Lak (Kurdish: Lek ,لەک) is a Kurdish tribe native to Western Iran. They speak Laki, which is considered a Kurdish dialect by most linguists.

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, 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, 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 was of Laki origin (from the Zand tribe). According to the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam, the Zands "were a branch of the Laks, a subgroup of the northern Lurs, who spoke Luri, a Western Iranian language". 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.

Sub-tribes

List of Lak sub-tribes:

Notable Lak people

• Karim Khan Zand
• Alireza Beiranvand