The southeastern Hakkari province and its region have a deep-rooted history in terms of kilim weaving. The kilims that women in Hakkari have been weaving with threads they prepare using sheep's wool and root dye for centuries reflect the cultural richness of the region with their motifs.

Despite the development in technology, traditional kilim weaving still maintains its importance in Hakkari, and traditional motifs are still created in the skilled hands of women.

For instance, master trainer women working in a workshop within the body of the Public Education Center affiliated with the Provincial Directorate of National Education sustain traditional kilim weaving in the city and embroider kilim motifs with great care in their looms every day.

Kilims are like historical documents

Sibel Leventoğlu, director of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University (YYÜ) Turkish Handicrafts Research and Application Center, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that as YYÜ, they mediate the transfer of cultural values from generation to generation.

Stating that the Hakkari kilims, which are one of the most important cultural assets of the region, are invaluable in every aspect, Leventoğlu explained that the young girls and women living in the region have weaved their feelings, thoughts, happiness and expectations on kilims thread by thread through history.

Noting that the women of the city keep the traditional kilim weaving alive in their center, the director also highlighted that they carry out scientific research on the kilims of the region at their center as well.

"We have been working with our women in our center for 32 years to convey kilim motifs to future generations. Kilims are like historical documents and artifacts. We dote on these artifacts. We do our best to keep our culture alive. Our aim is to keep handicrafts that are about to fade into oblivion, carpets and kilims alive and to support master teachers," she added.

Referring to the centuries-old weaving culture in the region, Leventoğlu informed that kilims are formed by the combination of local motifs.

Stories of motifs

The kilims produced in the Hakkari region have different motifs belonging to the region. Each motif features different meanings and compositions. Another feature that makes the Hakkari kilim different is that it bears the traces of many civilizations.

The different motifs on these kilims are usually given the names of the region and prominent families (aşiret in Turkish, a word similar to the term "tribe") where they originated or where they are widely used, or personal names.

There are various motifs named "canbezar," "hevçeker," "çılgul," "ertuşi," "gevdan," "jirki," "gülgever," "gülhezar," "gülsarya," "halitbeyi," "herki," "kesnekar," "lüleper," "şamari," "şehvani" and "şhimkubik" on the kilims, which are inspired by the bitter and sweet events in the lives of the people of the region and nature.

The motifs of the kilims all have their own stories. For example, the motif called "gülsarya" was woven for the first time by a woman named Sarya. As the motif resembles a rose, which is called "gül" in Turkish, the motif was entitled "gülsarya," meaning the rose of Sarya. The Lüleper motif, on the other hand, looks like the yellow, red and white lotuses raised in the region. Named after the Turkish word "nilüfer" meaning lotus, the motifs represent love and loyalty.

Gülhezar literally means a thousand roses. It is thought that this motif got its name because of the large number of rose motifs on the kilims. The ertuşi motif is named after a prominent family living in and around Hakkari as it was weaved by the Ertuşi family in the past. Kesnekar means "no one can do it" in the Persian language. The motif got this name due to its difficult-to-make patterns.

Siti Duman, a master trainer at YYÜ Turkish Handicrafts Research and Application Center, stated that they are making an effort to keep the kilims unique to the region alive. Telling that many women in Hakkri know how to weave a kilim, Duman said: "We want to teach the new generations what we learned from our grandmothers and mothers. We try to convey the different stories of kilims to younger ones."

While they maintain their traditional handicraft at the center, the women participating also contribute to their family economy.