Mahmuei ( fa, مهموئی) is a village in
Shakhenât rural subdistrict, Central district of
Birjand
Birjand ( fa, بیرجند , also Romanized as Bīrjand and Birdjand) is the capital of the Iranian province of South Khorasan. The city is known for its saffron, barberry, jujube, and handmade carpet exports.
Birjand had a population of 187,0 ...
in
South Khorasan Province,
Iran. According to legend the first settlers named the village "Mahmûeî" because it was in on open and flat ground. The word Mahmuei is a derivation of the word Mahmah which according to
Dehkhoda Dictionary means a flat plain.
Official statistics for Mahmuei in 1996 estimated a population of 695 people (185 houses and 223 families). At the 2006 census, its population was 726, in 243 families. The inhabitants are
Shiite Muslims speaking a local dialect of
Persian. Most of the population is engaged in agriculture. Major products of Mahmuei are
saffron (''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.
History of Mahmuei
There is a shrine in the village cemetery where a pious man known as Âqâye Mîr-Abbâss, a descendant of
Muhammad (''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 (''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.
[."فرهنگ جغرافیایی ایران، آبادیها"، زیر نظر حسینعلی رزم آرا، تهران: سازمان جغرافیایی کشور، 1329، ج 9، ص 410]
Since 1950, many people emigrated from Mahmuei to city areas, especially to
Tehran and
Mashad. Many of these emigrants gather in the village during
Muharram when a ceremony of
Ta'zieh (''Shabîh-khânî'') is performed.
References
External links
Mahmuei photo album
{{South Khorasan Province
Populated places in Birjand County