Pazukî (or Pazuki in

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

sources) is a Kurdish tribe whose members live in different regions in

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

as well as in and around

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Iran. The tribe is mentioned in the 16th century Kurdish historical book ''

Sharafnama The ''Sharafnama'' (Kurdish: شەرەفنامە ''Şerefname''; Persian: شرفنامه ''Sharafnâmeh''; ) is a book written in 1597 by the medieval Kurdish historian and poet Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi (1543–1599) in Persian. ''Sharafnama'' is re ...

'' by

Sharaf Khan Bidlisi Sharaf al-Din Khan b. Shams al-Din b. Sharaf Beg Bedlisi (, ; ; 25 February 1543 – ) was a Kurdish Emir of Bitlis. He was also a historian, writer and poet. He wrote exclusively in Persian. Born in the Qara Rud village, in central Iran, bet ...

. There are some variants of the name Pazuki and they are known under the various names, like ''Bazikî'', ''Bozukan'', ''Bazukan'' etc. Pazukî was originally a tribal confederation like Rojiki Kurds. Some branches of them speak

Kurmanji Kurmanji (, ), also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northernmost of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Syria and the Caucasus and Khorasan regions. It is the ...

and the others speak

Zazakî Zaza (endonym: , , , , , or , ) is a Northwestern Iranian language spoken primarily in eastern Turkey by the Zazas, who are mostly considered as Kurds, and in many cases identify as such. The language is a part of the Zaza–Gorani language g ...

. But Henry Field mentioned their Iranian branch also as a Turcophonic community in 1939.

The origin of the name Pazukî

There are two suggestions about the origin of the name Pazukî. The first one by Garnik Asatrian who thinks that it comes from Armenian botanical term ''pazuk'' which means beet. He shows some Kurdish tribal names which are originated from botanical terms, like ''Zilî'', ''Sipkî'', ''Mandikî'' and ''Pivazî''. But according to a recent research, there is one more possibility on its etymology. It is suggested by Aksoy that ''pazuk'' may be connected with another word, ''bazuk,'' which is the Armenian name for the

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as Seven Sisters and Messier 45 (M45), is an Asterism (astronomy), asterism of an open cluster, open star cluster containing young Stellar classification#Class B, B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation Tau ...

star cluster. His reference is to a Bozukan (from Pazukan) tradition which mentioned by

Mark Sykes Colonel Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet (16 March 1879 – 16 February 1919) was an English traveller, Conservative Party politician, and diplomatic advisor, particularly with regard to the Middle East at the time of the First ...

in his article ''"The Kurdish Tribes of Ottoman Empire"'' (1908). Sykes writes that "''their tradition is that they used to worship a sword thrust in the ground and the moon and the stars, and they lived under the government of a Christian King named Tavit, who dwelt in the castle of Boso''". Aksoy thinks that it is possible to find some cultural continuities between

Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...

and Pazuki world, may be by original Armenian clan of Pazukis or directly by Kurdish clan(s).

Placenames

There are some placenames in Turkish Kurdistan which refer to Pazukîs. For example, Bêskan (Erzurum) "''Bozik Ușağı köyü''" ( Ovacık), "''Bazikân''" (

Varto Varto (; or , ''Varto'') is a town in Muş Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Varto District.Sasun Sason is a town in the Batman Province of Turkey. It is the seat of the Sason District.İl ...

), "''Bazikî''" (

Urfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic period, Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain abo ...

, Yaylak), "''Bozik''" (

), "''Bazük''" (

Adıyaman Adıyaman () is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Adıyaman Province and Adıyaman District. Its population is 267,131 (2021). The inhabitants of the city are mostly Turkish and Kurdish. The city was one of the ...

) etc.

Prominent individuals

The most famous person who belongs originally to Pazukî tribe, is former leader of

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

(PKK),

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

The origin of the name Pazukî

Placenames

Prominent individuals

See also

References

Further reading