Herki


Herki, also spelled Harki, is the second largest tribe in Kurdistan after Jaff. The largest part of this tribe live in Iraqi Kurdistan and a significant number live in Iranian Kurdistan. The Leader of Herki is Mahmood Assad Fatah Herki

Sub-tribes

The Herkis are divided in three sub-tribes: Menda, Sida and Serhati. The Herki dialect belongs to the Kurmanji dialect.

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 1989 they counted some 20,000 people, living between Urmia and Rawanduz, one if the largest remaining groups of pastoral herders. On their regular movement they brought salt from Iran to Iraq and carried wheat and barley back to Iran.