Lors and Bakhtiaries

Geoghraphy

Bakhtiaries are one of the Iranian Lor nations, who live in the central south west Iran, on the both sides of the hudge Zagros mountains. These mountains are more than 1500 km long, few hundred km wide and up to almost 5000 m high.

In the north in the Province Lorestan, They are called Lorestan Lors.

An the sotuh in the Province Kohgilooyeh and Boyr Ahmad are the Others.

Teh Bakhtiaries live mainly in the provinces Chaharmahal and Bakhtiary, in north east of the province Khoozestan (the Region of Masjed Soleyman, Izeh) and In the west of the province Esfahan (the region Fereidan )

The tribal Live

Originaly the Bakhtiaries were nomads, who lived mainly from their Animals, and less farmers. They  passed thease hudge mountains with the whole Houshold and other Properties twice a year since more than two thousend years. The east side, the cold one, was for the summer residence, the west side, the winter residence. Many thousends of the families and clans still live in that way.

The Bakhtiaries were very good hounters and riders. They were a part of the blank, brutal and  beautiful nature surounding them. Today the most of Bakhtiaries live in villages or towns.

The Language "LORI"

 As a part of tradition they have still an athletic epic language, which is one of the Iranian dialects , called Lori, the Language of the Lors. As Lor we know not only Bakhtiaries, but also the people of Lorestan and some other Iranians. Their Languages, better said dialects, are more or less similar.

The Name: Bakhtiary

Linguistically the problem is easy to be solved. This expression is made of two persian words.

It means Fortunate (Bakht=Fortune,Luck   and    Yar=Friend, )

There is no evidence about the source of this name. But there is a legend:

As the legendary satanic King Zahhak (Shahname: epic master work of Ferdowsi: 10th. century) had already killed the most of the iraninan young men to feed with their brains the snakes on his shoulder, there was a cook in his court, who had to prepare the brain of two young men everyday. He decided to save everyday one young man and kill only one. This saved people were, who made the Bakhtiary Nation, then they were real Bakhtiar=Friends of the Fortune. The Fortunate.

The Kingdom of Zahhak was determined by a rebellion, which was leaded by the old Kaveh, who had already lost seventheen sons for Zahhak's . The Leather Apron of Kaveh Ahanger (Kave the smith), became later the flag of the iranian Kings (Darafsh Kaviani) and is sayed to be destroyed during the arab invasion.

Indeed there is a village  in central Fereidan, not far from Ememzadeh Esmail, which is called Mashhad-e-Kaveh. The place of martury (or grave) of Kaveh.

Chaharlang and Haftalang

Two great Parts of the Bakhtiariy nation are Chaharlang (Four Legs) and Haft Lang(Seven Legs). There are many legends about source of this name. Some say, The Bakhtiary tribe divieded itself in an old time into two parts. Four of eleven brothers built the Chaharlang, the other sven the Haftlang. Today there are a great rivality between the two familys, but there are also many friendly relatioations like marriages between them.

To make this division transparent, the former Queen Sorraya Esfandiari (Pahlavi) and the former Prémiere Shahpur Bakhtiar are from the Haftlang family. The legendary Alimardan Khan the Great (about 1720 A.D.) or Alimardan Khan II are from the Chaharlang Family.