I took my way high
up in the Iranian beautiful mountain hillside. There I found some great people
from Iran's many nomadic groups. The nomads welcomed me with shooting from
weapons and singing from the women:
killillillilliiiiiiiiiii!
Sometimes I just
jumped right in a wedding, and was invited to be their special
guest.
Photo. Men from the Lor
(Lurs) tribe in full friendly fighting - they are taking the Choopy-dance real
serious!
See the video clip from the brutal
Choopy-dance (click on this link): Qashqai Choopy
dance
.
My excellent guide Ali had always good
instincts. In one or another way he always found
the most exotic groups of nomads, whom we encountered.
With his great communication skills it didn't take long time before we were
invited to the nomad's camps. I also spoke some few
words of Farsi to them that helped to "break the ice" quickly. My
pronouncing was not especially good in the
beginning on the tour, but it improved. Anyway the people become delighted when
I tried.
It was fantastic
to visit Bakhtyari, Lor (Lurs) and Qashqai nomads and observe their
daily life and unique cultures. With an altitude between 2500 and 4000 metres,
maybe more, I could not avoid to be affected by
the thin air. It was amazing to see how the nomad tribes manage to survive in such dry and harsh nature
conditions. They are a true living miracle on the earth.
|
Advertising |
Contact Pars Tourist Agency (P.T.A) for more information and booking
your adventure tour in Iran:
Pars Tourist
Agency (P.T.A)
Zand Street 71358
Next to Iran Cinema, Shiraz,
Iran
Phone Office: 0098-711-2223163 and 0098-711-2240645. Mobile Phone
(around the clock) 0098-9171118514.
Website:
www.key2persia.com
E-mail: info@key2persia.com |
Preparations for the dancing fighting games were done in a
big tent. Here the men drank tea and smoked water pipes. The atmosphere was
quite relaxed and friendly in the beginning. The men talked and laughed
continuously. I and the tribesmen were served tea, sometimes with food as
chicken, fruit, vegetables and other special things.
One thing I was
served didn't taste good at all. It was something I first thought was a
beautiful white stone. It was almost stone hard, but later I was explained that
it was a special made butter.
Each time had
drunken up my tea my cup was filled up again. The service was excellent, but I
missed the teaspoon to stir the sugar in the tea, but the tribesmen didn't need
it. They were quite good to suck both white and yellow sugar trough their teeth.
They didn't eat with knives either as most people in
Iran can do without.
The Choopy-dance is for
real men
The Choopy-dance makes the men ready for real
fighting. This must be
the most brutal dance in the world. It goes like this: two men fight in a
ring. They make different quick moves to confuse the defender or bring him out
of balance. Their equipment symbolise their traditional weapons. The stick
symbolise the sword, and the pole symbolise the spear or the shield.
|
Photo. The brutal Choopy dance is not
for ballet dancers. Don`t forget to take care of you knees!
These men were really though! |
 |
The fighters
move their body in total harmony with the intensive rhythm in their traditional
music. There are mainly two benefits from the dance:
1.
To enjoy themselves.
2.
Make them fitness (kind of sport for body
fitness).
The tribesmen
like to challenge good friends. The intention is to hit the defender below the
knee with a stick (not with the pole as far I
understood, but if it goes hard sometimes it can probably happens). Sometimes
the participants get seriously injured, example they break bones in their legs,
or even worse: their knee gets smashed. For they who participate in this game,
should expect to get both red and blue brushes on their legs and sometimes
higher up if it gets really rough.
|
Photo.
Choopy-dance in the Lor (Lurs) tribe turned hard. I
could sometimes hear the sound BANG when they smashed someone by the
stick.
Sometimes the participants get seriously injured,
example they break bones in their legs, or even worse: their knee gets
smashed. For they who participate in this game, should expect to get both
red and blue brushes on their legs and sometimes higher up if it gets
really rough. |
 |
This could
result in hard payback from others in the crowd. Sometimes others get involved
and start to fight with their bare fists or even more. When it turns pretty
wild, and some get hurt, others may be angry and attach the guilty person. Some
people don't obey the basis rules at all. One of the basis rules are: you should
never hit a person who is not ready to start the
game.
|
Photo. Lor tribesmen eagerly watching
the fight.
People around encourage one of the dancers (fighters) to make a brave attack. |
 |
The crowd get usually very excited when they are
watching. They support their favourite as best they can. Usually the fighters
are in the same family group, and they don't want to hurt each others.
|
Photo. The man in the
white clothes wears a tradition costume for camuflage. It`s for
protection against the sun and enemies whom they are fighting in the
mountains.
Dance and fight goes hand in hand. The men like to
prove themselves and I was sure they wanted to gain favour with women.
The wild dance reflects the courage of warriors who fight
enemies by traditional weapons. |
 |
In the dance, or shall I say the fighting
game, the men aspire to become heroes. These who win will be showed with
honour, sometimes with lifelong prestige. Showing courage in the fight
means that the men stand ready to defend the tribe. The large gathering made the
atmosphere very tense. The men stood on one side, and the women stood on the
other side.
|
Photo. Me dressed up in a Lor traditional
custome.
It was a great honour for me to wear it.
The Lor tribe showed their best hospitality, and the people there were
really nice. |
 |
My fight in the
Choopy-dance
I had the
pleasure to participate in Choopy-dances both in the Lor (Lurs) and Qashqai
nomads camps. Just like the tribesmen I was eager in the fight. I was real
concentrated. My adreline freaked and the blood rushed in my veins. This was the
time to show that I was a real Norwegian Viking.
When I fought
against a man from Quasqai, I attacked the man ahead me wild look. Based on
earlier experience I had now little more
self-confidence. The man just stood there with a big smile in his face. I think
he was just waiting for me. I roared wildly to frighten him. Desperately I tried
to provoke a movement to bring him out of balance, but
nothing affected my defender. I guess he was very experienced. During
the fight I heard the big roars from the crowded and I assumed that they were
supporting me.
After a while we
exchanged weapons and continued with the same high intensity in the fight. For a
while I forgot the music, and made my own moved independently of the rhythm in
the music. I was determined to hit him with the stick, but at the same time I
was worried to hurt him. In the end there where no injuries,
no winners and no losers, or shall I say
that we both won? Anyway we both had a good time.
| Photo. The only thing that reminds about the lions in
Iran
is the gravestones on the cemeteries. |
 |
The lions were extinguished
for over 80 years ago. This cemetery on
the photo above is located high up in the Zagros
Mountains.
Their traditional music and
dances make the nomadic people happy, especially the friendly dancing fight
CHOOPY - even though this fighting dance is
probably the most brutal dance in the world. Sometis it
hit friends. That's what friends are for. It's in the nomads soul, and give them strength and hope for a better
future. I dream my dreams with them!
Stein Morten Lund, 3 August
2004
Additional information
See
the video clip from the brutal Choopy dance (click on this link): Qashqai Choopy dance
.
Especially
thanks to my excellent guide Ali Hussein Manoochehri (from Pars Tourist
Agency (P.T.A), Shiraz,
Iran - (www.key2persia.com) who contributed with
information and translation. He also filmed me when I participated in the
fighting game.
Facts about
Iran:
Formal country
name: Islamic Republic of Iran.
Area: 1.64
million sq km.
Population:
68.27 million.
People: Persian
(Farsis) (65%), Azari (25%), Arab (4%), Lors (2%), Turkmen (2%), Kurdish,
Armenian, Jewish.
Language:
Persian, Kurdish.
Religion:
Shi'ite Muslim (89%), Sunni Muslim (10%), Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, Baha'i
(1%).
Government:
Islamic republic.
Presentation of our partner in Iran (sponsored text and
link):
****************************************************************************************************************
Pars Tourist Agency (P.T.A.), Iran
It`s a
private Persian incoming agency. It's located in Shiraz under the license
number 1/47026 issued by Iran Travel & Tourism Organization (ITTO) (
www.farstourism.org).
They organise a wide variety of tours for individuals as well as groups such as
inbound historical, cultural, anthropology, mountaineering, trekking, adventure
and natural excursion tours.
Speciality - exploring nomad tribes:
For real adventurers P.T.A.
arranges expeditions in to rural areas to search for nomad tribes in Iran's high
mountains. Some of the tribes are Bakhtiari, Lor, Qashqai. They live in a
beautiful landscape that will take your breath away. You will be able to explore
the tribe's daily life and unique culture in a natural way. Sometimes you will
experience a wedding, birth, fighting game, dancing, festival or other things.
Take your time and see what happens. Then it will be an experience of a
lifetime.
Contact info:
Phone: 0098-711-2223163 and 0098-711-2240645. Mobile
Phone (around the clock) 0098-9171118514.
Fax: 0098-711-2229693
Letters:
Pars Tourist Agency (P.T.A), Zand Street 71358, Next to Iran Cinema, Shiraz,
Iran.
Website: www.key2persia.com
E-mail: info@key2persia.com
****************************************************************************************************************
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