Mahmuei () is a village in

Shakhenat Rural District Shakhenat Rural District () is in Shakhenat District of Birjand County, South Khorasan province, Iran. Its capital is the village of Gazar Gazar is a silk or wool plain weave fabric made with high-twist double yarns woven as one. Gazar ...

of Shakhenat District,

Birjand County Birjand County () is in South Khorasan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Birjand. History In 2007, the village of Mohammadiyeh was elevated to the status of a city as Mohammadshahr. After the 2011 National Census, Khusf Distric ...

, South Khorasan province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. According to legend, the first settlers named the village "Mahmûeî" because it was on open and flat ground. The word ''mahmuei'' is a derivation of the word ''mahmah'' which according to the

Dehkhoda Dictionary The ''Dehkhoda Dictionary'' or ''Dehkhoda Lexicon'' ( or ) is the largest comprehensive Persian encyclopedic dictionary ever published, comprising 200 volumes. It is published by the Tehran University Press (UTP) under the supervision of the ...

means a flat plain.

History

There is a shrine in the village cemetery where a pious man known as Âqâye Mîr-Abbâss, a descendant of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

(''Seyyed''), was buried 70 years ago. The natives respect the shrine and dedicate money to it for obtaining their wants. About 1920s, at the time of making

grape syrup Grape syrup is a condiment made with concentrated grape juice. It is thick and sweet because of its high ratio of sugar to water. Grape syrup is made by boiling grapes, removing their skins, and squeezing them through a sieve to extract the ju ...

(''shîre-ye angoor'') via boiling grape juice, somebody said to him "you are not a descendant of The Prophet." Mîr-Abbâss became annoyed and stepped into the huge fire that was lighted for boiling grape juices. He sat in the midst of the fireplace (Golkhan) to prove miraculously that he was a descendant of Muhammad. He stayed in the fireplace for a while and did not go out till some villagers entreated him to go out. After that event, the villagers believed and respected him and built a monument on his grave. Since 1950, many people emigrated from Mahmuei to city areas, especially to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

and

Mashad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. In the Central District of Mashhad ...

. Many of these emigrants gather in the village during

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

when a ceremony of

Ta'zieh Ta'zieh (; ; ) means comfort, condolence, or expression of grief. It comes from the roots ''aza'' (عزو and عزى) which mean mourning. It commonly refers to passion plays about the Battle of Karbala and its prior and subsequent events. S ...

(''Shabîh-khânî'') is performed.

Demographics

Language and religion

The inhabitants are

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Muslims speaking a local dialect of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Population

Official statistics for Mahmuei in 1996 estimated a population of 695 people (185 houses and 223 families)..Ludwig W. Adamec, ''Historical Gazetteer of Iran. Vol.2, Meshed and Northeastern Iran''. Graz:Academische Druck,1981.p.460 At the time of the 2006 National Census, the village's population was 726 in 243 households, when it was in the Central District. The following census in 2011 counted 860 people in 238 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the village as 750 people in 221 households. It was the most populous village in its rural district. After the census, the rural district was separated from the district in the formation of Shakhenat District.

Overview

Most of the population is engaged in agriculture. Major products of Mahmuei are

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

(''Za`ferân'') and

barberry ''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South America a ...

(''Zereshk'') that are cultivated for exporting. Beet and wheat are cultivated as well. Grapes, black plume, apricots, melons, watermelons, almonds and pistachios are produced for local use. Before 1950, opium was also cultivated. Prior to digging the first deep well about 1980s, dry farming was the only agricultural method. Today, in addition to a string of underground aqueducts (''Qanât''), there are two networks of piped water and 23 electric and diesel deep wells for field irrigation. Modern facilities include an electricity network since 1986, health-care, telephone (just one line since 1996, tel: +98 056 2533 -3400), drinking water since 1998, unrefined piped water, asphalt roads, a rural cooperative, an Islamic council, elementary school and a boarding middle school.

References

External links

Mahmuei photo album
Populated places in Birjand County {{Birjand-geo-stub