Lak or Laki () is a Kurdish tribe native to southwestern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

. 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. However, the Laks firmly identify with the

Lurs Lurs () are an Iranian people living in the mountains of western Iran. The four Luri branches are the Bakhtiari, Mamasani, Kohgiluyeh and Lur proper, who are principally linked by the Luri language. Lorestan Province is named after the Lurs ...

, and this is especially pronounced amongst the Laks of Iran's Lorestan Province. 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 ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...

, 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.

Origins

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

Encyclopaedia of Islam The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies published by Brill. It is considered to be the standard reference work in the field of Islamic studies. The first edition was published ...

, 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 Lorestān 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.

History

The

Zand dynasty The Zand dynasty ( fa, سلسله زندیه, ') was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later quickly came to expand to include much of the rest ...

who ruled parts of southwestern Iran was of Laki origin (from the

Zand tribe The Zand tribe is a Laki-speaking Kurdish tribe mainly populating the countryside of Khanaqin in Iraq and in the provinces of Kurdistan and Hamadan of Iran. History The Zand tribe is originally from the Khanaqin area and settled in Malayer near ...

).Zand dynasty
/ref> According to the third edition of the ''

Encyclopedia of Islam The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies published by Brill. It is considered to be the standard reference work in the field of Islamic studies. The first edition was published ...

'', the Zands "were a branch of the Laks, a subgroup of the northern Lurs, who spoke Luri, a

Western Iranian language The Western Iranic languages are a branch of the Iranic languages, attested from the time of Old Persian (6th century BC) and Median. Languages The traditional Northwestern branch is a convention for non-Southwestern languages, rather than a g ...

". 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.

Lak sub-tribes

List of Lak sub-tribes: * Adinevand * Ahmedvand * Amraei * Azadbakht * Baharvand * Balvand * Beiranvand * Bijanvand * Chahardoli * Dalvand * Dinarvand * Geravand * Ghiasvand * Hassanvand * Itivand * Jalalvand * Jalilvand * Kakavand * Kamalvand * Khalvand * Kolivand * Koushki * Kushvand * Mafivand * Mirvand * Mumiavand * Musavand * Nurali * Osmanvand * Padarvand * Payeravand * Rizavand * Romanvand * Sagvand * Shahivand * Şêxbizin * Tarkhan * Torkashvand * Yousefvand *

* Zola

Notable Lak people

* Karim Khan Zand * Alireza Beiranvand

Notes

{{Authority control Kurdish tribes Ilam Province Lorestan Province Lak (tribe)