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Lurs

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Lurs
لۆر, Lur
Total population
5 million - 9 million
Regions with significant populations
 Iran4–5 million
Approximately 6% of Iran's population[2][3][4]
 Iraq117,000[5]
 Oman5,100[6]
Languages
Lurish languages` dialects including: Bakhtiari, Laki & Feyli
Religion
Shi'a Islam, Sunni Islam, Yaresan[clarification needed]
Related ethnic groups
Iranian people

Lurs (also Lors, Luri/Persian:لُر) are an Iranian people living mainly in south-western Iran. Their population is estimated at around nine million. They occupy Lorestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Khuzestan, Fars (especially Lamerd), Bushehr, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Hamadam, Ilam and Isfahan provinces.[7] The Lur people mostly speak the Luri language (sometimes called "Lori"), a Southwestern Iranian language closely related to Persian and Kurdish languages. Michael M. Gunter states that Lurs people are closely related to the Kurds but that they "apparently began to be distinguished from the Kurds 1,000 years ago."[8] Lurs, and those hailing from the "south" of Iran in general, may receive a certain degree of discrimination. Such individuals may be referred to as "lore" or "loreh". Connotatively negative terms implying a certain level of debasement. Akin to the term "Hillbilly".

One of the most famous Luri leaders is the princess Qadam Khair. She fought Ridha Shah Pahlawi after he killed her brother 1925 to liberate her land and people from the life of occupation and persecution.

Language

Professor Richard N. Frye wrote that "the Lurs and their dialects are closely related to the Persians of Fars province, and naturally belong to the southwestern branch of the Iranian peoples...".[9]

Luri Language are divided into two main groups[citation needed]:

  • The dialect spoken in Luri-i buzurg (Greater Lur) which is closely related to Persian. This dialect is spoken by the inhabitants of Bakhtiari, Kuh-Gilu-Boir Ahmed, in the north and east of Khuzistan, in the Mamasani district of Fars, and in some areas of Bushehr province.
  • The dialect spoken in Lur-i-Kuchek (Lesser Lor) which is closely related to southern Kurdish, with has some similarities to Persian. This dialect is spoken in Luristan, several districts of Hamadan (Nahavand, Towisarkan) and by the inhabitants of south and southwest Ilam and northern part of Khuzistan province.
  • There is a 3rd group of Luri people that speak Luri Minjaee, they are ethnically part of Lur-e- kuchak but dialectically part of Lur-e-bozorg.
Lur peoples geographical map

Lurs are a mixture of aboriginal Indo-Iranian tribes, originating from Central Asia. Michael M. Gunter states that they are closely related to the Kurds but that they "apparently began to be distinguished from the Kurds 1,000 years ago." He adds that the Sharafnama of Sharaf Khan Bidlisi "mentioned two Lur dynasties among the five Kurdish dynasties that had in the past enjoyed royalty or the highest form of sovereignty or independence."[8] In the Mu'jam Al-Buldan of Yaqut al-Hamawi mention is made of the Lurs as a Kurdish tribe living in the mountains between Khuzestan and Isfahan. The population of Luristan, for example, was considered to be Kurdish, as were tribes in Kuhistan and Baluchis in Kirman"</ref>

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Genetics

Considering their NRY variation, the Lurs are distinguished from other Iranian groups by their relatively elevated frequency of Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b (specifically, of subclade R1b1a2a-L23).[10] Together with its other clades, the R1 group, associated with Upper Palaeolithic West/Central Eurasia, comprises the single most common haplogroup among the Lurs.[10][11] Haplogroup J2a (subclades J2a3a-M47, J2a3b-M67, J2a3h-M530, more specifically) is the second most commonly occurring patrilineage in the Lurs and is associated with the diffusion of agriculturalists from the Neolithic Near East c. 8000-4000 BCE.[11][12][13][14] Another haplogroup reaching a frequency above 10% is that of G2a, with subclade G2a3b accounting for most of this.[15] Also significant is haplogroup E1b1b1a1b, for which the Lurs display the highest frequency in Iran.[15] Lineages Q1b1 and Q1a3 present at 6%, and T at 4%.[15]

Culture

File:LorCostume.jpg
Luri womans Costume

The authority of tribal elders remains a strong influence among the nomadic population. It is not as dominant among the settled urban population. As is true in Bakhtiari and Kurdish societies, Lur women have much greater freedom than women in other groups within the region.[16]

Religion

The Lur peoples are diverse and individualistic in their religious views and practices. Religious views can differ immensely, even within a family group. While the overwhelming majority of Lurs are Shia Muslims, some practice an ancient Iranian religion known as Yaresan which has roots in Zoroastrianism, Mithraism and Manicheism. Traditionally the Lur people outwardly profess Shia Islam, but the degree of piety varies, and the religion of some is a mixture of Ahl-e Haqq involving a belief in successive incarnations combined with ancient rites.

See also

References

  1. ^ Muhammad Karim Khan, of the Zand clan of the Lur tribe, suc- ceeded in imposing his authority on parts of the defunct Safavid empire, David Yeroushalmi, The Jews of Iran in The Nineteenth Century: Aspects of History, Community, and Culture, BRILL, 2009, ISBN 978-90-04-15288-5, p. xxxix.
  2. ^ "Iran". The World Factbook. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Iran" (PDF). New America Foundation. June 12, 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Iran - People". Looklex Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  5. ^ http://www.peoplegroups.org/Explore/groupdetails.aspx?peid=11717
  6. ^ http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/groupdetails.aspx?peid=11881
  7. ^ Cultural Survival Inc. (http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/iran/lurs-iran), "The Lurs of Iran".
  8. ^ a b Gunter, Michael M. (2011). Historical Dictionary of the Kurds (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0810867512.
  9. ^ Frye, Richard N. (1983). Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft, Part 3, Volume 7. Beck. p. 29. ISBN 978-3406093975.
  10. ^ a b Grugni, V; Battaglia, V; Hooshiar Kashani, B; Parolo, S; Al-Zahery, N; et al. (2012). "Ancient Migratory Events in the Middle East: New Clues from the Y-Chromosome Variation of Modern Iranians". PLoS ONE. 7 (7): e41252. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041252. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first5= (help)CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  11. ^ a b Wells, R. Spencer; et al. (2001). "The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 98 (18): 10244–9. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first1= (help)
  12. ^ Semino O, Passarino G, Oefner P J, Lin A A, Arbuzova S, Beckman L E, de Benedictis G, Francalacci P, Kouvatsi A, Limborska S, et al. (2000) Science 290:1155–1159
  13. ^ Underhill P A, Passarino G, Lin A A, Shen P, Foley R A, Mirazon-Lahr M, Oefner P J, Cavalli-Sforza L L (2001) Ann Hum Genet 65:43–62
  14. ^ Semino, Ornella; Magri, Chiara; Benuzzi, Giorgia; Lin, Alice A.; Al-Zahery, Nadia; Battaglia, Vincenza; MacCioni, Liliana; Triantaphyllidis, Costas; et al. (2004). "Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area". The American Journal of Human Genetics. 74 (5): 1023–34. doi:10.1086/386295. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first8= (help)
  15. ^ a b c Grugni, V; Battaglia, V; Hooshiar Kashani, B; Parolo, S; Al-Zahery, N; et al. (2012). "Ancient Migratory Events in the Middle East: New Clues from the Y-Chromosome Variation of Modern Iranians". PLoS ONE. 7 (7): e41252. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041252. PMC 3399854. PMID 22815981. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first5= (help)CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  16. ^ Edmonds, Cecil (2010). East and West of Zagros: Travel, War and Politics in Persia and Iraq 1913-1921. p. 188. ISBN 9789004173446.
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