The main aim of this group is to increase scientific cognition, knowledge and general information of Iranians and the peoples of the world about social and cultural activities of ethnic groups, rural and tribal communities, and urban societies in Iran. The themes of research are mainly based on socio-cultural institutions, religious belief systems, ritual practices, traditional dramatic arts, traditional technologies and crafts, and verbal literature in the past and the present.

Here you will find a selection of research topics addressed by this department:

• Socio-Cultural and Economic Traits of Tribal Units among Iranian Ethnic Communities
  Iranian tribes are characteristically small-scale groupings distributed throughout the country with a centralized chieftanship. They are bonded by a common language and territory.
  
  
• Artifacts
  From early times the people of each area of Iran have produced distinctive artifacts - stoneware, pottery, ceramics, kilims, rugs, glassware, figurines, textiles, shoes… to name a few. The department is dedicated to the historical and ethnological study of traditional artifacts in Iran, covering all ethnic communities, tribal groups, and rural and urban societies.
  
  
• The Iranian Coffeehouse as a Cultural and Social Institution
  
  
• Iranian Coffeehouse Painting
  Having taken ground within the coffeehouse ambiance, this style of painting falls within the category of folk arts. It developed under the influence of the narrative dramatic arts of naqqãli (public storytelling and recital of the epic poems of Shãhnãme, the story of kings) and ta’ziye-khãni (dramatic recitation of religiously significant incidents). Prevalent styles of figurative painting such as iconography and epic mural paintings, which took ground since the reign of the Safavids in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were instrumental in the development of this genre of painting. Coffeehouse paintings can be thematically divided into two groups: religious and epic. The religious paintings are a collection of images of the leaders and elders of the Shi’a sect and scenes from the battles of the prophet Muhammad, Imam ‘Ali, the Karbala tragedy and other religious folk-tales. The non-religious epic paintings portraying imaginary faces of the national heroes and kings in the context of wars, festivities and fables described in the Shãhnãme.
  
  

• Ta’ziye and Ta’ziye-khãni: A Research on the Shi’a Indigenous Drama during the Qajar Era (1798-1925)
  Ta’ziye-khãni is a dramatic form of reciting the tragedy of Imam Husayn’s martyrdom (the third Imam of the Shi’a, seventh century A.D.) and the tragic events of Karbala (city in present day Iraq). The stories recounted during a ta’ziye (passion play) are mainly based on the folk culture and common religious beliefs surrounding the episode of Karbala. Ta’ziye-khãni was gradually developed and converted into a ritual of religious drama during the Qajar era in Iran. This research was a focused study on the formation, development and flourishment of ta’ziye-khãni as a dramatic representation of a religiously significant incident in the Iranian traditional society. The ways through which ta’ziye-khãni could be altered so as to be compatible with the contemporary cultural, social and intellectual mind set of present day Iran was also examined.
  
  
• Music and Musical Instruments during the Qajar era
  The first part of this comprehensive study, military music and musical instruments, has been finished. The other parts are in progress.
  
  
• Decorations and Medals in Qajar Military (in progress)
  
  
• Iranian Flags during the Qajar reign (in progress)
  
  
• Tehran and Tehrani Way of Life during the Qajar era - A Pictorial Essay (in progress)

The above research projects have culminated in books published by the CRB.