Achomi New Testament — Lari/Achomi New Testament (Iran/Gulf)
Overview
The Achomi New Testament is the complete New Testament (27 books) in the Lari (Achomi) language of Larestan, Iran, published by The Seed Company in 2024 and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 3947). The community's autonym Khodmoni means "our own [people/language]" — a common self-designation for minority languages. "Lari" is the scholarly name derived from Larestan (the home region in southern Fars Province); "Achomi" is the term used by the large Lari diaspora in the Persian Gulf states (UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman) where hundreds of thousands of Lari speakers have migrated over centuries of maritime trade. The Achomi NT thus serves both the homeland community in Iran and the Gulf diaspora simultaneously.
Language and People
Lari (ISO 639-3: lrl; autonym: Khodmoni; diaspora name: Achomi, Larestani) is an Indo-European language: Indo-European → Indo-Iranian → Iranian → Southwest Iranian → Lari branch. Lari is a Southwest Iranian language — in the same broad family as Persian (fas), Dari (prs), and Tajik (tgk), but representing a distinct historical branch that diverged from Old Persian separately from Standard Persian. Some linguists classify Lari within the "Achomi" or "Larestani" sub-group of Southwest Iranian languages, alongside the related Khodmooni and Bashkardi varieties. Lari is written using a modified Perso-Arabic script, though diaspora communities sometimes use Latin script for digital communication.
The Lari/Achomi community inhabits:
- Larestan County, Fars Province, southern Iran (homeland — the mountainous interior of the Persian Gulf hinterland)
- UAE: large communities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah (estimated 150,000–300,000 Gulf Achomi in the UAE)
- Bahrain: Achomi community historically prominent in commerce
- Qatar, Kuwait, Oman: smaller but established communities
- The Gulf Achomi diaspora predates modern Gulf oil economies, with trading and pearling ties stretching back centuries
Estimated speakers: approximately 250,000–400,000 total (Iran homeland + Gulf diaspora combined; exact figures vary by source).
Cultural Context
Larestan lies in the hills north of the Strait of Hormuz, historically a zone of Lari maritime engagement with the entire Persian Gulf. The Lari/Achomi have been prominent traders, pearl divers, and merchants across the Gulf for centuries, predating the oil-era migration waves. The Gulf Achomi community is Shia Muslim and has maintained a distinct cultural identity despite assimilation pressures in Arab Gulf states. In Iran, Larestan is known for its distinctive architecture (wind towers, barjeel) adapted to the extreme heat of the southern Iranian summer. The 2024 NT from The Seed Company, published in a context where Iran's Christian minority faces legal restrictions, represents a resource for the Lari-speaking Christian minority (largely found among diaspora communities in the Gulf and the West) as well as for Muslim-background seekers.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by The Seed Company (seedcompany.com, Arlington, Texas) in partnership with local translation teams.