READING MOTIFS ON KILIMS:
A SEMIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO
SYMBOLIC MEANING
Assist. Prof. PhD. Nurdan Taflk›ran
Kocaeli University,
Faculty of Communication,
Radio, Cinema & TV Dept., Turkey.
[email protected]
Introduction
About Kilim Rugs
Art of weaving is supposed to develop in Central
Asia by the inhabitants of migrating nomads, or as
they are called “Yürüks”. During their migration they
had to face with severe climatic conditions, so they
used goat hair in making the tents they lived. Goat
hair is stiffer than sheep’s, thus it makes tent almost
waterproof. After then they often used goat hair in
making of floor coverings to avoid dampness in the
tent and called them “kilims”. Kilim weaving is
originally a Turkish handcraft crowned by the labour
of women. It is an outstanding handcraft with its
traditional taste and motifs in different colors and
lines which are now reflected in modern home
decoration. Türkiye has inherited a vast culture from
the past. The Central Anatolian plateau has still been
considered one of the cradles of civilization. Here the
Hattis, Hittites, Phrygians, Galatians, Romans,
Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans established their
rule. For 10 millennia of history, the people of
Anatolia have reflected the culture in their art.
Traditional Turkish textile based on handcrafts were
inspired by a rich source molded and shaped by
numerous cultures succeeding each other for
thousands of years. Anatolian carpets and rugs, with
their colours, motifs, patterns and superior quality,
have a universal reputation and are cherished for
hundreds of years. Each production area gives its
name to the carpet which it produces, which is
usually associated with a particular design and colour
scheme (wwww.anatolian handcrafts). Among the
best known production provinces are "Hereke,"
"Istanbul," "Kayseri," "Yahyali," "Karaman," "Sivas"
and "Isparta." Turkish rugs, generally use wool or silk
as a material (Anquetil, p. 26).
Kilim definitions
“A pileless handwoven reversible rug or covering
made in Türkiye, the Caucasus, Iran, and western
Turkestan" is the meaning given in Merriam-Webster
Dictionary for the kilim entry.
TheMerriam-Webster entry reads:
"MainEntry: kilim ki·lim
Etymology:Turkish,fromPersian kilIm
Date: 1881
Kilim entry in Encyclopedia Britannica (online) reads:
"pileless floor covering handwoven by tapestry
techniques in Anatolia, the Balkans, or parts of Iran.
In the rest of Iran, the Caucasus, and Turkistan, the
name for similar pieces is palaz............. The Turks
have produced the largest kilims, usually in two
narrow pieces joined, as well as small ones and a
multitude of prayer kilims. As a prayer rug, which is
carried about with the worshipper, the light and
extremely flexible kilim offers obvious advantages. In
Turkish kilims, cotton is often used for the white
areas, and small details may be brocaded........”
Finally, it has been arrived at the following definition:
Kilim, a word of Turkish origin, denotes a pileless
textile of many uses produced by one of several
flatweaving techniques that have a common or
closely related heritage and are practiced in the
geographical area that includes parts of Türkiye
(Anatolia and Thrace), North Africa, the Balkans, the
Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia
and China (www.kilim.com).
This definition is incomplete, because no words can
convey the romance of the kilim. One should know
the traditions, culture and heritage of kilim-making to
make the romance live.
Kilim today
Most new carpets and kilims are produced in
factories or in cottages where the motifs and colours
are dictated by producers and distributors. The
colours and motifs are changed to suit and affect the
western market. To succeed in the market, the
product must suit the colours and furniture styles
used by different cultures. However, today motifs on
kilims are just copied versions of those ancient times.
A contemporary kilim rug made on a high-yield
production line will never exhibit the same sensitivity
as the one hand- made by a nomad or villager does.
Now weaving machines weave kilims instead, saving
time and money, just coping the same patterns once
meant much to some communities or individuals.
The language of kilim
As deciphering the symbols of a small prayer rug one
can discover, for example, the unbearable agony of
losing a child; the grief,or happiness is as real and as
fresh as when the weaver knotted the patterns of her
sorrow over four hundred years ago and one
becomes intenesly aware of the human expression
on the carpet or kilim. The carpet becomes a kind of
supreme communication reaching out to God.
Owning a carpet or kilim means two things; first
having a beautifully crafted piece of art with
harmonious colours and exciting patterns with which
to decorate the house. Second, it is like taking a page
out of an Anatolian native's life, a page out of a
history of a rich, though sadly vanishing tradition
(Anquetil,p.12).
History of Kilim
Carpet-weaving is an ancient handcraft and appears
very early in all regions inhabited by nomadic Turkish
groups. The oldest known knotted Turkish carpet
known as the Pazyrik carpet, was discovered in a
barrow-tomb in the Altai mountains, which dates back
to the 4th century BC (Turan ,htlm.). The Turkish arts
of textile-making and carpet-weaving flourished
particularly in Anatolia where some of the world's
finest carpets were woven in centers such as Konya,
Usak, and Bergama during the Seljuk, Feudal, and
Ottoman periods. In the course of time kilims were
woven with some patterns to avoid the wrath of
nature like storm, flood, heat, cold, death or wild
animals sent to them by gods. Before that, they used
to inscribe the symbols on rocks. Later they put the
kilims in graves (Atefl,p.54-55). Late in the 19 th
century researches about kilims reveal that for
centuries kilims have been used by women as
mediums to express their feelings relating to love,
death, fear through the patterns, motifs they weave;
because women were the weavers while her man
was at hunt or war. So, it is obvious that a kilim rug
has its own individual “sub-text”, its own wealth of
inherent intellectual, artistic, emotional and sensory
messages (Anquetil,p.27). That’s, kilims are cultural
and psychological chronicals of the society so, it is a
must to disguise the motifs on kilims, because they
may help inform us about Turkish culture and family
structure of the past ages. Kilim rugs must be
regarded as an expression of abstract art at the most
creative and profound level, reflexions of collective
thoughts, experiences and emotions (op.cit.p 27).
The limitation of the research is bounded with the
most common motifs on the kilim rugs of Anatolia in
general.
Semiology is a discipline which was introduced by
Ferdinand de Saussure in Europe at the beginning of
20th century, then followed by an American logician,
Charles Saunders Pierce. Semiology, or semiotics, is
a science which studies signs. According to
Saussure, language is a sign system containing
signifiers and signifieds (Baflkan,p.62). They convey
meaning but, refer to something else. Pierce claimed
that there was a relationship between the signifier
and signified which could be:
1 . Iconic, which means the relationship between the
sign and the signifier is almost the same, so
similiar- it is like a photograph, or a picture;
2 . Indexical, which means the relationship is not
arbitrary, but casual (fire/smoke);
3. Symbolic, that’s the relationship is arbitrary,
depending on social learning (pigeon-peace/
balance-justice) (Erkman,46-47)
The patterns and motifs on kilim rugs have a
symbolic language. Thus, many symbolic, iconic or
indexical motifs (signs) on kilim rugs can help
transfer the cultural data of that time to the present
day, therefore kilims are media of transferring cultural
heredity as well.
Methodology
Reading A Kilim Rug
The language in kilim motifs has 3 levels of meaning;
1-visual impression at the basic level,
2-the pattern formed by motifs as a whole,
3-the arrangement of motifs that defines connections
and inter-relations at a general level (Anquetil, 4.)
To appreciate a kilim rug it is essential to look at its
component motifs and the whole that they form.
Appreciating a carpet presupposes a firm grasp of its
many interconnected components. Although carpets
are “composed” in different ways from one region to
the next, a weaver will always be able to decipher
their message by “reading” them. (Anquetil,p.5)
“Reading” a carpet’s specific language means to
unravel its individual syntactical structure and
meaning, the cultural, social, religious status, living
standards of the time, as well. This symbolism may
have esoteric connotations or religious significance.
If the symbolic language in the kilim rugs has been
assimilated, it is possible to decipher the whole
spectrum of the symbols and overall design which
mostly originated from the mythology, ancient beliefs
and cultures (Atefl,44-45). It is a fact that each
weaver, each group imposes its own variations on a
style that is “universal” and on a language “common
to all” (Anquetil,5). French author André Malraux
called it “boundless universality of form” (cited in
Anquetil,35).
Kilim Motifs
Kilim is a kind of floor covering woven by nomadic
Turks (4 BC) which was discovered centuries ago by
the scientists that patterns on it comprised of some
messages relating to their culture, religion, beliefs
and social life of the past times. Kilims are mostly
woven by women while men are at war or hunt. They
put their inner feelings, desire, daily life, grief, fear
into the motifs to form the pattern on kilim
(Balp›nar,12). It can be said that each kilim has a
“supra language” itself created by the weaver in the
way inherited from her culture, changing according
to her situation; single, married, happy or unhappy,
expecting a baby, hopeless for future, etc.
(Anquetil,4). She trys to announce her emotions to
the outer world by way of bright colours and some
shapes in a silent way.
Ignoring the regional charateristics, the most
common motifs in kilim rugs can be categorized into
four titles:
Motifs signifying
Life and its
protection (birth,
death, rebirth,
womanman,family,
Common names of the motifs related
hands on hips, ram’s horn, hairband,
fertility, earring, chest comb, ying-yang,
star, waterline, comb, evil eye
fertility)
Beliefs
amulets, cross, hand, hook
Animals
bird, dragon, scorpion,wolf’s print, snake
Plants
burdock, tree of life,
1. Motifs Signifying Life and its Protection
Hands on Hips
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. It is the
symbol of motherhood and fertility. The hands on
hips shows that she is very proud. Here are the first
iconic and the last symbolic illustrations of various
hands on hips motifs found on Anatolia weaves: As it
can be seen easily, at first, the figure is iconic, that’s
the shape is so similiar what it refers to, but later it
transforms and has variations like those below: so it
is ico-symbolic today 1.
Picture 1: variants of Hands on hips motif in Anatolia
(www.kilim.com).
here I need some coin words like “ico-symbolic”to show the historical development of the visual shape; in the following
examples I coined up “ind-symbolic” or “ico-indexical”which mean the prototypes later changed into different shapes which
are casual or arbitrary.
1
Picture 4: variations of “Hairband” motif (www.kilim.com).
Picture 2: variants of Ram’s Horn motif (www.kilim.com).
Picture 3: variations of fertility motif of Anatolian origins
(www.kilim.com).
Picture 5: Earring motifs used in various parts of Anatolia
(www.kilim.com).
Ram’s Horn; The ram's horn denotes fertility,
heroism, masculinity and power. As it is clear, ram’s
horn motif develops from iconic shape into the
symbolic one, so it is ico- symbolic. (see Picture 2)
seem iconic at first but later the relation between the
sign and the signifier gets lost. It becomes icosymbolic in form and content. (see Picture 4)
Fertility; Hands on hips and ram's horn motifs used
together denote a man and a woman. The fertility
pattern is composed of two “hands on hips” motifs
indicating the female and two “ram’s horn” motifs
indicating the male. It is symbolic because there is no
relationship between the sign and the signifier. It only
makes you associate the idea. (see Picture 3)
Hairband; Anatolian women express many of their
feelings by their hair style. This sign denotes the
yearning of a young woman to get married.
Traditionally in Anatolian villages the girls keep their
hair long and will not cut it until they get married. The
newly married young women plait their hair and tie
threads of different colours at the end. If the woman
uses some of her hair in weaving, it means her desire
for immortality. Hair band, in general, is an ornament
used by the bride in the wedding ceremony. Hair
bands are made of black cord, wool, twisted silk
thread, horse tail as well as beads, sea shells, golden
thread and corals. The type and form of the hair band
and the motifs change according to region
expressing the weaver's mood as illustrated: They
Earrings; Earrings are indispensable wedding
present in Anatolia. A girl using this motif is trying to
inform her family that she wants to get married. It is
indexical at first, not exactly the same of what it refers
to, but later it gains a symbolic structure, which
means social convention. So, it is ind-symbolic. (see
Picture 5)
Chest Comb The chest and comb motifs are symbols
of the bride, marriage and happiness in Anatolian
folklore. The chest among wandering tribes,
symbolizes the trousseau chest of a young girl. Since
the material in this chest is to be used in the husband's
house, the expectations and hopes of the young girl are
reflected in the pieces she has woven, it can be stated
that the motif stands for the desire to getting married
and having a child. The relationship between the sign
and the signifier here is indexical. (see Picture 6)
Ying – Yang; This motif singnifies marriage as well
as love and unity.The symbol denotes love and unity
between man and woman. It is a symbol of dualism,
inherited from the Far-East and imported to Anatolia,
suggesting the harmony between a man and a
Picture 6: “Chest comb” motif variations (www.kilim.com).
Picture 8: “Star” motif variations (www.kilim.com).
Picture 7: Examples of the “Ying-Yang” motif
(www.kilim.com).
Picture 9: variations of “Waterline” (www.kilim.com).
woman and pureness of nature. Even numbers,
especially two, implies reproduction and fertility
according to the Anatolian cultures. This is “symbolic”
from the beginning because the sign is arbitrary, and
the concept is abstract, too; so there is no
relationship between the sign and the signifier. It has
a symbolic relationship. (see Picture 7)
2. Motifs Symbolizing Beliefs
Most of the religious motifs are against evil things
that they fail to protect themselves, their family and
lives.
Star; The star motif on an Anatolian weaving
generally means happiness. The six pointed star
generally known as the “Solomon's Seal” has been
used in Anatolia since the time of the Phrygians who
lived long before the time of Solomon. Therefore it
wouldn't be wrong to deduce that it carries a meaning
other than what is implied by 'Solomon's Seal'.
Taking into consideration the mother goddess
statues where the star symbolizes the womb, it could
be said that the motif is related to fertility. It is
symbolic because there is no logical connection
between the sign and the signifier. It requires social
convention. (see Picture 8)
Waterline; Since it has a great importance for
mankind, the theme of running water is widely used on
works of art. It denotes life itself. It has a curving shape
like a river. The shape makes you associate a river
course, so it is indexical. It stays almost the same in
the course of time. It is indexical. (see Picture 9)
2
Hand/Comb; Comb motif is largely related with
marriage and birth. It is used to express the desire for
getting married and to protect birth and marriage
against evil eye. The number of fingers on the hand,
which is five, is used as a protection against evil eye.
In Anatolia the concepts of fertility and motherhood
which imply birth are closely related. Hand motif is
used against spell and evil eye but for good luck.
Sometimes the shapes accomodate both iconic and
indexical images and associations. Especially comb
and hand are iconic, but from meaning point of view
there is no relation between the sign and the
meaning. So we can call it “synthematic” 2
(www.felsefeekibi.html).
Picture 10: variations of comb and hand (www.kilim.com).
According to André Martinet the “syntheme” is a segment of utterance formed by many lexical monemes which function
as syntactic minimal unit. Synthemes are derived words,such as desirable, recreation,etc which are results of unique
choices among the language resources,as an opposition to syntagm.
Picture 11: variations of “Eye” in Anatolian weave
(www.kilim.com).
Picture 13: variations of “Cross” (www.kilim.com).
Picture12: “Evil Eye” variations (www.kilim.com).
The hand often has an "evil eye" symbol on it as a
protection from evil. It is an abstract concept so it is
symbolic and arbitrary.
Eye/Evil Eye and Amulets; It is believed that some
people possess some power in their glance which
causes harm, injury, misfortune and even death.
Therefore it signifies a bad look from the eye and its
most simplified form, a triangle, is used. Evil eyes are
various objects believed to have a magical and
religious power to protect the possessor from
dangerous external factors and reduce the effect of
evil glance. It is iconic and stayed the same through
the centuries.
The source of an evil glance is the human eye. It is
believed that the harms it may cause can best be
prevented again by a human eye.
A diamond divided into four is quite a common
representation of the eye as used on weaves. A
triangle is a stylized form of the eye. Some eye motifs
are formed of squares and rectangles. So this motif is
symbolic.
Cross; Another motif used against evil eye is the
cross formed of a vertical and horizontal line.
According to the Anatolian belief the cross reduces
the power of the evil glance by dividing it into four
Picture 14: variations of “Hook” (www.kilim.com).
pieces. The motif dates back far before Christianity. It
is iconic in shape but symbolic in content. It has both
senses in one content. The one associates with the
Naziist symbol and the Christian icon at the same
time. This motif could also be called synthematic. In
addition, it signifies protection from evil eye, which is
symbolic.
Hook; Another Anatolian motif used against evil eye
is the hook. There is an iconic relation between the
sign and the signifier.
Wheel of Fortune;
It is a star with 8 points. There is a cross inside it; in
the center an ornament can be seen signifying the
sun. In earlier communities dealing with agriculture
used it mostly. It is completely indexical.
(www.turkishembassy.org).
3. Animal Motifs
From the earliest times people have believed that by
imitating, or weaving part of a dangerous animal,
they will have power over it. That’s why animal motifs
are so common.
Snake; The history of mankind is closely related with
snakes. All the stories of existence include the theme
of a serpent offering Eve the forbidden fruit. Black
Picture15: variations of “Snake” motif in Anatolia
(www.kilim.com).
Picture 18: variations of “Bird” motifs (www.kilim.com).
Picture 16: “Fatter” variations (www.kilim.com).
Picture 19: “Scorpion” variations (www.kilim.com).
Picture 17: “Dragon” variations on Anatolian kilims
(www.kilim.com).
snake is the symbol of happiness and fertility. It has
an iconic relationship because the form and the
concept it refers to is similar with a crawling snake.
(see Picture 15)
Fatter; Fatter is a sort of cuff placed on the front legs
of horses to keep them from running away. It
symbolizes harmony and unity of lovers, the
continuity of the family union, the devotion of the
lovers and the hope that they should always stay
together. Various fetter motifs used in different
regions of Anatolia: Although it is not an abstract
concept, meaning is indexical but formally it is
symbolic, it is also synthematic.
Dragon; Dragon, believed to be a great serpent, is
the guard of treasures and secret objects as well as
the tree of life. Dragon motifs are also symbolic,
because the relationship is arbitrary, depending on
social convention.
Birds; Bird motifs have various meanings; eagle,
falcon and hawk represent strength and power, the
phoenix and the dragon fighting symbolize the
comming of spring rain; Birds can symbolize the
celestial messenger and longevity. Owls and ravens
imply bad luck, while doves, pigeons and
nightingales symbolize good luck. Bird is the symbol
of happiness, joy and love. It is the soul of the dead.
It is longing, and expectation of news. It stands for
power and strength. In Anatolia there is no other
motif carrying so many different meanings than that.
All bird signs are iconic. The form and the content
(sign and the signifier) are in harmony.
Scorpion; Due to its fatal venom at the end of its tail,
people protect themselves against this animal and
use its sign to protect themselves against other evil
things. All scorpion signs seem indexical, not iconic.
Wolf’s Print/Wolf’s Track/Monster’s Feet; People use
this motif as a means of protection against wolves.
Because nomadic people lived on cattle breeding
and the primary threat is the attack of wolves. It
expresses solidarity. It is indexical, but variations are
symbolic, because they have no relationship
between. (see Picture 20)
4. Plant Motifs
BURDOCK It is a plant sticking to the clothing of
Picture 20: variations of “Wolf’s Print” or “Monster’s Feet”
motif (www.kilim.com).
Picture 21: “Burdock” variations (www.kilim.com).
people and the hair of animal which is is believed to
be capable of warding off the evil eye. Other variation
of burdock means full of flowers, especially on flour
bags as a symbol of abundance. It is iconical in
thebeginning but later changes into a symbolic
shape. It is ico-symbolic. (see Picture 21)
Eternity/Life Tree; The tree is the common theme for
all religions believing in a single god. Its fruit which is
believed to bring immortality, is forbidden to Adam
and Eve. But the serpent waiting the tree convinced
Eve to eat it. Mankind, failed to keep his swear, put
all his hopes on the life after death symbolized by a
tree of life. Different cultures have used different
plants such as cypress, date, palm, pomegranate, fig,
olive, wine, beech and oak to symbolize the tree of
life. In Anatolia the prominent figure is a cypress tree.
The birds on the tree of life is a widely used theme. It
is completely indexical. (see Picture 22)
Spike (of Grain);
Spike motif is one of the most woven figure on kilims.
It expressess prosperity and represent gardens of
paradise. (see Picture 23)
Picture 22: A “Tree of Life” woven kilim rug (taken from
Anquetil)
Picture 23: variations of “ Spike” (www.kilim.com).
The sign is indexical because it is not similar with the
plant itself but only makes you associate. Its content
is obviously symbolic.
A Sample Kilim Decoding-A Zara Prayer Rug (19th
Century) (Figure 1)
It is a prayer rug laid on floor while doing the prayers,
woven in central Anatolia in 19th century. A prayer
rug is supposed to have two parts: mihrab where the
face touches during the prayers, representing
heavens, below is the place to stand up during the
prayers facing to Mekka, representing the earthly
place for humankind. There are different motifs
symbolizing different concepts in both parts. The
outer frame is a waterline which defines actual life; in
accompany with it there is hands on hips motif line
surrounding, which means earthly deeds like birth,
death, fertility. Next is a frame of dragon motifs on
white background attracting attention at first sight.
Dragons are signifiers of the guards of evil against
evil. Among dragons there are snake figures signifing
happiness and fertility. While doing the prayers they
will keep the evil off because doing prayers is sacred
and no evil could be allowed. In the center there are
spikes of grain symbolizing prosperity and
abundance. In heaven there is a prosperity humans
yearn for. The weaver wishes all prosperity and
happiness for herself after death. Upper part in the
middle, there are wheel of fortune motifs representing
the sun,The God, being the source of everything is in
the heavens, unattainable for humans. The decoding
shows that the weaver prays to God to have
happiness and abundance and a protected life on
earth. She wishes to have the same fertility and the
power of God in her life before she died. (see Fig. 1)
A Sample Kilim Decoding-Avanos Kilim Rug (19th
Century) (Figure 2)
This is a central Anatolian weave, from Avanos,19th
century kilim. It has different motifs implying different
meanings. In the middle there are two big life trees
symbolizing after death. May be the weaver puts all
her hopes on the life after death. The symmetry of the
trees shows spiritual feelings. So many bird motifs
around the trees denote the souls on earth, when the
time comes they will all go up to the skies with the
souls. Birds are soul carriers and messengers in
earlier beliefs (www.kilim.com) Wheel of fortune
symbolizes the sun, the source of life. Comb refers to
evil to be protected against, where hands on hips
imply motherhood, fertility desire for marrige or
having a baby. All the frame surrounding the kilim is
woven with amulets and evil eye motifs which are
believed to protect the family from all kind of evils.
Star motif displays the life itself. The presence of
hand motifs certifies that the weaver worries about
her happy family and wishes evil thing to be away
from her life. She wishes for happiness, prosperity
and prays to get married and have a baby at once,
before the time comes and all the birds carry her soul
to God. May be the weaver is a bit older to get
married that’s why she worries about herself. The
kilim pattern shows that the weaver is single and
Figure 1: Zara Prayer Rug 19th Century
wants to marry with her lover and be happy. It also
shows that she has some worries about the future
that’s why she wishes to keep evil off her family. (see
fig. 2)
Evaluation and Conclusion
It has been concluded that, in general, every kilim
has its own sub-text; intellectual, artistic and
emotional messages in the framework of
compromising icons, symbols and indices as Pierce
claimed in his theory once. The relationship between
the sign (the motif-form) and signifier (the meaning it
conveys-content) differs. Some motifs are “indexical”
(there is a logical relationship or, an association
between the signifier and its signified and some are
“symbolic” that’s the relationship between them is
arbitrary. In the course of time, some motifs have
transformations called “variations” and iconic ones
developed so much that they became “symbolic”
which means unless you learn, you can’t get the
meaning of it. This was especially just after the
transition period from the nomadic culture to the
settled one. The most striking point is that some
motifs have similar shapes in common though woven
in different regions. It explains the common culture
that nomadic tribes once shared and preserved
during compulsory migrations-depending on the
climatic, social, economic or other reasons-in central
Asia before settling down to Anatolia. Therefore, it is
possible to mention about decoding the supra
language of kilims which means a system of signs
comprised of icons, indices or symbols forming the
kilim pattern. It is like reading a book full of colourful
poems (Küçükerman, 82-83). In terms of Saussurean
approach it can be considered that the individual part
(parol) of the kilim language is motifs, and the social
part (lang) is the kilim itself. (Berger,18). From
Pierce’s point of view the relationship between the
sign and the signifier is either exactly the same like a
picture’s, or depends on some reason or the
relationship could be arbitrary and requires social
convention.
Figure 2: Avanos Kilim 19th Century
The decoding shows that kilim motifs have cultural
significance because of the content they include .The
content of motifs mostly signify life and fear; in other
words, they point out women’s wishes and fears
relating to life through some shapes.Their wish to get
married is expressed in the shape of “hairband”, her
love is wished to be endless in the “ying yang” motif
or her fear is depicted in the shape of an “amulet” or
“evil eye”;her desire to live long and in peace is
expressed in the form of a “tree”, her wish for
protection of her family, land and posessions is put
into the shape of a “waterway”. A remarkable point is
that Fertilty motifs are used more than the others.
Women weave kilims as if they wrote in their dairies.
May be this is why she is under family pressure and
has many taboos like love and marriage put by her
father or brothers. She has to be respectful to her
elders. May be that’s why they prefer to call out to
world their fellings disguised in the form of an artwork
which will repeat their cry eternally These limitations
are formed by her ancestors and have been survived
up to the present time. Through the centuries this
cultural data is inherited through art, from generation
to generation. Each culture has a different cry. That’s
why people have difficulty in calling the images
unfamilair to them.
therefore it can be claimed that each kilim has a
“supra” language itself created by the weaver in the
way inherited from her culture changing according
to the weaver’s situation; single, married, happy or
unhappy, expecting a baby, hopeless for future, etc.
Finally, the research has indicated that investigating
kilim motifs would provide us some information from
the past culture and decoding the motifs could reveal
that a weaving woman put her feelings, desire, grief,
fears into the motifs, because it is a shame for a
young girl, to talk about love, marriage or desire for
getting married or having a baby which can be
explained as “Turkish respecfulness”. Therefore, it
can be claimed that women try to announce their
emotions to the outer world by way of bright colours
and some shapes in a silent way.
Baflkan, Özcan-Lengüsitik Metodu,1967, Ça¤layan
Kitabevi, ‹stanbul.
The research is highly remarkable on the point that
most used motifs are directly related with marriage
and protection from evil. It means a claim for paternal
dominancy over the family members at those times,
as well.
The research also reveals that neither of the kilim
patterns are alike-except the machine products,
It is also confirmed that there is a triadic relationship
between the motif (visual design/form) and content
as Pierce claimed for the sign and the signifier in his
theory. Although motifs are iconical, indexical,
symbolical or synthematical, there is a relationship
between the motifs and the meaning they refer to.
Avicenna, an early 11th century Arabian philosopher,
says “The symbol is the mediator because it is silent,
saying and not saying and thus enunciating precisely
what it and it alone can express” (cited in
Anquetil,p.36).
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www.felsefeekibi.com/dergi/s3_y1.html - 292k
www.kilim.com/about_kilims/motifs/index.asp
www.kilim.com/about_kilims/languageofmotifs/index.
asp
www.turkishembassy.org.index