The Kuhgilu, also spelt Kohgiluyeh, are a collection of Lur tribes from the historic region of Kuhgilu in Iran. They mainly live in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, as well as parts of Khuzestan, Fars, Bushehr, and Isfahan provinces. They make up one of the main subdivisions of Lurs.[1][2] The tribes speak various dialects of Southern Luri.[3]
کهگیلو | |
|---|---|
 Kuhgilu tribespeople in traditional clothing | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mainly Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, parts of Khuzestan province, Fars province, Bushehr province, and Isfahan province | |
| Languages | |
| Southern Luri, Persian | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Shia Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Lur tribes |
History
editThe region of Kuhgilu was historically part of Lur-e-Bozorg. After the Safavid era, Lur-e-Bozorg was divided into the regions of Bakhtiari and Kuhgilu. Later, in the 18th century, the Mamasani occupied Shulestan, creating a third Lur territory known as Mamasani, located between Kuhgilu and Shiraz. Mamasani was located to the east of Kuhgilu, and both regions were historically part of Fars province. The region of Kuhgilu stretched from Basht to Behbahan, the traditional center of the tribes of Kuhgilu. To the south, the tribes or Kuhgilu extended as far as the Persian Gulf.[4]
Minorsky wrote that the Lurs consisted of the Bakhtiari, Mamasani, Kuhgilu, and Lur proper. He added that the tribes of Kuhgilu included the tribes of Aqajari, Bavi, and Jaki. He added that the three-fold composition of the Kuhgilu was typical for many other Lur tribes. The Aqajari had diverse Turkic and Lur origins, while the Bavi were said to be of Arab origin (although there was a mountain with the same name near Khorramabad), and the Jaki were entirely Lur.[5] In the 1960s, the inhabitants of the Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad province were divided into three tribal groups, the Jaki, Bavi, and Aqajari. The tribes still existing in the province in the early 1980s were listed as the Boyerahmadi, Cherami, Bavi (Babu'i), Doshmanziari, Tayyebi, and Bahma'i.[6]
The tribes spoke their own dialects of Southern Luri. Among the dialects, the Boyerahmadi dialect was spoken around Yasuj, the Kohgiluyeh dialect was spoken around Dehdasht, and the Liravi dialect was spoken around northern Bushehr province.[7]
Tribes
editJaki
editThe Jaki were divided into the Chaharbonicha and the Liravi. The former consisted of the Boyerahmadi, Cherami, Doshmanziari, and Nu'i, while the latter consisted of the Liravi of the plain and the Liravi of the mountain. The Liravi of the mountain included the tribes of Bahma'i, Tayyebi, Shir Ali, and Yusufi.[8][6]
Boyerahmadi
editThe Boyerahmadi were historically the largest tribe, and consisted of the tribes of Tamoradi, Qaid Givi, Gudarzi, Aqa'i (including Narmabi, Zengeva'i, and Babakhani), Dashtemawri (including Owlad-e Mirza-Ali, Shaykh, and Tas-Ahmadi), and around 15 tribes of sayyid origin, including the Sadat-e Imamzadeh-Ali, Sadat-e Mahmudi, and Sadat-e Reza Tawfiq. Other important ones were the Jalili, Negintaji, and Sistakhi. Additionally, there were around forty smaller tribes, two thirds of which were named after their native region, like the Chitabi tribe named after the village of Chitab. The Boyerahmadi tribes, in a partially overlapping manner, were divided across three political entities, Boyerahmadi Garmsir, Boyerahmadi Sardsir-e Olya, and Boyerahmadi Sardsir-e Sofla. There were around 70 Boyerahmadi tribes.[9] The Aqajari which remained nomadic were later absorbed by the Boyerahmadi, in which they became known as the Aqa'i tribe, and consisted of the tribes of Jama Bozorgi, Tileku, Jaghata'i, Begdeli, Afshar, Lor Zaban, She'ri, Aqbaghi, Bashiri, Daylami, Gashtil, and Davudi. Some spoke Turkic, but most spoke Luri and Persian.[10]
Cheram
editThe Cheram or Chorum tribe, in the 1890s, consisted of the tribes of Begler (the tribe of the Cheram chief), Bonari, Parukhuri (or Parvkhuri), Tarmuni, Hosam-Bahauddini, Dilgun, Shaykh Golbar, Goshtasb, Kamankeshi, and Masih-Shahi. Their names also suggested diverse Turkic and Lur origins.[11]
Bahma'i
editBavi
editThe Bavi or Babu'i tribe, which spoke Luri, was commonly claimed to be an offshoot of the Arab Bawiya tribe of Khuzestan, although Minorsky mentioned a mountain south of Khorramabad named Bavi. The Bavi were relatively smaller than the other tribes of Kuhgilu. Kayhan wrote that the Bavi tribe consisted of the tribes of as Ali-Shahi, Gashin, Musa'i, Bar-Aftabi, and Qal'ayi.[13]
Doshmanziari
editThe Doshmanziari tribe of the Kuhgilu tribes was distinct from the Doshmanziari tribe historically associated with the Mamasani. The Doshmanziari of Kuhgilu was one of the four components of the Chaharbonicha tribal confederation, alongside the Boyerahmadi, Cheram, and Nu'i (Novi). The Doshmanziari was divided into four tribes, the Elyasi, Bavardinari, Sadat, and Novi. The Elyasi included the clans of Shir-Mohammadi, Ra'is, Goshtasbi, Khwaja, Koli, and Shah-Hosayni, the Bavardinari included the clans of Qalandari, Buyri, Shaykh-Ali, and Soltan-Ali, the Sadat included the clans of Sadat-e Esmaili, Sadat-e Abbasi, Sadat-e Mashhadi, Sadat-e Kordli, and Sadat-e 'Ala'i.[14]
References
edit- ↑ Minorsky, V. (1986). "Lur". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
- ↑ Minorsky, V. (1986). "Luristān". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 829–832. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
- ↑ "LORI LANGUAGE ii. Sociolinguistic Status of Lori". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ↑ Minorsky, V. (1986). "Luristān". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 829–832. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
- ↑ Minorsky, V. (1986). "Lur". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
- 1 2 "ʿAŠĀYER". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ↑ "LORI LANGUAGE ii. Sociolinguistic Status of Lori". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ↑ "JĀKI". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ↑ "BOIR AḤMADĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ↑ "AḠĀČ ERĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ↑ "ČERĀM". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ↑ "BAHMAʾĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ↑ "BĀVĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- ↑ "DOŠMANZĪĀRĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-05-30.