Farther’s and mother’s sisters, as well as father’s and mother’s sisters-in-law are all called “aunt” in English.

In farsi, there are different words for each and every one of them: Khaleh for mother’s sister, Ammeh for father’s sister, zan ammou, for father’s sister-in-law, and zan daayi for mother’s sister-in-law.

My grandfather (my mother’s father) had three “khaleh”. This means that his grandmother “bibi jaan = dear lady” had four daughters. Bibi jaan married four times. The first husband was a very good, popular and wealthy man from “Golpayegan”. Bibi jaan had two daughters from this first marriage: At-har and Ashraf. At-har is my grandfather’s (my mother’s father) mother. At-har got married when his father was still alive, so, she got a husband from a noble and wealthy Golpayegani family, Mr. Mohammad Bagher Sheikholeslami. He was my grandfather’s (mother’s father) father.

Bibi jaan’s husband then died. She fell in love with a man, much younger than herself. This man was addicted to “taryak = Opium”. Bibi jaan started smoking opium, too. To get rid of Ashraf, then, Bibi Jaan made her marry to a poor bad-tempered farmer from around “Golpayegan”. This farmer had just half a nose. One side of his nose was damaged, just like a leper, even though he was not suffering from leprosy.

Bibi jan’s second husband left her. She got married to a third man, and had her third daughter, Aghdas, from this third husband. The third husband left (or died) as well. So, Bibi Jan got her third daughter married to the first suitor available, and got married for the fourth time. This fourth man was an “allameh” (can be somehow translated to a religiously open-minded and well-respected person, who has read many books, and knows some philosophy and science of his time). Bibi jan had her fourth daughter, Robabeh, with him. Robabeh went to schoold and got her diploma. She would have been around 90~100 if she was still alive.

Robabeh became a teacher. Aghdas was a keen smart woman, but was never educated. She hated the Ayatollah’s regime, and made some very strong arguments with everyone in defense of what she believed in despite the lack of education. She was a religious woman, though. Ashraf had a very difficult life. She worked hard, wove beautiful rugs, made yogurt and cheese and sold them to people to make some money. Her husband was useless and bad-tempered. Ashraf had four children: A’zam, Mostafa, and two other whose names I cannot remember. She was fed up with her husband, got the four kids, and left her husband. My grandfather (mom’s dad), loved his aunts. He got Ashraf a low-level cleaning job in the hospital. She, then moved to Qom from Golpayegan, and got a job in a hospital in Qom. She could save a little bit and move to Tehran. I clearly remember her house in Tehran.

Ashraf was smart and hard-working. She had a great memory. Once, when she was invited in my grandfather’s house, she gave us details of our family tree. According to this family tree my mom and my dad are both descendants of “Sheikh Baha’i”. If Ashraf was alive, she would have been around 110 years old.

At-har, who is my grandfather’s mother (my mother’s father’s mother) died at an early age. She died when my grandfather was around 6 years old. She died probably of appendicitis.

My grandfather had a sister, a couple of years younger than my grandpa. She died at a very young age. There is still a photo left from her. The story I have heard is, my grandfather’s parents decided to have a pilgrimage to Mashhad. They decide to leave their children behind. My grandfather was born on January 23rd, 1924. So, the story should date back to almost 80 years ago. The younger child, the girl, gets so uncomfortable and agitated, she died! I feel a bit skeptic about this story though. She should have had a more serious problem.

They were all living in Golpayegan. Sheikholeslami’s (my grandfather’s parents) were a renown and noble family there. Their ancestor was the “sheikhol’eslam” of the city, which was one of the highest social/religious ranks.