| 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.
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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.
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| 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
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| 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
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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
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| Ram's Horn:
The ram's horn denotes fertility,heroism and power.
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| 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.
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| Fertility:
The relationship between the sexes, and proliferation. Stylised
versions of multigrained plants, for example, wheat and pomegranate
which denote fertility.
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.
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| 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.
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