Strategic Studies of Culture

Strategic Studies of Culture

Identifying factors affecting the activation of Zurkhanehs in order to protect the country’s intangible cultural heritage

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ali Asghar AmirHosseini 1
Asra Askari 2
Mojtaba Ahmadi 3
Zynalabedin Fallah 4
Taher Bahlakeh 5
1 Department of Physical Education, Go.C., Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran
2 Department of Physical Education, Go.C., Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran. Email: askari.asra@gmail.com
3 Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, BG.C., Islamic Azad University, Bandar Gaz, Iran. Email: Mojtaba.ahmadi@iau.ac.ir
4 Department of Physical Education, Go.C., Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran. Email: zy.fallah@iau.ac.ir
5 Department of Physical Education, Go.C., Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran. Email:
10.22083/scsj.2026.510086.1264
Abstract
Introducion: One of the important issues in today’s societies is culture, which has been seriously considered by researchers. Culture is one of the needs of the day for human societies. Due to ethnic and cultural differences, Iranian society needs many educational fields in order to be able to enjoy good and healthy cultural communications and to provide a kind of social interaction with peace and social comfort. Cultural intolerance and tolerance towards different ethnicities can provide grounds for the formation of conflict, division and discrimination, in which case both the majority society and ethnic and religious minorities are affected by its negative effects. Considering the important functions and valuable position of zurkhanehs in Iran; utilizing its capacities can lead to the improvement of intangible cultural heritage. The lack of serious studies to activate zurkhanehs in Iran has caused the cultural, sports and social functions of zurkhanehs to be seriously reduced today. There is a research gap regarding the identification of factors affecting the activation of zurkhanehs in line with the country’s intangible cultural heritage; This has led to the failure to establish scientific and logical processes for the development of zurkhanehs in the direction of acquiring cultural functions. This issue has led to the design and implementation of the present study with the aim of identifying the factors affecting the activation of zurkhanehs in line with the country’s intangible cultural heritage.
Methods: The present study was a mixed method in terms of data collection method. The qualitative method used in the present study was of the Grand Theory type and used the Glaser model. The tools used in this study included semi-structured interviews and a researcher-made questionnaire. The output of the research interviews led to the formation of a researcher-made questionnaire that had 37 questions. The questions of this questionnaire were designed as a 5-value Likert scale. To examine the validity of the qualitative section, credibility, transferability, and verifiability were used. For this purpose, the researcher used seven experts to verify the research process and two coders to code several interview samples to ensure the same views of the coders. Also, to examine the transferability, three experts who did not participate in the study were consulted about the research findings. Also, to examine the verifiability, all interviews were recorded and reviewed at the required times. Also, to examine the validity of the quantitative part of the expert opinion survey, and to examine the end of the questionnaire, Cronbach’s alpha calculation was used.
Results: The results of this research showed that 37 codes were identified as effective factors. The results showed that the effective factors on the activation of Zurkhanehs in line with the intangible cultural heritage of the country include 6 factors, which include social, emotional, technical interactions, access, attraction, and monitoring and evaluation.
Discussion: Utilizing the capacities of zurkhanehs for cultural development can be a serious solution for the development of intangible cultural heritage. Conducting the present study entitled Presenting a Model for Activating Zurkhanehs: The Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Country; can, as a comprehensive study; create a basis for increasing concern about the functions of zurkhanehs and provide their capacities for the development of intangible cultural heritage. On the other hand, conducting the present study can provide operational solutions for activating zurkhanehs in Iran as a tool for the development of intangible cultural heritage. In a way, activating zurkhanehs as an important and key issue can provide the basis for policies for cultural development. This issue has led to the design and implementation of the present study with the aim of identifying the factors affecting the activation of zurkhanehs in line with the country’s intangible cultural heritage. In addition, in order to make the zurkhaneh cultural experience attractive, the use of modern technologies and media tools is recommended. Using virtual reality technology to reconstruct historical rituals, designing educational applications about zurkhaneh movements and poems, and launching cultural and tourism tours centered on zurkhanehs can be a way to bridge tradition and modernity. While preserving cultural authenticity, these measures will transform zurkhanehs from a purely sports space into a multi-purpose cultural and social platform. On a larger scale, developing supportive policies for the participation of the private sector and non-governmental organizations in the management of zurkhanehs can help ensure the financial and social sustainability of these spaces. Establishing funds to support intangible cultural heritage, holding national wrestling festivals, and creating regional zurkhaneh networks in the form of cultural unions are among the solutions that can increase cooperation between different sectors. Finally, it is essential that future research focus more specifically on topics such as the cultural economy of zurkhaneh, the role of the media in transmitting martial arts traditions, and patterns of social participation in the protection of intangible cultural heritage, so that future research can be directed towards improving the function of this valuable heritage. In general, the proposals of this research aim to provide a practical way to revive the original function of zurkhaneh by combining cultural, social, and managerial perspectives. The realization of these solutions requires the cooperation of cultural institutions, the use of academic knowledge, and the real participation of the local community. In this case, zurkhaneh will be revived not only as sports venues, but also as centers for the recreation of Iranian cultural identity and collective memory.
Keywords
Zurkhaneh
intangible cultural heritage
social capital
local community participation
cultural identity
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Strategic Studies of Culture
Volume 6, Issue 2 - Serial Number 22
Spring 2026
Pages 187-215