The Narrative of the Life of a Legend
“As a nomad I was expected to choose guns over books. But I chose education, became a teacher, and I set forth to educate the nomads. In this path, a few encouraged me, while most viewed the cause as trivial and unimportant,” writes Mohammad Bahman Beigi in his educational memories. Bahman Beigi was born in 1921 to a Qashqâi family in the province of Fârs, south of Iran. Following the policies of Reza Shah, tribal migrations were restricted and controlled by the army; ultimately the Bahman Beigi family, along with many other tribes, was exiled to Tehran. Mohammad Bahman Beigi earned a degree in law from the University of Tehran, where he also studied English, German, and French. After Reza Shah was deposed of power, the Bahman Beigi family returned to their beloved tribe after eleven years of struggle and exile. However, Mahmoud Khân Bahman Beigi had different plans for his college-educated son; he demanded that Mohammad return to Tehran and continue his professional pursuits. The decision had not been one without pain and regret, but Mahmoud Khân firmly believed that the tribe no longer offered any place for progress.
Photo by Nasro'llah Kasraian
Mohammad Bahman Beigi left the vast meadows, tall mountains, and fragrant pastures of his tribe, he left the songs of quails for the chaos and pollution of an office-bound, urban life. With a background in law, he sought work in the Department of Justice. Having worked as an attorney for a few years, he settled for a different position in Iran’s National Bank. His tribe took pride in his new position and enthusiastically followed his progress. But away from the family, Bahman Beigi had grown restless and weary of Tehran. He finally abandoned “progress” for the song of quails, for his tribe, for his Bokhârâ. He found his exuberance and joy once more. But was he to settle down? The illiteracy of his tribesmen and women deeply troubled him, so he left the tribe again, this time for Shiraz and in search of a solution. Bahman Beigi knocked on every door, tried every path, and used every connection to convince the authorities of the importance of nomadic education. But listening ears were not to be found; in governmental offices he had received nothing but a cold shoulder and hopeless apathy. Bahman Beigi was not a man of failure, but of determination. So he continued his mission…
The idea to create a mobile school for the nomads had already been tested in the past, and failed. Teachers had to be brought from the city, they could not endure the harsh nature of nomadic life. They would grow restless and yearn for the city. They’d soon give up and return to their urban lifestyle. What Bahman Beigi was about to establish was an educational grass-roots movement within the tribe, with tribal teachers and trainers, and in the service of the rich and poor alike. How he overcame the ups and downs of starting that movement is very much an epic tale in and of itself. In 1951, Bahman Beigi went on to create an educational establishment for nomadic communities, a movement that spread under his supervision to numerous other tribes in Iran, and benefited the tribes of Kurds, Arabs, Lors, Balochis and Turks. Bahman Beigi was profoundly concerned with gender discrimination amongst the nomads. From his personal interactions with tribesmen, he tirelessly attempted to convince them to send their daughters to school. As a result, countless girls were educated, and were later trained as teachers. For all his dedication, leadership, courage, and amazing accomplishments, Mohammad Bahman Beigi was recognized with the UNESCO’s education award.
“The key to our problems reposes amongst the alphabet, in between letters. I have firmly reached this conclusion after years of traveling, studying, and working, thus I invite you all to participate in a holy uprising to end illiteracy, a movement to educate the nomads.”
In 2003, Kamran Heidari directed White Tents, a film on the life of Mohammad Bahman Beigi. In 2005, the Iranian Academy of Arts held a “commemoration ceremony” in the honor of his life and works. Amongst many other activities, Bahman Beigi was a prolific writer as well. He has contributed to several literary publications and has written extensively on the rituals and traditions of nomads. Bahman Beigi’s Persian prose is uniquely known for its imagery, brevity, articulation and fantastic elaborations. His most famous works are The Customs and Traditions of Nomads, My Tribe, My Bokhârâ (a collection of stories from tribal life), and Be Ojâghet Ghasam (his educational memories). In recent years, Bahman Beigi was suffering from insomnia. Over the years, he had lovingly trained several generations of teachers who took turns to travel to Shiraz to spend the night with their beloved teacher. On May 1st, 2010 Mohammad Bahmanbeigi bid farewell to all his students. He lived for the love of education, abandoned his lucrative career in Tehran, traveled from one remote village to another to propel his “holy movement against illiteracy,” and wholeheartedly embraced the austerity of nomadic life for the future of all nomads.
He had not returned to his tribe empty-handed after all, he had migrated the spring with him too.
Following his passing, this article was published in Peyk (# 127) to commemorate Mohammad Bahman Beigi’s life-time accomplishments.
Design: Saeed Jalali