Mazanderani

(Mazandarani) a nationality in Iran, living in the historical region of Mazanderan.

Population, about 1,200,000 (1970, estimate). The Mazanderani are similar to the Persians in culture and way of life. The language of the Mazandarani, which is unwritten, is related to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Mazanderani are Shiite Muslims. They engage in farming (rice and wheat), which in the coastal regions is combined with fishing and in mountainous regions with stock raising. The seminomadic mountain population retains certain vestiges of the tribal way of life; the largest highland tribes are the Gadikulahs and the Palani.