Kordali (tribe)

There were several theories about the origin of the name of the Kordali tribe, with some suggesting that Kordali was short for "Kurd-e Feyli", and others suggesting that it meant "Kurds of Ali" due to their Shia faith. A historical document found in a Mandali consulate referred to the tribe as Kordalikhani and said it was under the rule of Ali Khan, the Vali of Posht-e-Kuh at the time, leading others to suggest that their original name was Kordalikhani and shifted to Kordali over time.^[3] However, during the rule of the Vali dynasty, the southern parts of Posht-e-Kuh were often called the Kurd belt and included the Kurdish tribe of Kordali, and the Lur tribes of Kayidkhorda and Dinarvand, all three of which were collectively called Kordalikhani as a general label.^[4] The Kord tribe was one of the main Feyli Kurdish tribes.^[5] It was regarded as one of the original Kurdish tribes and the only tribe in all of Kurdistan to simply be called "Kurd".^[6]

In Iran, the tribe mainly lived in the southern parts of Ilam province, around Abdanan and Dehloran.^[1] In Iraq, the tribe lived in Ali al-Gharbi in Maysan as well as Sheikh Saad in Wasit.^[7] There were historically some tribes in Turkish Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan with the same name, although their relation to the Kordali was never confirmed.^[3]

The tribe speaks the Kordali dialect, which was also called Abdanani, Pahla'ei, or Poshtekuhi.^[6][1] It was considered a dialect of Southern Kurdish, or a dialect of the Feyli/Ilami dialect group of Southern Kurdish.^[1][8][9] Some of the Kordali tribe which lived in Ali al-Gharbi were known as Jaderi and spoke Arabic due to living near Arabs.^[10]

In 1928, when the Iranian government under Reza Shah was ready to drive the Vali dynasty out of Posht-e-Kuh, they initially struggled due to bad weather and little familiarity with the geography, leading Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi to seek help from the Kordali tribe of Posht-e-Kuh against the Vali.^[11]