Background: Using folktales we can find some aspects of social customs. Here, I show the situation of consanguineous marriages in folktales from different Iranian populations and try to compare it with the present situation of consanguineous marriages. Methods: The study includes tales from 11 different Iranian (ethnic and/or geographical) populations. Overall, the records of 585 marriages in 296 folktales from the study populations were found. Results: The estimated mean inbreeding coefficient (α) for different populations using folktale records is lower than that of the present values. However, there is a very high level of statistically significant correlation between them (r = 0.753, d.f. = 9, p = 0.007). Conclusion: The historical background is very important to attitude and practice regarding marriages between relatives.

Keywords:
Consanguinity, Folktales, Iran
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© 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel
2006
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