The Kolyāʾi tribe resides in the westernmost region of the vast expanse occupied by various Kurdish-speaking groups. Their history, culture, and language remain largely obscure due to a lack of scholarly attention. This article, initially intended for publication in Encyclopaedia Iranica but never published due to the discontinuation of that reference work, is organized into two sections: the Tribe and the Dialect. The latter section provides a sketch of grammar, historical phonology, and areal typology, comparing it with surrounding and symbiotic languages.
