BADJWAN

(Badjalan, Badjuran)

The Badjwan are a small Kurdish community living some 45 kilometers southeast ofMosulwho professAhl-i HaqqorKakaibeliefs and are thus sometimes referred to as aghulat, or extremist Shiite sect. They speak aGuranidialect. The Badjwan are closely identified with theShabakbut aretriballyorganized while the latter are not. Intermarriage between the two communities and others of similar beliefs has somewhat blurred distinctions between them in recent years.