standard of living is very low when you live like that
37:00They have practically nothing whereas in towns the standard of living is much higher
37:10Yeah
37:24Nomads life is not a good life
37:27There are lots of problems you could never rest
37:31No water no shower no toilets nothing we're nomads because we don't have any choice
37:36But you have a house in terraze in the guzistan. Yes, we have a house back there, but we must follow our sheep
37:43Our children stay there. It's not a good life being a nomad. There's nothing good about it
37:50Yes, it's good, but mainly for the men not for the women
37:56The men just don't care
38:06For most of the families chelgaard is the end of this long journey
38:11At 2,300 meters altitude its appearance has changed over the years
38:16Many nomads have become settled
38:18But the basic problems persist notably in the support of the nomads who are often without a means of earning an income in their new life
38:25Sorry balls is from a large family of nomads who are sedentary these days his grandfather was a highly respected Khan
38:53He has settled with his family in a house in the town centre.
38:58He plans to stand for the municipal elections so that he can give more help to nomads.
39:04I was born a nomad.
39:06I think that in the future there will be fewer of us, but we won't disappear.
39:17Fariborz is happy to meet Farzad and his friends in a tent to celebrate the arrival of the nomads.
39:22How does this fall?
39:24ports.
39:26Yes, of course I will.
39:32For the name of God and God.
39:38For this firm, I suffer.
39:43For the name of God.
39:48God.
39:50Nomads today need help and support, especially for questions of health.
40:06They're beginning to find out what they need.
40:09But if I'm elected mayor, I want to help them.
40:12But one must also preserve the nomad's life and nomad culture.
40:15The Bhaktiya culture and folklore are important for the development of tourism in the region of Shahamhal and Kuran.
40:32Meanwhile, there are more arrivals all around Shelger.
40:45Fahzad is now going to a ceremony in memory of a nomad who died last year.
40:57Families and clans arrive in groups.
41:01Their names are announced over the loudspeaker.
41:02It's a memorial service, a year after the death of the boy.
41:20There was a crime of passion with heavy prison sentences handed out.
41:24We're trying to bring the families together in an attempt to reconcile them.
41:28This sort of occurrence shows the complex structure of the Bhaktiya tribes, and in particular, their strength.
41:41Whole clans rally with the Khan at their head.
41:45A solution will be negotiated, no doubt, in exchange for a large sum of money.
41:50And the Khashogaz is now going to a large sum of money.
41:51The Khashogaz is now going to a large sum of money.
41:53The Khashogaz, the Khashogaz, the Khashogaz is now going to a large sum of money.
41:59It's a big deal.
42:02Good to you.
42:09I don't know.
42:39Farzad hasn't seen the Musai family for quite a time.
42:45Rahmat, the father, has been settled for a long time in the village of Naleshkanon.
42:50These days, he's an engineer, and Sangima, his wife, is an expert in carpet making.
42:58It's not a carpet of typical Bakhtiar style.
43:02It will be used inside the house mainly.
43:09All of the wool in the balls comes from the sheep, and all the dyes are natural.
43:26Usually, I need a year to make a carpet, but it can take up to two years.
43:39Once the carpet is finished, it will be sold either directly to the client, or via the Chelyad cooperative.
43:51When you were a nomad, in spite of the difficulties, did you have a better life than you do now?
44:07In those days, we had a really difficult life.
44:11We were out in all weathers. Now it's much more comfortable.
44:15Rahmat knows Farzad's father.
44:17A Khan is still an important person, even today.
44:22I think each tribe must have an important man at its head.
44:25Because in that way, he'll have the possibility of helping the group's families, and give them support if necessary.
44:35It's important to have a chief.
44:36At the top of the village of Chelygaard, Fariborz Ghebi has transformed an old building into a museum and cooperative.
44:56He displays all the products of the families around there, including Sangima's carpets.
45:05He explains to passing visitors the particularities of each of the pieces, which are up for sale.
45:09This region of Kurang and Jaha Mahal is beginning to attract tourists, who visit the area and are curious about Bakhtiyar culture.
45:21I created this cooperative to show off the Bakhtiyar culture, and also to have workshops producing handicrafts,
45:33and to help sell them to Iranian tourists, and also those coming from abroad.
45:57We are now in the month of September, and autumn is approaching fast.
46:01The harvest is finishing.
46:02Ali Ghebi, the beekeeper from Lali, has just spent the summer in the high altitudes.
46:08He's beginning to organize his hives in preparation for his departure.
46:11In the last 15 years, he has lived through several important changes in his life.
46:21The first great change in the nomad's life was the transhumance, which is done more and more by road, in a lorry.
46:28Whereas for centuries, it was done on foot.
46:32And of course it's easier.
46:33The second point is the arrival of portable telephones.
46:39We can now communicate with our families, even when they are at Kuzistan, on the other side, or if they are on the road.
46:50We can know where they are.
46:52We can talk to them.
46:55The portable telephone has been a huge advance in the life of nomads.
46:58Now, at the end of September, the marriage season is in full swing.
47:19There's one nearly every day.
47:20The dance of the scarves brings together the guests in a great circle.
47:31Fawzad comes to represent his clan.
47:33Guns are still an inevitable, virile attribute.
47:50They hark back to the time when the Bhaktiaas were brave warriors.
47:53More than ever, the bride's family covered the young girl's face, so that she cannot be seen or photographed.
48:05This is a recent phenomenon, less frequently seen 20 years ago.
48:09In other marriages, the dance of the stick has an important part.
48:16A game of skill where one has to whip the opponent's ankles with the stick.
48:19The most interesting marriage will be that of Fahriboros, the future mayor of Chilguerre.
48:48He's getting married at Charikorre because his wife is from the town, but keeping to all the Bhaktiaas customs.
48:57As for his wife, we will only glimpse her for a few seconds before she rushes in her car to the enclosed building reserved for women and children.
49:05We won't see any more of her.
49:09Fawzad will have to wait for several hours before he can congratulate Fahriboros on his own, without his wife.
49:14My grandfather was a great tribal chief, very strict.
49:21The custom, the tradition, was to separate men and women, whatever the nature of the event.
49:27And that's what we will still do today for my marriage.
49:29Fawzad's father, the Khan, now lives in town in the valley, in a smart apartment.
49:47His wives still cook on the floor.
49:49When we were nomads, we were kings of the earth.
49:57But now we live in town, and we're nothing.
50:03Sometimes we talked with a hundred people around us.
50:06There was a crowd following us.
50:07At Schellgerd, the caravans are leaving via the southern pass.
50:18Fewer and fewer of them.
50:26The lorries have taken up their rounds again.
50:29Animals, furniture, women and children are piled pell-mell into them.
50:33The lorries have taken up their own, and we're not going to be able to do it.
50:34We're not going to be able to do it.
50:35We're not going to be able to do it.
50:36We're not going to be able to do it.
50:41In the next ten years, the number of nomads will fall even more sharply.
50:48The way of life has changed.
50:51These days, there are more and more roads.
50:54We don't know what's going to happen.
50:56Nomads will carry on traveling.
51:00But the future remains uncertain.
51:03We're not going to be able to do it.
51:04We're not going to be able to do it.
51:05We're not going to be able to do it.
51:33We're not going to be able to do it.
51:34We're not going to be able to do it.
51:36That's it.
51:39We're not going to be able to do it.
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