The Role of Luti in the Socio Cultural Life of the Iranian City in the Late Qajar Period

Abstract

Based on the study of the original memoir source “My Biography” by A. Mostoufi, verified by the testimonies of foreign observers, the article examines one of the minor social groups of Iran’s urban population in the second half of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century. As an integral part of the Iranian city, this group is often viewed by researchers as amorphous and marginal, lacking stable characteristics that would define its homogeneity and permanence, which is also reflected in the contradictory meanings of the lexeme luti. Having analyzed the features of luti as a distinct group actor with its own moral, behavioral, and professional characteristics, the authors conclude that its officially low social status directly contradicts the significance it possessed in the socio-cultural life of the urban community. A wide range of role functions secured this group social prestige in the eyes of both the local patriciate and the democratic part of the urban population.

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