Ilam Province - People and Culture

People and Culture

The population of Ilam City is predominantly Feyli Kurdish. The absolute majority of the residents in the southern part of the province (Abdanan, Darreshahr, Badreh, Dehloran and Mehran) are Kurds and speak Kurdish. A distinct dialect among local Kurds is the Laki sub-dialect, which belongs to the Gurani dialect. There are also some tribes of Lurs (absolute minority) who live mostly in the southern and eastern parts of the province. So, in the southern part of the province, the main ethnicities are Kurds, Laki and Lurs respectively. The north is mostly inhabited by Kurdish tribes who speak two dialects: Kalhuri and Feyli. The majority are Feyli, such as those of Khezel, Arkawâzi, Beyrey (Ali Sherwan), Malek shahi and Shuhan. Most are Shi'a Muslims.