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'''Ain Sifni''' ({{lang-syc|ܥܝܢ ܣܦܢܐ}}, {{lang-ar|عين سفني}}, {{lang-ku|‘Eyn Sifnî}}, also called Shekhan) is an [[Assyrian Chaldean people|AssyrianChaldean]] village. It is also one of the primary holy towns of the [[Yazidis]] and the seat of the [[Shekhan District]] in the [[Ninawa Governorate|Ninawa]] province in [[Iraq]].<ref name=capi>{{cite web|title=Basic information about Shekhan District|url=http://www.capiraq.org/Maps/Data3/Shekhan.pdf|website=Christian Aid Program in Iraq |accessdate=October 7, 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425080258/http://www.capiraq.org/Maps/Data3/Shekhan.pdf|archivedate=April 25, 2012|format=PDF}}</ref>
The town is mainly populated by Kurds (Muslims and Yazidis), and a small minority of [[Assyrian Chaldean people|AssyriansChaldeans]]. The Kurdish dialect of [[Kurmanji]], along with Arabic and [[Neo-Aramaic]] are spoken in the town.<ref>{{cite news|title=What you did not know about Iraq’s Yazidi minority|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/alarabiya-studies/2014/08/11/What-you-did-not-know-about-Iraq-s-Yazidi-minority-.html|accessdate=October 7, 2014|work=Al Arabiya News|agency=Al Arabiya Institute for Studies|publisher=Al Arabiya Network|date=August 11, 2014}}</ref> Prior to the [[Kurdistan]], the town was the second largest population center of the [[Yezidi]] Kurds.
==History==
==Etymology==
The name of the town comes from [[Aramaic]], the language spoken by the native people of the town, the AssyriansChaldeans. Its name comes from the words "ainaea na," meaning "[water] spring," and "sapanna," meaning "sailor." The name of the town means "[water] spring of the sailor."
==See also==
[[Shekhan District]]
[[Assyrian Chaldean people|AssyrianChaldean]]
==References==
[[Category:Populated places in Nineveh Governorate]]
[[Category:District capitals of Iraq]]
[[Category:Assyrian Chaldean settlements]]
{{Iraq-geo-stub}}