"دليل بلاد فارس. مجلد III. جزء II: من L إلى Z" [و‎‎٥‎٩] (٩٨٨/١٢٢)

LUK—LUIi
G78
tion in both money and kind there are also indirect means of raising revenue
by systems of fees ; and fine for robberies, murders, and such like offences.
The amount at which a Lur district is assessed being fixed, it is duly
distributed over the tribes and their sub-divisions; in a general council
and to the satisfaction of all, each sub-division determines the quota to
be paid by its lesser sub-divisions, camps and villages, and then the Kad-
Khuda, Rish-Safid, or Tushmal of each collects from the different families
under his rule according to his knowledge of their individual ability to
contribute.
Produce and Commerce. —Like their neighbours, the Bukhtiarl, it may be
said of the Lurs that their chief occupation is pasture : though they are
cultivators to a far greater degree than the other. It is impossible to give
a useful computation of the numbers of their flocks and herds at the present
time ; but as a general statement they may be taken to be very extensive.
Although the mountainous nature of the country precludes any extensive
tracts being brought under cultivation, except in a very limited number
of localities, the soil of most of the intervening valleys is extremely fertile
and productive of more than a sufficiency of grain for the wants of its
inhabitants. Any excess cultivation has been discouraged of late years
owing to the unsettled state of the country, and the insecurity of the roads
by which such excess would be exported. Other produce of the country
is gum-tiagaeanth (Asiralgus herabensis), of which considerable quantities
are collected, more particularly in the Khava District, and which is a very
valuable source of income. Of a similar nature, but of comparatively
small importance, is the collection of manna, or (jaz (Astralgusmi acanthus ).
Lastly, the making of charcoal and the production of butter, cheese and
ghi complete the tale of local industry.
Mules. —But probably one, if not the chief, of the sources of the wealth
of this region is their mule production. Luristan is undoubtedly the great
mule-producing district of Persia, and in this connection Major Arbuthnot
in his somewhat exhaustive reports (1905) writes : “ The mule-breeders
of Western Persia are the Lurs, of whom there are several important tribes,
notably the Sagwand, the Bairanawand and Dirakwand, who in turn
are broken up into numerous taifehs, or divisions.
Lur I Hats .— (a) Sagwand. The Sagwand arc the largest breeders among
the southern Lurs, and the dealings of a purchasing officer would be limited
at present to them. The present head of this tribe is Fuzil Khan, who is
represented in the neighbourhood of Dizful by his two nephews, Khanjan
Khan and Hasan Khan. These two chiefs, the former especially, are
intelligent men of some business capacity, and seem anxious to assist an
Englishman in any possible way. The Taifeh-i-Sa'adat (Saiyids), one of the
divisions of the Sagwand, especially devote themselves to the breeding of
mules, and are said to own young stock to a number of over 2,0U0 at the
commencement of their selling season, viz., December. They come down
into Dizful yearly from the mountains to dispose of their stock to buyers
from all parts, notably the Bakhtiari, who find their market later on in the
neighbourhood of Isfahan, while the Behbehanls purchase for the Shiraz
market.
(6) Bairanawand and Dirakwand. —With these tribes there is for the
present difficulty in having any dealings : nor is it prudent for a European