About the tribes

If you drive from Shiraz to Isfahan or if you travel between Isfahan and Ahwaz, you might see rows of small tents around which children play. These are the tents of the Qashqais (between Isfahan and Shiraz) and of the Bakhtiaris (between Isfahan and Ahwaz). The il is the highest level out of which a certain number of people carrying the same genealogy work. The people of the tribe speak the same language and share the same myths about the past of the tribe.

Often, for political reasons, a number of tribes cooperate and form a confederation. The confederation is placed under the leadership of an influential member of one of the tribes. This Supreme Chief of tribes is also called an Il-Khan. He settles the affairs of the tribes with the help of an Il-Beg or manager.

In order to save tribal uprisings, the Il-Khan is also recognized by the central government. In that case, in times of war, he sends a given number of young people from different tribes to serve in the national army.

About the tribes

If you drive from Shiraz to Isfahan or if you travel between Isfahan and Ahwaz, you might see rows of small tents around which children play. These are the tents of the Qashqais (between Isfahan and Shiraz) and of the Bakhtiaris (between Isfahan and Ahwaz). The il is the highest level out of which a certain number of people carrying the same genealogy work. The people of the tribe speak the same language and share the same myths about the past of the tribe.

Often, for political reasons, a number of tribes cooperate and form a confederation. The confederation is placed under the leadership of an influential member of one of the tribes. This Supreme Chief of tribes is also called an Il-Khan. He settles the affairs of the tribes with the help of an Il-Beg or manager.

In order to save tribal uprisings, the Il-Khan is also recognized by the central government. In that case, in times of war, he sends a given number of young people from different tribes to serve in the national army.

Biography

Sogoli Sepahpour is an Iranian artist, designer, illustrator. Born on January 1986 in London, England. She went to Sooreh Art College in Iran and studied Graphic Design. After finishing her high school diploma she moved to Dubai to get her BA in Visual Communication in American University in Dubai. Her Iranian culture mixes with her European experiences to create unique artistic pieces. Her creations are full of color and have a sense of urban culture.

My Tribes

My senior Project is about Iranian tribes that live in Iran and migrate from different parts of Iran to another part of it. The reason that I am painting them is because I am interested in how they work and how they live and these days you can’t find many tribes as you could in ten years ago, so I decided to paint them and document their lives, but make them look contemporary by putting them in different places that you usually can’t find and by transforming their traditional look to a more contemporary way. I am painting four (120*100 cm) oil on canvas. Each panel has a different image for example Panel 1/ Shows their migration 2/Theire wedding or the bride 3/How they work and Panel 4/How there house look like (there tents).