Ardebil Nomadic Culture on Display

Nomadic Culture on Display

Head of Ardebil’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department said nomadic tribes of Iran, especially Moghan, have always been remarkable.
According to CHN, Masoud Alavian-Sadr was addressing the second Festival of Nomadic Tribes’ Migration in Jafarabad, Moghan.
He went on to add, “Nomadic tribes tolerate the problems of migrating to prove that life is dynamic and stagnation runs people down. They also want to prove that their lives are intertwined with nature.“
He recalled that the festival aims at safeguarding the traditions of nomadic tribes and their role in promoting tourism.
“We have tried to encourage the people, especially youth, to establish links with this stratum of Ardebil society and understand their traditions and rituals,“ he commented.
Alavian-Sadr said that paying attention to agricultural tourism is also one of the objectives of the festival.
“The beautiful plain of Moghan, diligent nomadic tribes and the hospitable people of the region are among important tourism attractions. We hope that tourists become familiar with these features and we need the assistance of mass media to fully meet our target,“ he said.
The official concluded by saying that promoting handicrafts of nomadic tribes is another reason for holding the festival.

Kilim Weaving

Kilim Weaving

Kilim is a flat rug woven without any pile or knotted fluff: a coarse, thin handmade carpet. It is known by different names in different languages. For instance in Afghanistan it is called “Kilim“, in Ukraine “Palas“, in Caucasia “Liat“, in Syria and Lebanon it is called “Chilim“ and in Iran “Gelim“.
According to Caroun website, “flat weave“ is another name used in the past for kilim. The difficulty of seasonal migration or pastoral life has made no impact on the process of making them. The incomparable culture of kilim weaving is an answer to the basic needs of farmers and migrants who look for dry and carpeted tent and warm bedding.
Weaving has continuously developed in various regions and times. The weaving of kilims is mentioned in historical sources such as Iliad of Homer. Drawings on coffins, discovered near the Nile River (Egypt) and the ancient city of Susa in Iran, are evidence that kilim’s antiquity dates back to 1,000 years ago.
Materials
The pastoral life and breeding of sheep, goat, horse and camel guaranteed the supply of wool and raw materials for weaving. Preparing dyes over time became richer with the discovery and development of plant and animal sources.
As tools of weaving have been lost, one cannot estimate the history of weaving. Stone tools are all that remains to make that estimate.
Many different kilims and felts belonging to the 4th and 5th centuries BC are remarkable specimens of weaving in the East, especially in Iran. So it could surely be said that this region is the ancient center of kilim weaving.
The ancient traditional techniques of kilim weaving have been developed throughout the world. In the past, only woolen yarns were used such that kilims became more flexible, fine and smooth. Nowadays, the pile grades of single yarns used in kilims are usually 3 to 5 inches long, and kilims woven with double skein yarns are stronger. Considering the developed Anatolian civilization (especially in the 6th century BC), it could be assumed that they were also accustomed to kilim weaving and even brought new styles of weaving into existence.
Kilim weaving was highly developed between the 7th and 8th centuries. Seljuk, Ottoman, Mongol and Safavids in Iran were supporters of this art.

Social Role
A glance at kilims of different regions of Iran, whether old or new, shows that kilims have their own special place in traditional Iranian society.
In the past, kilim weaving had an important role in Iranian women’s life. They had to learn this craft, as it was considered by tribal communities as an asset and source of income. It is still one of the routine tasks of tribal women.
Kilims have greatly changed during centuries, i.e., marriages among different tribes led to the synthesis of different styles. By the end of 19th century, kilim weaving was undermined by chemical dyes imported from European countries.
It is obvious that the reasons of kilim weaving have changed vastly. Cultural motives, rising personal use and profit increased the volume and impacted weaving quality.

Turkmen Rug

Turkmen Rug

Turkmen is a Turkish clan living now in north of Iran, north of Afghanistan and east of Caspian Sea, in the republics of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
According to Caroun website, this people, though having preserved their originality, have lost many traditions, whether during the wars with adjacent people, or under influence of governing cultures of neighbors, so it is quite difficult to follow their history. They, more than anything, are fond of their carpets, have woven it in various features and different sizes, to supply their various needs of migration and semi-decamping life and cause delight to migratory way of living.
Recent evolutions, have deprived the world of their woven handicrafts of tribes such as mirror-case, spoon case and salt container (Namakdan), to the best carpets that family weave as dowry to offer to its daughter, ..., of pitchers, saddle covers, bridles, siliques to the various pieces used to closing, covering of curtain or in a tent.
Some woven materials used as bed, suitcase or ornament were symbols of economic-financial position and social value of the family and at the same time could remove financial problems of family; today, most of those hand-woven materials are replaced by modern synthetics in cities.
Tribes, specially Turkmen, were so elaborate and skillful, that they created wonderful collection with most simple and primitive tools. Those objects, sometimes, specially on wedding, were exhibited on horses or camels.
At the same time, those carpets, though carefully and elaborately woven, were not durable and soon became threadbare, therefore only some samples of those carpets are remind, which notwithstanding the accidents and happenings are saved, in the course of time.
The oldest sample goes back no further than the 18th century AD when the history of Turkmen carpet was not quite clear.
Like every tribe, economic foundation of Turkmen is animal husbandry, but geographic and political situations sometimes produced better opportunities for tribe, such as agriculture.
During the time, Turkmen were not so much attached to government, though they were effective, sometimes in formation of governments or their governing forces. Another source of their income is participation in transport business and securing caravan roads or international highways, spread from West China to Anatolia.

Turkmen Designs and Ornaments
Flower is one of designs used in Turkmen carpets, in more than twenty different images appropriated to special form in various tribes, what we could find in all Turkish language tribes called as “Gul“ and in Persian language and clans as “Howz“.
Turkmen “Gul“ (flower) is the same Iranian medallion, which is repeated in designs of Turkmen carpet. This sort of design, i.e. design of repetitive flowers (double medallion), has been in vogue until short of Timurid era, expensive carpets of the court of Iran, also is seen in miniatures of 15th to 17th century AD.
Nowadays, Turkmen flowers are in two categories. First group are very similar to each other, so that if we compare them, we come to conclusion that probably they are from the same unique origin and their separation is due to tribal taste-trying. Next group are those flowers, having no similarity to other flowers, perhaps they had separate source, such as: Flint, Khastaz and Taviz.
Images
Turkmen carpet attracted the attention of researchers at least since the last decades of 19th century. As long as the first collection of Turkmen carpets found its way to western museums and private collections, merit of this carpet with its images, its basic images, its colors and special weaving of Turkmen was recognized. In Russia and later in USSR, in Europe and USA, writing about this carpet began and still in prevalence.
Turkmen carpets, although following Iranian images, have Turkmen specialty and specification. Turkmen carpets occupy a special place of the history of Iranian carpet weaving; only in the field of “color“, they still work according to daily possibilities. In course of time more alterations were made, but whatever remained stable was the basic and Turkmen images, which have stayed on the level of pre-Safavid Iranian weaving.
The other point, probably effective in formation and mostly in historical trend and achieving the final feature of Turkmen images, were the geometric images in informal art of decoration of Central Asia. These factors could not be effect less in formation of images belonging to Turkmen, Uzbeks and other nations of Central Asia.