About Dari
Voices from Zoroastrian Iran

An oral studies project that maps the remaining Zoroastrian communities in Iran. In this deposit of 330 interviews Zoroastrians speak about their lives before and after the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Topics include religious and devotional life as well as issues such as emigration, education and marrying outside the community.

Zoroastrians were interviewed in urban centres wherever they live in Iran today (Kermān, Ahvāz, Shirāz, Esfahān, Tehrān and Yazd) and in the villages surrounding the city of Yazd where Zoroastrians still live or own property and/or land.

Participants in this study refer to community leaders, historical figures, local events, teachers and religious texts that have shaped their views and understanding of the religion. They also speak about the events and circumstances in recent history (for example the Iran-Iraq war) that have had an impact on their lives.

Interviews were conducted mainly in the Zoroastrian Dari language, which is under threat as villagers move to urban centres and often emigrate abroad thereafter. Dari is a spoken rather than a written language so young people, who may speak Dari at home, use Persian to type and communicate electronically via social media networks thus further distancing themselves from the language of their parents and grandparents.