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 (alpha) 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.
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Mostafa Saadat (2006) studied this question.
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