Lurs are an Iranian people living mainly in western and south-western Iran. Their population is estimated at around five million. They occupy Lorestan, Kohkiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Khuzestan and Fars, Bushehr, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Hamadan, Ilam, and Isfahan provinces. The Lur people mostly speak the Luri language, a Southwestern Iranian language related to Persian. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Luri language is the closest living language to Archaic and Middle Persian. According to the linguist Don Still, Lori-Bakhtiari like Persian is derived directly from Old Persian. Michael M. Gunter states that Lur people are closely related to the Kurds but that they "apparently began to be distinguished from the Kurds 1,000 years ago." Lurs are the demographic majority of the provinces of Kohkiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Lorestan, and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari. Half of Khuzestan's population is Lur and 30% of Bushehr's population is Lur.
Language
Luri is a Western Iranian language continuum spoken by the Lurs in Western Asia. Luri language forms various language groups comprising Central Luri, Bakhtiari, and the Southern Luri. Richard N. Frye wrote that "the Lurs and their dialects are closely related to the Persians of Fars province, and naturally belong to the southwestern branch of the Iranian peoples..." The Luri language is divided into two main groups:
The dialect spoken in Luri-i buzurg which is closely related to Persian. This dialect is spoken by the inhabitants of Bakhtiari, Kuh-Gilu-Boir Ahmed, in the north and east of Khuzistan, in the Mamasani district of Fars, and in some areas of Bushehr province.
The dialect spoken in Lur-i-Kuchek which is closely related to southern Kurdish, with has some similarities to Persian. This dialect is spoken in Luristan, several districts of Hamadan and by the inhabitants of south and southwest Ilam and northern part of Khuzestan province.
There is a third group of Luri people who speak northern Luri; they are ethnically part of Lur-e-kuchak, but dialectically part of Lur-e-bozorg.
History
Lurs are a mixture of aboriginal Iranian tribes, originating from Central Asia and the pre-Iranic tribes of western Iran, such as the Kassites and Gutians. In accordance to geographical and archaeological matching, some historians argue that the Elamites to be the Proto-Lurs, whose language became Iranian only in the Middle Ages. Michael M. Gunter states that they are closely related to the Kurds but that they "apparently began to be distinguished from the Kurds 1,000 years ago." He adds that the Sharafnama of Sharaf Khan Bidlisi "mentioned two Lur dynasties among the five Kurdish dynasties that had in the past enjoyed royalty or the highest form of sovereignty or independence." In the Mu'jam Al-Buldan of Yaqut al-Hamawi mention is made of the Lurs as a Kurdish tribe living in the mountains between Khuzestan and Isfahan. The term Kurd according to Richard Frye was used for all Iranian nomads for all nomads, whether they were linguistically connected to the Kurds or not. the second wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Genetics
Considering their NRY variation, the Lurs are distinguished from other Iranian groups by their relatively elevated frequency of Y-DNAHaplogroup R1b. Together with its other clades, the R1 group comprises the single most common haplogroup among the Lurs. Haplogroup J2a is the second most commonly occurring patrilineage in the Lurs and is associated with the diffusion of agriculturalists from the Neolithic Near East c. 8000-4000 BCE. Another haplogroup reaching a frequency above 10% is that of G2a, with subclade G2a3b accounting for most of this. Also significant is haplogroup E1b1b1a1b, for which the Lurs display the highest frequency in Iran. Lineages Q1b1 and Q1a3 present at 6%, and T at 4%.
Culture
The authority of tribal elders remains a strong influence among the nomadic population. It is not as dominant among the settled urban population. As is true in Kurdish societies, Lur women have much greater freedom than women in other groups within the region. The women have had much freedom to participate in different social activities, to wear female diverse clothing and to sing and dance in different ceremonies. Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari, and Qadam Kheyr are two notable Luri women from Iran. Luri music, Luri clothing and Luri folk dances are from the most distinctive ethno-cultural characteristics of this ethnic group. Many Lurs are small-scale agriculturists and shepherds. A few Lurs are also traveling musicians. Lurish textiles and weaving skills are highly esteemed for their workmanship and beauty.
