Laki Communities and Their Neighbors

Laki communities live high up in the Zargos mountains.Not many other tribes live in this region of Iran due to the control over most of the mountainsides by the Laki community.  They grow their own crops and raise their own livestock in order to feed their families and trade with other local neighboring Laki communities.  They migrate with their livestock between summer and winter pastures allowing them to survive off the land and protect their livestock all year round.  Not much traffic is done by the Laki people out of the mountainsides.    

Birds of Iran

Iran is a great place for a huge variety of bird species.  The close estimate is around 490 different species that inhabit this region of the world.  This is due to two major reason.  The first being that Iran has a great range of habitats for different species to thrive in and the second reasoning due to the fact that Iran is positioned perfectly in not only one or two, but three major faunal regions that flourish with their own beauty.   There are 8 different environments just within Iran that support different species of birds.  In the true desert regions, species such as the Oenanthe Deserti, Podocespleski, and the Cursorius Cursor are able to with stand the blistering heat during the day and  the cold desert nights.  In the semiarid steppe of the desert or the foothills, birds such as the Buteo Rufinus, Pterocles Orientalis, and the Coracias Garrulus habitat this region of Iran.  High up in the mountains, where the Laki people live is were we find birds such as the Aquila Chrysaetos, Gypaetus Barbatus, Apus Melba, Hirunclo Repestris, Prunella Collaris, and the Monticola Saxatilis.  The Columba palumbus, Sylvia Atricapilla,  and the Hippolais Icterina inhabit the small forested/wooded regions of Iran. In the hot southern lowlands, birds such as the Streptopelia Senegalensis, Turdoides Caudatus, and the Petronia Xanthocollis are able to survive under the low vegetation and blistering heat of the sun in the open dry lands that cover portions of Irans' landscape.  In the Costal regions boardering Iran, species such as the Dromas Ardeola, Ardeola Grayii, and the Egretta Gularis enjoy the breezy environment provided by the Caspian Sea, Gulf of Omen, and the Persian Gulf.  The last of the environments that Iran has to offer is the offshore islands.  The Sterna Bergi, Sterna Repressa, and Sterna Anaethetus are some of the birds that inhabit these small off coast islands.  Out of all these aviator species listed, it is still only a small description of the wide variety of species that inhabit the country of Iran.  

Podocespleski: Desert

Coracias Garrulus: Foothills

Aquila Chrysaetos: High Mountains

Apus Melba: High Mountains

Prunella Collaris: High Mountains

Columba Palumbus: Forested/Woodlands

Petronia Xanthocollis: Hot Southern Lowlands

Ardeola Grayii: Coastal Habitats

Sterna Bergii: Offshore Islands

Pelecanus Crispus: Wetlands

 

History of the Lak Culture

Dated back to the Zand Dynasty that conquered most of central and southern Iran in the 18th century, the Lak culture is known to be a descendant of their mighty empire.  During the period of the Zand Dynasty, art flourished and trading posts were set up between Britain and Iran for the first time.  They lived along valleys and mountain sides.  Their known language was "Lakistani", also known as "Laki", a dialect of the Kurdish language.  They were known as fierce warriors and were feared by many when their dynasty began to take over central and southern Iran.  Their leader at the time was Karim Khan Zand.  The fall of their empire began in 1779 when Karim Zand died, leaving is territory open and vulnerable to other tribes.  They lasted until 1794 when most off them finally moved back to Luristan and started making their own family alliances and tribes after all land and power positions were disputed.  Some of their people remained in the mountains of southwestern Iran, these people making up the culture we know today as the Lak culture.

Iran: The Homeland of the Laki People

Iran is geographically located in the West Asia portion of the world.  It boarders the Persian Gulf in the southwest, the Caspian Sea in the north, and the Gulf of Omen in the southern portion of the country.  The mountains of Iran are mostly located in the southwestern region and enclose broad basins, also known as plateaus. The basins support major agricultural growth and urban settlements.
The Laki culture is one of the major cultures that is known to reside in higher elevations of the mountains.  They migrate with their herds of sheep and goats between traditionally established summer and winter pastures.  Most the routes they use for transportation are through gaps and passes in the mountains.
Climate in south Iran is very hot, averaging 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, and mild in the winters.  An estimated seven percent of the country is forested, although this forested region is mostly located on the mountains.  Some shrubs and trees such as the willow, walnut and maple tree all grow on the basin regions in the spring.  During the summer, blistering heat burns away most of the shrub vegetation that has accumulated during the spring season leaving just trees standing.    
Wildlife that inhabit this region are of a wide variety, from bears, wild pigs, wolves, and panthers to more domesticated animals such as horses, sheep, and goats.  The Asiatic Cheetah is a critically endangered specie that is exclusive to Iran.  Along with the Asiatic Cheetah, Iran has 14 bird species that are classified as endangered.  

Introduction to the Lak Culture

The Laki culture are a descendant group of the Kurdish people. The Kurdish culture are descendants from an Aryan tribe from Central Asia.  The Laki culture is dated back to the end of the 16th Century.  Today there is an estimated total of 1,125,000 people that make up this culture.  Their known language is Laki, and the region they have established is mainly in southwestern Iran.  The religion that primarily most of them follow is known as Islam, a common religion for this region of the world.  The neighboring community tribes are the Kurds and Lurs.  The Lurs are also a descendant of the Kurdish culture.  The land that they live on is mostly mountainous with plains in some areas.  This being the case, they primarily grow barely and wheat.  Fruits, vegetables, and some sugar is also grown in these areas of crops.  The Persian Gulf also provides the Laki communities with plentiful amounts of fish for a source of food.  Along with fish the Laki people raise livestock, most common being sheep, as a source of food to accommodate for times without seafood being available.  The Laki culture doesn't have much evidence to show when they broke away from the Kurdish people, but it is known that they are their own culture in a niche of this world.