| Some time
ago newspapers reported that there is only one man left in the
wold who speaks a certain language and that when he dies the
language and that when he dies the language will be forever
lost. It will not be, the first or the last language to be lost,
but it is sad to know it happens. Turkish weavers are not quite
so close to the loss of the language of motif and colour but
there is concern that the end may not be too many years hence.
Most new carpets and kilims are
produced in factories or in cattage industry situations where
the motifs and colours are dictated by producers and
distributors. The colours and motifs are being changed to suit
the western market and its influence. To be a success in the
market place, the product must suit the colours and furniture
styles used by a different culture. Small woven signs or simbols
are called motifs and overall pattern is called the design.
As one deciphers the symbols of a
small prayer rug one discovers, for example the unbearable agony
of losing a child; the grief is as real and as fresh as when the
weaver knotted the patterns of her sorrow over forty years ago
and one becomes intenesly aware of the human expression in the
carpet or kilim. Working on such a carpet becomes therapeutic.
The carpet becomes a kind of supreme cominication reaching out
to God and men in one spontaneous proclamation.
There are also happy kilims and
carpets telling of joy and dreams of lasting happiness though
always with an understanding of fate's fickle ways. There may be
embedded in the carpet or kilim a motif the evil eye repeated
throughout the carpet or kilim. Whether an eigth square meter
kilim for the long winter or a shopping bag to carry to market.
The kilim is always an expression of the artistic skils of the
weaver and a public message to the outer world of the family's
own history.
The nomad women did not have to
leave home or change her life still to find herself. With her
weaving she could make a statement that would outlast her own
lifetime and posibly those of her children and grand children.
It would be seen by family, friends and visitors for generations
and might even end up in the home of some Western stranger. She
would have been proud to have them exclaimed over her clever
design, colour sense and weaving skill. If they could not read
the message she had written so clearly in the colour and motifs
she had used, they could at least apprreciate her betiful work.
To own a carpet or kilim means
two things. Firstly, it is having a beatifully crafted piece of
art, with harmonious colours and exciting patterns, with which
to decorate the house. Secondly, it is like taking a page out of
an Anatolian native's life a page out of a history of a rich,
though sadly dyeing tradition. For those who enjoy the art of
old nomadic pieces and would like to learn a little of their
language, the following basic motif vocabularry is provided.
Status of Weaver
Hair Band (Single):
This sing expresses the yearning of
a young woman to get married. Traditionally in Anatolian vilages
the girls keep their hair long and will not cut it until they
get married.
Ying & Yang:
This motif singnifies that the
weaver is married as well as love and unity. Inherited from the
Far East, this symbol denotes love and unity between a man and
women. A dot of the opposite colour in each half shows that
nothing is pure in nature.
Hands on Hips:
The mother Goddess of ancient
Matriarchal beliefs. At an early stage all superhuman powers
were represented by goddesses. This motif is only shown when the
weaver gives a birth to a boy. The hands on hips shows that she
is very proud.
Happiness
Motifs such as evil eye and ram's
horn signify that the weaver is happy and she is thanking God
for her happiniess.
Eye (Evil Eye):
This signifies a bad, or nasty look,
which is believed to be encountered by an object which looks
similiar to an eye. In its most simplified form a triangle is
used.
Ram's Horn:
The ram's horn denotes
fertility,heroism and power.
Relationship
The chest, comb, fetter and
fertility motifs express a weaver's relationship with her
husband and her in-loves.
Chest Comb:
The chest and comb motifs are
symbols of the bridge, marriage and happiness in Anatolian
folklore. The chest, or clothes sack among wandering tribes,
represent the girl's longing for marriage, since they contain
her trousseau or dowry.
Fertility:
The relationship between the sexes,
and proliferation. Stylised versions of multigrained plants, for
example, wheat and pomegranate which denote fertility.
Fetter
A fetter is used to prevent
horses from running away. In kilims, it represents harmony and
togetherness of lowers.
Family Signs and Birds
Family Sign:
Family, or clan signs are used all
tribal people, to mark their sheep, kilims and other possesions.
Birds:
Bird motifs have various meanings.
Birds of pray, such as eagle falcon and hawk represent strength
and power. These bird symbols can be found on the Selcuks and
Ottomans. Birds can also symbolize the celestial messenger and
longevity. The phoenix and the dragon fighting symbolize the
comming of spring rain.
Animals
From the earliest times people
have beleived that by imitating, or weaving part of a dangereous
animal, they will have power over it and protection from it.
Carrying a wolf's paw, a crocodile's tooth or a dried snake or
scorpion is remmant of this ancient belief which is still
practised in some places today.
Scorpion
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Dragon
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Wolf's Print
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Hand (Religious Motif)
The hand of Prophet's sister.
This combines the concepts of fertility and good luck. The hand
often has an "evil eye" symbol on it, etc. protection
from evil. |
