Terikan, Tırkan, Tirikan, Türkan, Teriki…

This tribal community, known by different names in different regions, has been one of the groups that have attracted attention throughout history with both its ethnic identity and migration movements.

So are the Terikans Kurdish or Turkish?

Where did they come from and where do they live today?

One of the writers of Bîrnebûn Magazine, Fikret Yıldız (aka Dr. Mikaîlî), explained the answers to these questions in detail for Şoperêç.

A tribe extending from Karacadağ to Central Anatolia

The Terikan Tribe lives mainly in the Karacadağ region between Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır today.

The Terikans, who have many villages in this region, have also spread to Central Anatolia with the migration movements that started centuries ago.

Is the Terikan Tribe Kurdish or Turkish?

Although the answer to this question is controversial, many researchers and folk narratives state that the Terikan people are of Kurdish origin.

Fikret Yıldız (Dr. Mîkaîlî) also supports this view and states that the tribe is compatible with the Kurdish identity in terms of language, culture and regional context.

Why are they called by different names?

The fact that the tribe is called by different names in different regions has emerged as a result of migration processes and interaction with the people in the settled regions.

Due to local dialects and record keeping methods, it has been written and sung in different forms over time, such as Terikan, Tırkan, Tirikan, Teriki, Türkan.