Gurani

(Gorani)

   The Gurani or Hawrami Kurdish dialect or language belongs to the northwestern branch of Iranian languages, like the Dimili (Zaza) dialects of northern Kurdistan in Turkey, but unlike the Kurdish dialects or languages of Kurmanji or Sorani, which are southwestern Iranian languages and prevail in most of Kurdistan. A few scholars would even argue that Gurani is not a Kurdish dialect.

   In the past Gurani had a much wider geographical distribution. For example, it was the literary language of the brilliant court of the Ar-dalan emirate, whose borders extended far beyond those of the current Iranian province of Kordestan. As a result, many outstanding poets wrote in Gurani. Examples include Mulla Pareshan in the 15th century to Mulla Abdul Rahim Mawlawi in the 19th. Gurani only ceased as a court literary language with the downfall of the Ardalan emirate in the mid-19th century. Its former literary ascendancy is possibly still reflected by the fact that the term gorani is the common word for "song" in Sorani.

   Presently, Gurani dialects persist only in the Hawraman region on the Iranian-Iraqi border, the mountainous district west of Kirman-shah, and in a number of pockets in the eastern part of Iraqi Kurdistan. Gurani is often but not always associated with the Ahl-i Haqq religion, as Dimili (Zaza) is often associated with the Alevi religion.