Abstract
This study aims to analyze the role of qanats and water-related traditional rituals in the culture and livelihood of the people of Sistan. As one of Iran’s arid regions, Sistan has long faced severe water scarcity, which has shaped distinctive forms of social adaptation. In this context, the qanat is not merely a hydraulic structure for groundwater extraction; rather, it functions as a socio-cultural institution that organizes social relations, facilitates the transmission of indigenous knowledge, regulates customary water distribution, and strengthens social cohesion.
This research adopts a qualitative approach with an ethnographic methodology. Data were collected through field observation and semi-structured interviews with 12 local participants, including farmers, mirabs (traditional water managers), and community elders in Hirmand County. Participants were selected through purposive snowball sampling. The data were analyzed using thematic coding with MAXQDA software.
The findings indicate that beyond providing water, the qanat plays a central role in preserving rituals such as rain-invocation ceremonies, water vows, and Nowruz-e Bibi, regulating the agricultural calendar, and ensuring intergenerational transmission of local knowledge. However, declining precipitation, groundwater depletion, the expansion of modern technologies such as motor pumps, and the weakening of traditional institutions have reduced the significance of qanats, contributing to migration and the erosion of social cohesion.
The study emphasizes the need to recognize qanats as socio-cultural institutions and to integrate indigenous knowledge with modern technologies in sustainable development and local water resource management strategies to mitigate water scarcity and its social consequences.