Abstract
A millennium after the Turkmen of Iran migrated eastwards from Central Asia, they still adhere to some customary laws. One of these—on marriage—is considered key to the survival and sustainability of their culture and tradition. My research is based on fieldwork that includes observations and interviews conducted in 23 villages and cities at two periods, 2004 and 2019, covering three different Turkmen descent groups: the Yomut, Gooklan, and Tekke. This chapter focuses on endogamy and the bride price, which play an important role in Turkmen marriage. The exchange of women among the Turkmen follows a unique set of rules based on endogamous marriage as a norm, which aims to prevent villages and cities assimilating with others. Each village and city has its own fixed, unique bride price. This is more than simply the price of a girl or widow but has a traditional role in stabilizing society.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Clarke, S. (1981). The foundation of structuralism. A critique of Levi Strauss and structuralism movement. Hemel Hempstead: The Harvester Press Limited.
Cummings, S. N. (2010). Symbolism and power in Central Asia: Politics of the spectacular. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Edited by Routledge.
Dawson, C. (2002). Practical research methods. British Library Cataloguing.
Eden, J. (2018). Slavery and empire in Central Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Irons, W. G. (1969). The Turkman of Iran. Iranian studies. Journal of the Society for Iranian Studies, 2, 27–38.
Irons, W. G. (1974). Nomadic as a political adaptation: The case of the Yomut Turkmen. American Ethnologist, 1, 635–658.
Irons, W. G. (1975). The Yomut Turkmen: A study of social organization among a Central Asian Turkic speaking population (No.58, pp. 1–195). Anthropological papers. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan.
Khosravi, A. (1994). Culture of Bakhtiyari. Tehran, Iran: Farhangsara.
Levi-Strauss, C. (1949). Les Structures élémentaires de la parenté, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France.
Levi-Strauss, C. (1969). The elementary structure of kinship (Revised ed.) (Translated from French by Bell, J. H., von Stumer, J. R., & Needham R.). Boston: Beacon Press.
Maghsudi, M. (2007). Anthropology of family and kinship. Tehran, Iran: Shirazeh.
Neuman, W. L. (2014). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Whitewater: University of Wisconsin.
Nyrop, R. F., & Seekins, D. M. (1986). Afghanistan: A country study: The society and its environment. Washington, D.C.: The American University.
Ransel, D. L. (2000). Village mothers three generations of change in Russia and Tataria. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Tegizbekova, Z. (2019). The customary law of the Kyrgyz people: Marriage (Power Point. Number 12).
Testart, A. (2013). Reconstruction social and cultural evolution. The case of dowry in the Indo-European area. Current Anthropology, 54(1).
Turkmen–English, English–Turkmen, Dictionary. (1996). Peace corps.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Maghsudi, M. (2021). Customary Law Marriage Among the Turkmen of Iran: The Kinship Structure with Emphasis on the Role of the Bride Price. In: Hosseini, S.B. (eds) Temporary and Child Marriages in Iran and Afghanistan. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4469-3_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4469-3_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-33-4468-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-33-4469-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)