Jaff (tribe)

The Jaff tribe,^{[nb 1]} (Kurdish: جاف) is one of the largest Kurdish tribal confederations^[1]. The Jaff tribes of Iraq used to be called Muradi while those of Iran where called Javānrudi.^[1] Their heartland is between Sulaymaniyah to Sanandaj.^[1][2] The Jaff tribes predominantly adhere to the Shafi'i school, with many Naqshbandi and Qadiriyya followers. It is a dynasty that originated in the year 1114 by Zaher Beg Jaff.^[3][4] Other important leaders were Mohamed Pasha Jaff, Lady Adela, Osman Pasha Jaff, and Mahmud Pasha Jaff. Their ancestral home is Sherwana Castle.^[5][6][7] The Ottoman Empire bestowed on them the name Pasha, a noble title, in the 1700s.^[8][9] They are the biggest Kurdish tribe in the Middle East with approximately 4 million people,^[10] and they speak Babani Sorani.^[11][12]

Jaff (Caf, جاف)
A jaff tribesmen, 1836
Ethnicity	Kurdish
Location	Silêmanî to Sine
Religion	Sunni Islam

Geographic distribution

The Jaff tribe lives in the following cities and towns: Helebce, Kelar, Silêmanî, Ravansar, Sine, Ciwanrro, Selas-bawecanî, Kirmaşan, and Xaneqîn.^[1][2][13]

History

The Jaff tribal confederation was formed in the early 17th century.^[1] They're not mentioned in Sharafnama. Their earliest mention was in 17 May 1639, in the Ottoman-Iranian treaty.^[1] The Jaff tribal confederation were nomadic pastoralist shepherds up until the 20th century. By the end of the 17th century, the main portion of the Jaff tribe fled from the Kermanshah and Sanandaj regions, that were under Ardalan control.^[1] The Jaff tribe came into conflict with Ardalan authority. After a battle in which the Jaff tribe were defeated by Ardalanids, their tribal chief and his son were captured and executed. The majority of Jaff tribes fled to Baban territory, where they were given protection and were allowed to settle and to graze their flocks from South of Sulaimanyah all the way to Khanaqin. Those Jaff tribes that remained in Ardalan territory joined the Guran tribal confederation.^[1]

The West began ties with the Jaff tribe during World War I, when Ely Bannister Soane established contact. After the war, the tribe opposed Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji, as well as Great Britain's failure to grant Kurdish autonomy in Iraq.^[14] At the beginning of the 20th century, the tribe controlled one ninth of Iraq along with the communication system of the country. In 1933, about 100,000 rifles were in the hands of the tribe, contrasting with only 15,000 held by the newly established Iraq. During this period, the tribe became sedentary.^[13]

Language

The Jaff tribes are majority Sorani-speakers, but those near Gurani-speaking and Southern Kurdish-speaking tribes have adopted many elements of their dialect.^[1] The Jaff princes from 17th-19th century were Gurani-speakers and patrons of Gurani literature.^[15]

Notable members

Mahmud Pasha Jaff in his bedroom.

Jaff Kurdish bag, Persia, mid 19th century

Leaders and politicians

• Mohamed Pasha Jaff, a Kurdish king and supreme chief of the Jaff tribe. He built Sherwana Castle in 1734.
• Osman Pasha Jaff, (born 1846) a Kurdish king, leader of the Jaff tribe, and married to Adela Khanum of the old Ardalan tribe.^[16]
• Adela Jaff (1847–1924), called Princess of the Brave by the British; married Kurdish King Osman Pasha Jaff, was famous for her role in the region, namely in the era of Shiekh Mahmood Al-Jaff Hafeed.
• Joanna Palani also known as "Lady Death" by ISIS, is a Kurdish fighter from the Jaff tribe of Kermanshah (Kirmaşan). Born in the desert of Ramadi, Iraq, her family was forced to leave their hometown in Kirmaşan due to their involvement in the Kurdish national resistance against both Saddam Hussein and the Islamic regime of Iran. Over the years, Palani has fought for various Kurdish groups across greater Kurdistan and has been imprisoned because of it. ISIS placed a bounty of one million dollars on her head.
• Ahmed Mukhtar Jaff (1898–1934), was a member of Iraqi parliament and mayor of Halabja.
• Nawzad Dawood Beg Jaff (also known as Nozad Dawood Fattah Al Jaff), Chairman of North Bank Iraq and leader of the Jaff tribe.^[17][18][19]
• Akram Hamid Begzadeh Jaff, a Kurdish leader, politician, and former Minister of Agriculture in Iraq.
• Hanna Jaff (born 1986), American-born Mexican-Kurd who is a politician, philanthropist, author, and spokeswoman.^[20][21][22]

Artists, poets, singer

• Khanai Qobadi Jaff (ca.1700–1759), an 18th-century Jaff poet.^[23]
• Nali Jaff (1797 or 1800–1855 or 1856), a poet who contributed to making Sorani the literary language of southern Kurdistan.^[24]
• Abdulla Goran Jaff (1904–1962).
• Tara Jaff (born 1958), singer and musician specializing in harp.^[25]

Scholars and academics

• Fereidoun Biglari (born 1970), archaeologist and museum curator.^[26]

Notes

1. also known as: Jaf, Al Jaf, Aljaf, Jahf, Jaaf or Caf