Mazanderani

The Mazanderanis (Mazani, Tabari; Persian مازندرانی) are the native people of the eastern half of Iran's Caspian lowland and the northern Alborz, from Ramsar and Tonekabon in the west to Gorgan in the east. They descend from the ancient Tapuri and Amardi; their land was Tapuria, later Tabaristan, and local dynasties such as the Bavandids and Dabuyids kept it independent of the Arab caliphate for generations. Zaydi Alid rulers of the 9th and 10th centuries made it an early centre of Shia Islam, and Mazandaran stayed under local princes until Shah Abbas I annexed it in 1596. Mazandarani (Tabari) is a Northwestern Iranian language of the Caspian group, close to Gilaki, with about 13 dialects (Saravi, Amoli, Baboli, Shahi, Kalardashti, Gorgani and others) and a Galeshi speech among upland herders. Ethnic Mazanderanis number about 4.5 million, but language studies show a steady shift to Persian among the young, women and city dwellers.

Mazanderani life centres on rice paddies, citrus orchards and forest villages, with timber houses on stone footings, wooden verandas and steep roofs of clay tile or straw. Rural kinship networks are dense and weddings, harvests and funerals are communal affairs. The Tabari calendar marks distinct festivals: Tirma Sizeh Shu, the night of the 13th of Tir, when families sit up all night with snacks, fortune-telling and stories, and Nowruz-khani, when singers go house to house heralding spring. Music forms include Amiri-khani, sung to the verses of the Safavid-era poet Amir Pazvari, and Katuli songs with the kamancheh and laleva flute; lucho folk wrestling is the signature sport. Upland Galesh herders take cattle between lowland winter pastures and Alborz summer meadows. Mazandaran is a favourite holiday destination for Tehranis, and second homes and tourism have reshaped the coast.

Mazanderanis are overwhelmingly Twelver Shia, and Tabaristan has a long Shia history going back to the Zaydi Alid state. Muharram mourning, Ashura passion plays and vows at imamzadeh shrines are central; distinctive wooden saqanefar shrines with painted ceilings, found in villages around Babol, Qaem Shahr and Savadkuh, host Muharram vows and offerings. Folk practice keeps pre-Islamic seasonal rites such as Tirma Sizeh Shu and Nowruz customs. Mazandaran is also a cradle of the Baha'i faith, whose founder's family came from Nur county; Baha'i villagers there still face demolitions and arrests. A small Sunni Shafi'i minority exists, and the young urban generation is increasingly secular.

The Mazandarani New Testament, translated by Korpu after its Gilaki work began in 1998, was dedicated in January 2024 among 12 new minority-language New Testaments for Iran. Audio recordings are available; the Jesus Film is not listed in Mazandarani. Most Mazanderanis understand Persian, so Persian Christian satellite TV and online media also reach them. There is no known open Mazandarani-speaking church.