Kurdish customs in the Barzan region

In the absence of a national authority the majority of the Kurdish people have lived according to a tribal mode of social organization governed by customs. Using the customs of the Barzani tribal societies as an example we will show how custom is the foundation of all Kurdish tribal society. The Barzani tribal confederation groups together seven tribes under its name (the Chérwâni the Baroji the Mazouri the Dolamari the Nazâri the Harki-Bénagi and the Gardi) and is managed by the sheikhs of the village of Barzan in the very north of Iraqi Kurdistan. The custom of the Barzani includes all the norms both at the origin of the customs of the tribal Kurds in general but also the customary rules that have developed according to the evolution of socio-economic conditions under the religious impact of the sheikhs of Barzan. The way in which the sheikhs' power operated with the aim of guaranteeing the autonomy and survival of tribal society based on custom and the principles of justice and fraternity means that Barzani tribal society can eventually be compared to a state.