Lak () is a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

tribe native to Western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. They speak

Laki Laki () or Lakagígar (, ''Craters of Laki'') is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is proper ...

, which is considered a Kurdish dialect by most linguists. Laks inhabit a large part of Lorestan Province where they constitute over 65% of the population and most of the eastern regions of the neighboring province of

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

, and some parts of western

Ilam province Ilam Province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Ilam. The province is in the western part of the country in Region 4 and covers . It shares of the border with Iraq, and also bordering on the provinces of Ke ...

(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 Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

branch of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Origins

Vladimir Minorsky Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (; – 25 March 1966) was a White Russian academic, historian, and scholar of Oriental studies, best known for his contributions to the study of history of Iran and the Iranian peoples such as Persians, Lurs, and ...

, who wrote the entry "Lak" in the first edition of the

Encyclopaedia of Islam The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is a reference work that facilitates the Islamic studies, academic study of Islam. It is published by Brill Publishers, Brill and provides information on various aspects of Islam and the Muslim world, Isl ...

, referred to the Lak as "the most southern group of Kurd tribes in Persia" and stated that their language has the characteristics of

. Some of the Lak tribes living in

Lorestān Province Lorestan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Khorramabad. Lorestan is in the western part of the country in the Zagros Mountains and covers an area of 28,392 km2. In 2014 it was placed in Region ...

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.

History

The

Zand dynasty The Zand dynasty () was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later expanded to include much of the rest of contemporary Iran (except for the provi ...

was of Laki origin (from the Zand tribe).Zand dynasty
/ref> According to the third edition of the ''

Encyclopedia of Islam The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is a reference work that facilitates the academic study of Islam. It is published by Brill and provides information on various aspects of Islam and the Islamic world. It is considered to be the standard ...

'', the Zands "were a branch of the Laks, a subgroup of the northern Lurs, who spoke Luri, a Western Iranian language". Similarly, according to the second edition of the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', the Zands "belonged to the Lakk group of Lurs". According to ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World'', likewise, the Zand tribe "spoke the Lakk dialect of the Lur language".

Self-identification

The Laks firmly identify with the Lurs, "which appears to have been strengthening in recent times". This self-identification is particularly pronounced amongst the Laks of Lorestan Province, where most Laki-speakers of Iran live. Social catalysts behind this identification stem from the fact that the Lurs were historically prominent as governors of both Lorestan and Ilam, as well as due to the main corpus of the Laks in Lorestan Province having minority status.

Sub-tribes

List of Lak sub-tribes: * 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

Notable Lak people

Karim Khan Zand Mohammad Karim Khan Zand (; ) was the founder of the Zand dynasty, ruling all of Iran (Name of Iran, Persia) except for Khorasan province, Khorasan from 1751 to 1779. He also ruled over some of the Caucasus, Caucasian lands and occupied Basra f ...

* Alireza Beiranvand

Origins

History

Self-identification

Sub-tribes

Notable Lak people

References

Further reading