Schooling of the Mussulman Tats

It is mandatory for children from ages 6-11 to attend schooling. However most schools and classrooms are poorly structured, especially compared to our schools. The classes are separated by gender and the main subjects are on religion and traditional values rather than other subjects like math or history.

Prayers of the Tats

Not all Mussulman Tats are muslim, a very small part of the community are Christian. About 1% of tats practice christianity. Because they ares such a small group, very few people are willing to switch their religious views from Muslim to Christianity. Like all most Christian groups, praying is a major part of daily life. The Tats have a few major prayer points that i found on the Joshua Project website.

Prayers:

• Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will begin breaking up the spiritual soil through intercession.
• Ask God to grant wisdom and favor any missions agencies focussing on the Mussulman Tat.
• Ask God to use the smaller number of Mussulman Tat Christians to share the love of Jesus with their own people.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the Mussulman Tat towards Christians so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.
• Ask the Lord to raise up strong local churched among the Mussulman Tat.

Clothing of the Tats

There is a rather strict "dress code" in the Mussulman Tat society. The females dress in a long skirt, wide trousers to be worn outside, a slim line dress, outer unbuttoned dress, a headscarf and moroccan stockings. The men dress in a Circassian coat and a high fur cap. The picture below is of muslim people dressed in what the Tats wear.

Men and Woman's clothing
Source: http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/photos.aspx?country=RS

References

http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13896/AJ
http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/groupdetails.aspx?peid=24078
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Azerbaijan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tat_people_(Iran)


There was very little information about this culture these were about the only sources of information I could find on the culture.

Tats and their Neighbors

I could not find any information on the diaspora of tats. Most Tats rarely associate with other tribes because they are a closed society. They only allow marriage within the tribe to maintain ethnic purity.

Birds of The Tats

I could not find birds that were specifically in the areas where the Tats live and that were important to their culture. However I was able to find birds that lived in the northern Iranian area.

Some of the birds in Iran:

Whoolly Stork
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolly-necked_Stork

1. Storks

• Large, long legged and necked birds with long bills.

• Black Stork
• Woolly-necked Stork
• White Stork

   2. Ibises

• Large terrestral birds. They have long wings and beaks, and they are very strong fliers.
• Sacred Ibis
• Glossy Ibis

  

  Glossy Ibis
  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossy_Ibis

   

  3. Grouse

• Game birds.
• Caucasian Grouse

  

  Caucasian Grouse
  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_Grouse

  
  

Tat Cosmos

There are three main religions within the Tat community, the Jewish Tat, Christian Tat and the Muslim Tat. The most popular religion within the tat population is the muslim religion. The Tats are also strongly faithful to the five essential pillars in Islam. Tose pillars are:

1. A muslim must affirm that "there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet." 
2. Five times a day he must pray while facing Mecca.
3. He must give alms generously.
4. He must fast during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim year.
5. He must try to make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in his lifetime.

• http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13896/AJ

Mecca, the place that he must try to pilgrimage to is a city in Saudi Arabia. This city is so important because it was the birthplace of Muhammad and it is considered to be the holiest city in Islam.

The city of Mecca during a pilgrimage for the Hajj
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/9628218/Millions-of-Muslims-gather-in-the-Saudi-city-of-Mecca-to-perform-the-Hajj.html

Some other non religious beliefs that the Mussulman Tats have are marriage within the tribe. They like to marry within the tribe to "maintain ethnic purity."(Joshua Project) They also are very passionate about defending their right to have a self govern society.

World of The Tats

There is very little information on how Mussulman Tat's make a living in their cultural landscape. However after reading through many sources I did find out that the Tats living in the more Urban communities farm crops like wheat, barley and maize. They also raise livestock such as cattle, sheep, bulls and buffaloes.

Tat women farming their crops.
Source: https://sheerfluency.wordpress.com/2009/04/

The Tat's living in the more rural areas that have a two story home usually have a store or workplace on the first floor. With both of those pieces of information I am assuming that they sell crops in some of the stores and have other businesses running such as basket weaving and carpet making.

Homeland of The Tat

As you already know the Mussulman Tat live in the northern parts of Iran and along the mountains of Azerbaijan. Here is a map showing where the Tats live within Iran and Azerbaijan, the Mussulman Tat are highlighted in dark green.

Map of Tats in Iran
Source: http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13896/IR

Those who live in the mountainous areas are usually farmers in the valleys growing and raising crops and livestock. Tats living in the mountains have communities on the ledges of the mountains where they live with about 100 other families. The temperature in the mountains is usually 40-77 degrees fahrenheit depending on the time of year and elevations of the mountain.

Azerbaijan Mountains
Source: http://www.socar.ro/en/Azerbaijan

Mussulman Tats that live in the more rural areas live in the original home of their ancestors in villages in the valleys in the mountains of Iran and Azerbaijan. The homes are either one or two stories tall and those that are two stories have some type of store of business on the first floor and the living area on the second. The homes have flat roofs and a rectangular shaped body made out of stones cemented with clay. Within the rural communities,  there are mosques, bathing areas, and wells for those living in the area.

Part of a village in Azerbaijan
Source: http://www.traveloazerbaijan.com/tours/sightseeing-tour-across-azerbaijan/#.U2h4o61dVRE

History of The Tat Culture

The Mussulman Tat people are a subgroup of Persians that live in the Azerbaijan Mountains and the Northern part of Iran. Through my resources I found that there are several different religious communities that categorize as Tat people. There are the Jewish Tat, the Christian Tat and the Muslim Tat. I focused my studies on the Muslim Tat because they are the largest populated Tat group.

It is not known when the Mussulman Tat's history began, but they are been people of an agricultural society since their origination. They speak a language called Tati which is native to their country, but the Tati language does not have a written alphabet, so when the written language is necessary they use the Azerbaijani's written language called Azeri.

Throughout the years, Tats formed an urbanized community in the valleys where farmers grow crops such as wheat barley. In some areas they even herd livestock like cattle. In the more rural areas, the tats live in the original villages and homes along the Azerbaijan mountains.

Homes of Tats along the ledge of the Azerbaijan mountains.
Source: http://www.travel-images.com/iran43.jpg

Introduction To The Tat Culture

    Mussulman Tat's are a group of Islamic people who live in the mountain valleys in Northwestern Iran, along the Azerbyjanee border. There population is about 37,000 people and they are referred to as Tat's and sometimes Caucasus's. The Mussulman Tat’s speak their native language which is called Tati. However they do not have a written alphabet for the Tati language so when they write they use the Azerbyjanee language, Azeri. They are a closed society and they marry within the tribe to maintain ethnic purity.

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