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Lak (tribe)
Kurdish tribe found in Iran From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lak (Kurdish: Lek ,لەک)[3][4] is a Kurdish[5][6] tribe[2] native to Western Iran. They speak Laki, which is considered a Kurdish dialect[2][7][8][9][10][11] by most linguists.[12]
Laks inhabit a large part of Lorestan province where they constitute over 65% of the population[2] and most of the eastern regions of the neighboring province of Kermanshah, and some parts of western Ilam province (Poshte-Kuhi Laks). The area to the east of Mount Kabir is known as Pishe-Kuh, and west of the mountain is known as Poshte-Kuh.
The majority of the Laks consider themselves followers of the Shia branch of Islam.[2]
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Origins
Vladimir Minorsky, who wrote the entry "Lak" in the first edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, referred to the Lak as "the most southern group of Kurd tribes in Persia" and stated that their language has the characteristics of Kurdish. Some of the Lak tribes living in Lorestan province live among Lur tribes, and have assimilated over time toward a Lur identity. Although, Minorsky quotes some evidence indicating that they were brought there from further north. He mentions that they are often confused with the Lurs, whom they resemble from an ethnic and somatic point of view, but are different.[6]
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History
The Zand dynasty was of Laki origin (from the Zand tribe).[13] According to the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam, the Zands "were a branch of the Laks, a subgroup of the northern Lurs, who spoke Luri, a Western Iranian language".[14] Similarly, according to the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Zands "belonged to the Lakk group of Lurs".[15] According to The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, likewise, the Zand tribe "spoke the Lakk dialect of the Lur language".[16] The overwhelming majority of Laks were Yarsani during the late 19th century, and only began converting to Shia Islam afterwards in the early 20th century, and they became Shia majority with a significant Yarsani minority.[17]
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Self-identification
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The Laks were divided among those who identified as Kurds, as Lurs, or as a distinct Iranian ethnic group. By the 21st century, the Laks in Lorestan province firmly identified with the Lurs, "which appears to have been strengthening in recent times". Social catalysts behind this identification stem from the fact that the Lurs were historically dominant as the ruling class of both Lorestan and Ilam provinces, as well as due to the main corpus of the Laks in Lorestan province having minority status.[18] The Laks who identified as Lurs claimed that the Lak identity was not ethnic but purely linguistic, and that they were Lurs just like the other Lurs in Lorestan province, with the only difference being that they spoke Laki instead of Luri.
However, the Laks of Lorestan province identifying as Lurs led to all Laks being generalized as Lurs, affecting some Laks in other regions who did not identify as Lurs.[19][20] The Laks were not a homogenous people, and different regional groups of Laks identified either as Kurds or Lurs to varying degrees. The main link between Laks was language, otherwise the different regional groups of Laks were relatively independent of each other. This caused debates over whether a Lak ethnicity existed in the first place and whether the Laks were just Kurds and Lurs who spoke the Laki language. There were two main groups of Laks, the Laks of Pish-e-Kuh (Lorestan province) and Posht-e-Kuh (Ilam province). The Laks of Pish-e-Kuh identified strongly as Lurs whereas the Laks of Posht-e-Kuh were generally fluid in their ethnic identity and alternatively identified as Kurds or Lurs.[21][22]
In the 21st century, many Laks in Lorestan province began abandoning the Laki language, as it was associated with cultural conservativism, rurality and economic deprivation. There were many Laki-speakers in Lorestan province who considered Luristani Luri as more valuable than Laki, and adopted the Luri language to "get ahead", even though Luri was also under intense pressure from Persian and was shifting towards Persian.[23]
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Sub-tribes
List of Lak sub-tribes:[24]
- Adinevand
- Ahmedvand
- Amraei
- Azadbakht
- Baharvand
- Balvand
- Beiranvand
- Bijanvand
- Chahardowli
- Dalvand
- Dinarvand
- Geravand
- Ghiasvand
- Hassanvand
- Itivand
- Jalalvand
- Jalilvand
- Kakavand
- Kamalvand
- Khalvand
- Kolivand
- Koushki
- Kushvand
- Mafivand
- Mirvand
- Mumivand
- Musivand
- Nurali
- Osmanvand
- Padarvand
- Payeravand
- Rizavand
- Romanvand
- Sagvand
- Shahivand
- Şêxbizin
- Tarkhan
- Torkashvand
- Yousefvand
- Zand
- Zola
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Notable Lak people
References
Further reading
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