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GUSFAND
(Mid.
Pers.
go@spand,
sheep,
ovine).
In
Persian
a
clear
distinction
is
made
between
ewe
(miæ),
ram
(qu±),
and
lamb
(barra).
In
certain
dialects
tens
of
words
are
used
to
describe
sheep
according
to
age,
sex,
and
physical
characteristics,
such
as
color,
pattern
of
its
fleece,
shape
of
its
ear,
and
so
on
(Digard,
1981,
pp.
37,
65-66;
Digard,
Planhol,
and
Bazin,
1982;
Rayfield,
1986;
Rouholamini,
1967).
Domestication.
The
earliest
signs
of
domestication
of
sheep
have
been
found
in
Kurdistan
and
date
back
to
9,200
B.C.E.
(Tetry,
1974,
pp.
1158-59;
Epstein,
1971,
pp.
224,
263,
277).
The
main
species
is
the
Asian
sheep
(Ovis
Orientalis
Linne‚),
which
still
exists
in
the
world
(qu±-e
kuhi
in
Persian,
pa@zan
in
Lori)
from
Turkey
to
India
and
Central
Asia
(Missonne,
1959,
pp.
38-39).
Traces
of
sheep
husbandry
have
been
found
in
archeological
sites
in
Persia
dating
back
to
the
7th
millenia.
Gradually,
as
a
result
of
domestication
as
well
as
natural
selection,
mouflon,
or
wild
sheep,
lost
its
characteristics
and
acquired
those
of
sheep,
and
sheep
husbandry
gave
birth
to
an
ancient
mode
of
agro-pastoral
life
based
on
the
use
of
high-altitude
summer
pastures,
which
led,
under
the
pressure
of
the
Mongol
invasion,
from
the
14th
century
onwards,
to
the
present
Turco-Persian
pastoral
nomadic
life
(Hesse,
1980;
Zeder,
1985;
Briant,
1982;
Planhol,
1968).
Livestock
and
breed.
Even
today,
despite
its
shortcomings
and
difficulties,
sheep
husbandry
in
Persia
is
among
its
most
important
in
the
Middle
East
and,
no
doubt,
in
Asia.
Only
a
few
years
ago,
the
sheep
population
of
Afghanistan
reached
about
21.5
million
heads
(Dupree,
1980,
p.
48)
and
that
of
Tajikistan,
2.9
million
heads
(Narodnoe,
pp.
254-56).
In
Persia
the
ovine
livestock
had
risen
from
31
million
heads
in
1341
ˆ./1962-63
and
28
million
heads
in
1355
ˆ./1976-77
(Iran
Almanac,
1977,
p.
216)
to
35
million
heads
in
1361
ˆ./1982-83
(A
Statistical
Reflexion,
p.
70).
Although
approximate,
these
figures
clearly
show
the
importance
of
sheep
in
everyday
life
in
Persia.
It
surpasses
all
other
cattle
and
its
products
are
the
most
sought
after
(Ardelan;
Jones).
There
are,
however,
important
regional
disparities
in
sheep
breeding
in
Persia.
Khorasan
is
the
most
important
province
with
more
than
3
million
heads,
followed
by
Western
Azerbaijan,
the
Central
Province,
and
Eastern
Azerbaijan,
each
with
more
than
2
million
heads.
Conversely,
in
some
other
provinces
with
more
arid
climates
(Zanja@n,
Yazd,
Kerma@n,
Buæehr,
Baluchistan,
Ila@m),
the
sheep
are
outnumbered
by
their
more
sturdy
and
more
polyvalent
eternal
rivals,
the
goat
(see
BOZ).
The
variety
of
natural
constraints
and
human
needs
have
contributed
to
the
selection
of
various
regional
breeds
of
sheep.
Only
the
Persian
breeds
of
sheep
have
been
subject
to
an
overall
zootechnical
survey
(Satta@ri,
1349
ˆ./1970).
Among
the
most
noteworthy,
for
meat
production,
we
can
mention
the
æa@l
breed
from
the
region
of
Qazvin,
the
kordi
breed
from
Qu±a@n
and
Bojnurd
in
Khorasan,
the
moka@n
breed
from
Azerbaijan,
and
the
sanja@bi
breed
from
Kerma@næa@h;
for
milk:
the
ma@zandara@ni
breed,
the
ma@ku
breed
from
Azerbaijan,
the
lori
breed
from
Loresta@n
and
Bakòtia@ri;
for
wool:
qal¿-e-kuh
breed
from
the
region
of
Vara@min,
the
kerma@ni
breed,
and
the
balu±i
breed;
and
for
fur:
the
famous
qarakol
breed
from
the
region
of
Sarakòs
in
Khorasan,
also
from
Afghanistan
and
Central
Asia
(Balland,
1977;
1979),
as
well
as
the
zandi
breed
from
the
region
of
Varamin.
Common
to
all
the
breeds
of
sheep
in
Persia—except
for
those
of
the
Caspian
region,
which
once
again
mark
its
difference—is
a
mass
of
fat
(domba)
on
its
hip
and
tail,
reaching
up
to
70
cm
and
weighing
some
10
kg,
so
much
that
sometimes
a
small
cart
has
to
be
harnessed
to
the
animal
to
carry
its
mass
(Dieulafoy,
1989,
p.
197).
This
fat
has
a
rather
particular
taste
and
is
used
in
Persian
cooking,
especially
for
preparing
the
famous
a@b-guæt
(q.v.)
as
well
as
pastries.
Sheep
husbandry
products.
Despite
the
emphasis
on
meat,
milk,
or
wool,
brought
about
here
and
there
by
genetic
improvement,
the
Persian
breeds
of
sheep
remain
by
and
large
rustic
and,
as
a
result,
polyvalent.
As
a
matter
of
fact,
in
traditional
sheep
husbandry
the
animal
is
bred
for
its
wool,
without
which
the
carpet
industry
would
not
have
existed
in
Persia,
its
milk,
and
its
by-products
(ma@st,
dug@,
rowg@an,
etc.),
which
on
the
eve
of
the
Revolution
of
1978-79
provided
51
percent
of
the
animal
protein
consumed
by
the
Persians,
and
its
meat
(18
percent
of
the
protein
consumed;
Nyrop,
p.
354),
not
to
mention
such
other
products
as
skin,
fat,
gut,
horn,
etc
(Sattari,
1969).
Since
then,
the
growth
of
the
population
and
the
change
in
its
dietary
habits,
coupled
with
the
shortage
in
the
supply
of
red
meat
at
the
time
that
the
demand
for
it
was
on
the
increase,
has
moved
Persia
further
away
from
the
revolutionary
goal
of
food
self-sufficiency
(Brun
and
Dumont;
McLachlan;
see
DAÚM-DAÚRIÚ).
Styles
and
techniques
of
sheep
husbandry.
The
sturdiness
of
the
sheep
in
Persia
is
much
related
to
the
conditions
of
its
breeding.
Sheep
breeding
style
has
continued
to
remain
predominantly
traditional
and
family-based,
which
is
sometimes
associated
with
small
agricultural
concerns
—
most
of
the
time
subsistence
breeding,
rarely
exceeding
several
tons
of
sheep
grazing
on
stubble
or
common
pastures
around
the
village,
and
sometimes
with
the
nomadic
lifestyle,
which
accounts
for
about
half
of
the
livestock
population.
Even
where
commercial-size
sheep
breeding
is
practiced,
the
technique
adopted
is
of
the
extensive
kind,
using
open
air
natural
pastures.
Sheep
breeding
in
confined
farm
buildings
is
rare,
except
in
very
hot
regions
(e.g.,
K¨uzesta@n,
central
desert),
where
underground
sheepfolds
have
to
be
dug.
It
is
within
these
two
frameworks
that
sheep
breed-ing
assumes
its
most
importance.
Some
large
nomadic
breeders
of
the
Za@gros
(Digard;
Black-Michaud)
as
well
as
some
large
sedentary
breeders
of
Khorasan
(Papoli-Yazdi),
Kerma@n
(Stöber;
Bradburg)
or
Eastern
Azerbaijan
(Tapper)
own
flocks
of
over
serveral
thousand
heads,
which
they
send
far
away
to
K¨uzesta@n,
Ma@zandara@n,
Kurdistan,
or
the
Alborz
mountains
to
pasture,
following
a
complicated
itinerary,
combining
different
forms
of
transhumance,
the
size
and
modality
of
which
vary
according
to
the
economic
context.
The
flocks
are
entrusted
to
shepherds
accompanied
by
shepherd
dogs
(see
ÙUPAÚN;
DOG).
Each
proprietor
identifies
his
sheep
by
a
cut
in
their
ears
or
a
hot
iron
marking
on
their
snouts.
These
large
breeders
have
increasingly
specialized
in
fattening
the
stock
and
hand
over
the
lamb
fattened
on
summer
pastures
to
the
±ubda@r,
who
acts
on
behalf
of
urban
slaughterhouses.
Sheepbreeding
agro-industrial
units,
such
as
Marvdaæt
complex,
with
a
capacity
of
350,000
sheep,
remain
the
exception.
Recent
evolutions.
The
return
of
the
nomads
to
their
status
quo
ante
and
the
temporary
disruption
of
meat
imports
that
accompanied
the
Revolution
of
1978-79,
have
reversed
the
trend.
The
new
authorities
in
the
new
regime
have
shown
remarkable
prudence
and
realism
in
this
area.
While
the
modern
production
sector
has
not
been
neglected,
of
which
AÚsta@n-e
Qods-e
Razµawi
in
Maæhad
(Hourcade,
1989)
is
a
good
example,
a
policy
of
supporting
agricultural
prices
has
been
adopted
and
steps
have
been
taken
to
restore
pastures.
A
great
deal,
however,
remains
to
be
done
to
bring
Persian
sheep
breed-ing
to
its
optimal
level,
such
as
raising
technical
standards
and
improving
local
breeds,
and
at
the
same
time
preserving
the
pastures
that
are
gradually
deteriorating
almost
everywhere.
As
for
Afghanistan,
as
a
result
of
the
war,
the
situation
of
sheep
breeding
is
in
such
a
catastrophe
that
it
would
not
be
an
exaggeration
to
say
that
it
has
to
be
rebuilt
anew.
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(Jean-Pierre
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