Feylis - Feyli Homeland

Feyli Homeland

Since ancient times, the Feylis have lived in the border area between Iraq and Iran, which consists of the Zagros Mountains and cliffs. They live on the two sides of this mountain in Iran and Iraq and they call it Kabir Kuh, "the great mountain".

The areas on the Iraqi side from north to south are the following: Khanaqin, Shahraban (now called Al-Meqdadia), Mandali, Badrah, Zorbateyah, Jassan, Al–Kut and Al-Azizyah. They also reside in a number of cities in the area of Shaikh Sa’ad, Ali Sharqi, Ali Gharbi and Al–Kofah, which is 170 kilometres (110 mi) south of Baghdad.

However, as early as the first decade of the 20th century, many Feylis moved to Baghdad and lived in its center. Consequently, there are some areas which are named after them, such as the Kurdish quarter, the Kurdish alley, and the Kurdish Street.

On the Iranian side, the Feylis live in the following areas, from north to south: Qasre Shirin, Kermanshah, Karand, Islam Abad e Gharb (former Shah Abad), Sarpol-i Zohab, Gilan e Gharb, Ilam, chavar, Saleh Abad, Badreh, Dehloran, abdanan, darehshahr, eyvan, shirvan va chardavol, malekshahi, meymeh,ilam, zarin abad or pahleh. The word of pahleh can be related with feyli.

The basic activities of the people of the border area are agriculture and sheep herding. They plant corn, barley, wheat, and summer vegetables as well as fruits on the mountains or on the flats. There are also some natural resources in the area such as oil (petroleum) at Naft Khanah (Iraq), Naft-Shahr, Dehluran (Ilam province, Iran) and natural gas at Tange Bidjar (Ilam province, Iran).

In the northern area, people use the Alvand River, which flows out of the Harunabad & Gelan regions (Iran) towards Khanaqin before joining the Diyala River, which pours into the Tigris River. There are also a few channels, wells, and springs that help with irrigation and domestic water use.

As for the weather, it is dry in summer but the mountains are usually covered with lays of snow, which melts in summer to irrigate the lands. In summer, many people move with their sheep to the tops of the mountains because there are wide areas of grass; when the winter comes, they go back to their villages. Some Kurds work in trade and goods exchange and other free works (urban professions).

The Feyli people have proved to be so persistent and civilized as they studied hard to join the universities of the main cities and got good jobs. In his book "Ameroir of Baghdad" issued by Al-Rais publishing house, Cyprus 1993 the ex minister Mosa Al-Shabandar describes the life of the Feylis. It is very difficult to give an accurate estimate of the Failis' population, as many of them in Iraq have been deported and ethnically cleansed; however, some estimate that about 2.5 millions lived in Iraq and 3 million in Iran. The Iraqi Minorities Council and Minority Rights Group International estimate that prior to the current war there were 1,000,000 Feylis in Iraq