Jilu

Jilu, is a region located in the province of Hakkari, Turkey. 
One of the oldest churches in the world, named Mar Zaia, is found in Jilu. The church was built in the 4th century AD. Before 1915 Jilu was home of Christian Assyrian from Jilu tribe.There were 17 Assyrian villages in this region,Village of Mar Zaya was seat of Mitropolit of the Church of the East,who was called Mitropolit of Jilu, Baz and Rekan.The last Metropolit whos seat was in Mata Mar Zaya was Mar Sargis Zaya. Jilwaye left their homeland in 1915 with other Assyrians from Hakkari and today they ancestors live all over the world.In Syria, Khabur,there are two Assyrian villages with people from Jilu tribe. Today there are Jilvaye communities in Russia,Georgia,Iraq,Iran,Lebanon,Syria,USA,Australia,Europa,Cuba,Chile,Brazil
==Characteristics of the "Jilu" Neo-Aramaic dialect==
The Jilu dialect is one of the most distinct Neo-Aramaic dialects of Southeastern Turkey. It falls under the Northern Assyrian Neo-Aramaic group, (similar to the Bazi and Gawar/Gavar dialects). It has some elements of Turkish and Kurdish vocabulary and grammar.
Examples of common vocabulary and verb conjugations in the Jilu dialect:
English 	Urmian Standard 	Jilu Koine
to come 	b'taya 	b'ya
to go 	b'rikhsha or b'khasha	b'zala
come here! 	ta! 	heeya!
house 	beyta 	beeya
girl 	brata 	kitchi
Syriac (male) 	Sooryaya 	Soorah
Syriac (female) 	Sooreyta 	Sooriya
Jilu (male) 	Jiluwaya 	Jilwa
Jilu (female) 	Jiluweyta 	Jilwiya
mother 	yimma 	daiy
father's brother 	mamooni 	mami
I will see you (to female)	b'khǎsinakh 	b'khasnanaekh
I will see you (to male) 	b'khasinookh 	b'khasnanu
I want (male) 	E' bǎyihn 	E' bana
I want (female) 	E' bǎyǎn 	E' bayan
for 	qa 	dla
Offering 	qurbana 	kurbana
drink (command) (plural) 	shteymun 	shtemu
you (plural) 	akhnokhun 	akhnokhu or akhtu
There exists also sub-tribes within the Jilu tribe, some with their own distinct pronunciation or verb conjugations. The Jilu read Urmian Standard based literature and read and write in Urmian Standard. Most Jilu can switch back and forth from Jilu to Urmian Standard when conversing with Assyrians of other tribes.
===Pronunciation===
The Jilu dialect is said to "soften" Urmian standard Neo-Aramaic vocabuly terms (e.g. a softer "k" sound replaces the guttural "q" sound in qurbana and becomes "kurbana", see above table).
Verb conjugations
 
There are variances in the way verbs are conjugated in the Jilu dialect.
Some speakers tend to adopt a form of verb conjugation that is closer to the Urmian Standard, this may be considered the Koine Jilu because it is the most widely used.
The Koine Jilu may be attributed to the growing exposure to Urmian Standard-based literature, media, and the liturgical language of the Assyrian Church of the East. The Jilu Koine may also be attributed to the social exposure of the Jilu to Assyrians of other tribes, especially to Assyrians speaking the Urmian dialect. The majority of Jilu Koine speakers are from/descendants of Jilu Assyrians from Iraq. 
 
Some Jilu from Syria tend to have a verb conjugation system that is similar to the Jilu Koine but further from the Urmian Standard. This other dialect also has vocabulary terms that are foreign to Jilu Koine speakers from Iraq. Some speakers of Syrian(from Syria) Jilu claim that their dialect is more pure than that of the Iraqi speakers, although it is disputed. 
Examples of verb conjugations,
English 	Urmian Standard	Jilu Koine 	Syrian Jilu
What is the matter with you (ppl)?	malokhun? 	malkhu or malokhu?	
(It should be noted that speakers of Syrian Jilu are the descendants of the Jilu that relocated to Syria during the 1930s and 1940s from Iraq.)
Vowel pronunciation
Jilu of the B'Nehmaye tribe pronounce their "a"'s as "eh" when speaking.
English	Urmian Standard	Jilu Koine	Jilu Koine - B'Nehmaye
tea 	chǎi 	chai 	chey
good 	spǎy 	spahy 	spey
== Some Jilu sub-tribes (Most are named after the villages they resided in within Jilu)==
*B'Smal
*B'Zkharyah
*Alisnaye
*B'Namaye
*B'Nehmitnaye
*Ishtaznaye
*Nehriknaye
*Nehraye
*Zeeryaya
*Yekmala
*Zarnaye
*B'Talanaye
(It should be noted that most "sub-tribes" are not actually sub-tribes of the larger Jilu Tribe itself. Rather each "sub-tribe" consists of Jilu members that come from a specific town within Jilu. Or, the name of the "sub-tribe" may come from a Jilu person's family name that resided in Jilu (e.g. "B'Skharyah" literally, "of Zechariah" ). Another possibility is that the sub-tribe name reflects the area or region the Jilu person's family originated from (e.g. "Nehraye" literally, "River dwellers").
All Jilu of the Jilu "sub-tribes" rather should be seen as a single unified tribe from different towns and regions within the Hakkari region of Jilu. Historically there was no distinction made between the Jilu people from the different towns, etc. All Jilu are of one Jilu tribe, a tribe of the Assyrians within the Ottoman Empire.
==Famous Jilwayeh== 
*Albert Quryaqus - A founding member of the "Concerned Members of Mar Zaya Church" 
*Sargon Dadesho - Creator and president of AssyriaSat 
*Mar Sargis Yousip - Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East in Baghdad, Iraq. Currently resides in Modesto, California. 
*Mar Meelis Zaya (disputed Jilwa) - Bishop of Australia and New Zealand.
*Mar Iskhaq Yousip - Bishop of Nuhadra (northern Iraq) and Russia. Relative of Mar Aprim Khamis. 
*Qasha Kando D. Kando - Former Qasha at Mar Zaya Towana Assyrian Church of the East in Modesto, California, USA. First cousin and brother-in-law of Mar Aprim Khamis. 
*Malik Kambar d'Jilu - one of the Assyrian National Leaders in the beginning of the 20th Century 
*David Adamov - President of the Assyrian International Congress of Georgia 
*George Mansur - Assyrian singer from Sydney Australia.
*Malik Endreios - Malik of Jilu in early 1920's. He was deported with Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII. He was from Zerni village of Jilu. Grandson Awikan Shamasha Giwargis is still alive.
* Jimmy Giwargis- A founding member of the Mar Zaya Church Tel Koran, Syria. (narajhk.jeeran.com )
* Mar Rabban Al-Kass - Chaldean Beashop of Arbil and Amadiya
* Vladimir Kalamanov - Russian Federation representative in UNESCO
* Tony Gabriel - Assyrian Singer from Canada
==List of the Assyrian villages of Jilu==
 
*Alsan
*Medhi
*Nahra
*Zerini
*Mata d Mar Zaya
*Ummud
*Talana
*Be Bukra
*Nerik
*Ori
*Zer
*Serpel
*Bu Bawa
*Samsiki
*Mata d Oryaye
*Musperan
 
==See also==
* Assyrian war of independence
* Assyrian Church of the East
* List of Assyrian tribes
* List of Assyrian settlements
Category:Assyria
Category:Assyrian settlements
Category:Hakkâri Province
de:Jilu