HAMEWAND

The Hamewand are a small Kurdishtribepresently living in the Chamchamal and Bazyan districts west ofSulaymaniyainIraq. The tribe supported theBabanmirsuntil their final demise in 1850. Subsequently, the Hamewand became notorious for their brigandage against both theOttomansand thePersians.

The tribe is particularly noted for being deported in 1889 by the Ottomans, half to Adana and half to Tripoli in Libya. Seven years later, the half sent to Libya fought its way back to Bazyan, and the entire tribe was then permitted to reunite. During the 1920s, the Hamewand were staunch supporters ofSheikh Mahmud Barzinji.