A camp of the Bior Ahmadi; the distinctive black-goat hair tents are easily moved as the tribesmen travel about the mountain ranges.

“Sparrow’s Song” is my translation of a tale collected in Boir Ahmad by M. Lama ’e (Farhang amiane ashayer Boir Ahmadi va Kohgiluye, Tehran 1349). Boir Ahmad provenience does not necessarily mean that the tales originated there or that their motifs do not exist elsewhere, but rather that the people obviously identify with their contents and made them fit their view of life. In this sense, the tales are truly authentic.

The Boir Ahmadi speak Luri, an old Persian dialect, and are Shi’ite Muslims with a wealth of local beliefs and customs such as women ’s colorful round dances at weddings and other festive occasions (mentioned in “The Cat”), a distinctive music and an extraordinarily rich body of songs, poems and stories of which the following are only a very small sample. (A larger collection is being prepared for a book on folktales of the Boir Ahmadi by this author.)

Traditionally, tribal economy was largely subsistence-oriented and based on a strict division of labor between the sexes.  Men herded livestock; women milked and would then process the milk into yogurt, cheese and butterfat.  Men sheared sheep and goats; women spun and wove (the major wool processing tasks are mentioned in “The Clever Little Bird”).  Men worked the fields; women gathered edibles, cooked, and baked bread.  (In “Sparrow’s Song,” bread-baking tools and tasks are described.)  Both men and women worked hard to make ends meet and to bring up their children against the many odds of harsh winters, war, poverty and illness.

At the time of the stories, tribal life was precarious in a tough world.  Tribal chiefs were oppressive, work was hard, food scarce.  The most reliable source of food for many were wild vegetables and acorns which, leached and ground, were baked into a kind of bitter-tasting bread.  Wheat was a luxury (ladybug’s idea of the good life is eating wheat bread in “Ladybug Needs A Husband”), milk was valuable (see “The Cat”), meat beyond reach for many (see “Sparrow’s Song”).  Whoever lived—animals, trees, old women, even rocks (see “Thief Mouse”) did so by impinging, out of necessity, on the living space and comfort of others.