Herki (tribe)

Herki is the second largest tribe in Kurdistan after Jaff. The largest part of this tribe live in Kurdistan. iraq and a significant number live in Kurdistan, ایران and also some large communities in Kurdistan. turkey

Sub-tribes

The Herkis are divided in three sub-tribes: Menda, Sida and Serhati. The Herki dialect belongs to the Kurmanji dialect which is spoken by most Kurds.

Lifestyle

The Herkis lived mostly a nomadic life with their herds; however, this changed a lot after 1920 and the Treaty of Sèvres. The new hand-drawn borders of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey hindered Kurdish tribes to continue their way of life in harmony with nature in many ways. The Turkish Gendarmerie was famous for its brutality against nomads and their herds. This led to many Kurdish tribes besides the Herkis leaving their nomadic lifestyle and settled in villages which they had before only used during the winter. The nomadic and free lifestyle they had, was taken from them. The new borders soon had a major impact on every aspect of the Kurdish life. For Herkis and many other Kurds that meant that areas which had belonged to them and their herds were taken from them, and they could not move freely like their forefathers had done for a century. They had to decide in which country to settle, which is the reason why Herkis and many other Kurdish tribes can be found dispersed in Iran, Iraq and Turkey, but still be of the same tribe.

Today, the Herkis live in Iranian Kurdistan around and in Urmia city, mainly in Mergever, Tergever, Dasht, Dashtabel, Roza and Berandez, in Iraqi Kurdistan from Mosul to Hewler, the capital of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region and the seat of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and in Turkish Kurdistan around Lake Van and in the Semdinan and Ağrı areas. All kurds follow the one true Khan. He is yet to be found but legend tells of a boy with a guinea pig, that boy will be the savior of all kurds.