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Women’s Footprint in Traditional Muslim Ethnic Communities: The Case of World Pottery Village in Iran

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Women in Tourism in Asian Muslim Countries

Part of the book series: Perspectives on Asian Tourism ((PAT))

Abstract

The literature reveals that tourism plays a complimentary role in the preservation of traditional arts and crafts and in the empowerment of women in ethnic communities. While this provides a means and justifications for the revival and maintenance of crafts, it may also commoditize and trivialize cultural production. Tourism can bring economic and social benefits to ethnic communities, but also result in conflicts or loss of cultural pride. This study seeks to contribute to this ongoing academic debate by providing insights on one ethnic Muslim community of a destination in its first stages of development. The theoretical concept of footprints is applied to examine the case of ethnic women in a Baluch community in Iran. Baluch women produce Kalporagan, a unique form of pottery souvenir for tourists. Kalporagan pottery, related to a prehistoric cultural heritage, is a reputed artwork of the Baluch ethnic group produced exclusively by women. Archeological studies show that they have protected this form of cultural heritage for thousands of years and transferred it from one generation to the next. Fieldwork was the methodological frame adopted for this study, including such specific methods as interviews, visual ethnography, and participant observation. Grounded theory was the theoretical structure used for analyzing interview data. Visual data in the form of photography was collected throughout the fieldwork. The findings of this study shows how the production of art crafts helps Muslim women in Iran Baluchistan to claim deep footprints in the Baluch community.

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Acknowledgements

Authors of this chapter wish to express their sincere thanks to Professor Jafar Jafari from University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA, Professor Luis Marentes from University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA for valuable comments and supports and special thanks to Emma Rose Barrett from University of Melbourne, Austrelia for proofreading the chapter. 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

    Ahmad Reza Sheikhi

  2. Universidad Pública de Navarra, Navarra, Spain

    Izaskun Andueza Imirizaldu

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  1. Ahmad Reza Sheikhi
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  2. Izaskun Andueza Imirizaldu
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Correspondence to Ahmad Reza Sheikhi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Nataša Slak Valek

  2. College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    Hamed Almuhrzi

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Sheikhi, A.R., Imirizaldu, I.A. (2021). Women’s Footprint in Traditional Muslim Ethnic Communities: The Case of World Pottery Village in Iran. In: Slak Valek, N., Almuhrzi, H. (eds) Women in Tourism in Asian Muslim Countries. Perspectives on Asian Tourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4757-1_5

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