Стр. 41 - Azərbaycan xalçaları

41
Place names like Ibish, Deliserseran, Chalab,
and Ilanli in the Agbaba province were linked
to the names of tribes living there. The word
cheleb, which conferred the notion of Allah
(God), expressed place names related to the
animistic and toponymic views of the Turks in
the Agbaba area. The relationship with saintly
spirits and with the animals in which these spirits presented
their images show traces of shamanistic beliefs that reflected
themselves on the carpets. As Islam
spread in Agbaba, the worldviews of
Turks living there were affected by
the new religion.
Namazligs (prayer rugs) woven for
the mosques and houses in this dis-
trict demonstrate the Islamic culture
of the Turks living in this area. This
shows that Turks have historically
lived in Agbaba and have engraved the traces of their world-
view on monuments and carpets. Beliefs became symbols and
materialized on the carpets that kept the people’s spirits alive
and passed on to our time.
Carpets were believed to be very important for the house-
holds of people in Agbaba. In addition, palazs, chuls, salt bags,
khurjuns (saddle or carpet bags), mefreshs, and other products
made life easier for people. The weaving technology and color
compositions of these artifacts
reflected the aesthetic views of
local people, who were mainly
engaged in rearing cattle and
different breeds of sheep, and
who wove stunning carpets us-
ing natural dyes extracted from
plants. Grain crops like wheat,
barley, and flax were planted
and used to produce butter
and linseed oil. In addition, bushes and flowers in the moun-
tains were used to prepare medicine and a variety of colors to
dye yarn.
The Agbaba district is surrounded by mountains to the west
and north. Despite its harsh winters, this area is rich with
mountain flowers. The sources of the riv-
ers Garakhan, Jivinli, Seldagidan, and
Mokuz begin at Ziyarat and Goy Dag in
the Agbaba Mountains and pour into the
valley’s beautiful Arpa Golu (Arpa Lake).
The scenery surrounding Arpa Gol al-
most creates a mysterious worldwrapped
with a colorful, beautiful carpet adorned with flowers emerging
at the arrival of spring. “The Book of Dede Korkut” traces the
names of almost every village, valley, and mountain in the an-
cient Turkic land of Agbaba. The following names have taken
their sources from the epic: Okhchu Oglu village fromEnse Goja
Oglu Okhchu, Goy Dag from
Kochke Dagi mentioned by
Gazan Khan, Domrul Gala-
cha near Gulluje village from
Deli Domrul’s name, Gara
Guney hill from the name of
Gazan Khan’s brother Gara
Gune, and the name of Mumu Khan from the name of Demir
Donlu Mumag.
Agbaba district is rich with
mountains, hills, and springs
whose names find their roots in
Turkic languages. Local tradi-
tions, names, and images were
depicted on the carpets. This
land, rich with different miner-
als, provided specific shades of dye when
mixed with the colors of meadow flowers. Unfortunately, not
a single knot is being made in Agbaba today. Those hands that
made friends with the rainbow-colored strings and caressed
them with love were driven out of this land. After the Azerbai-
janis were forced by Armenians to leave this district, it seems
as if Agbaba has hidden all its beauties from people, and the
sacred land has turned to ruin.
During long winter nights women used to gather to chant
bayatis, tell stories, and weave carpets. Only a few artifacts have
remained from those days. However, in these few samples, the
patterns and colors of those lands show their artistic reflections
through the traces of Azerbaijanis who have the legacy of own-
ership of this territory.
Carpets and carpet products woven
in Agbaba and Shorayel are close to the
Gazakh carpet school in relation to their
specific weaving technologies, shades of
natural dyes, and compositional struc-
tures. In accordance with technological
methods, high heavy piles and soft and
shiny wool differentiate the carpets wo-
ven in this area. These carpets that seem thick at first sight were
woven from the highest quality wool. Extracted through natu-
ral methods, the red, sumagi (dark red), yellow, brown, green,
cream, and blue colors on these carpets are visually appealing.
Emerging from the lifestyle of Azerbaijanis, the compositional
structures of these carpets were passed down through centu-
ries. An abstract geometric pattern system is preferred on these
carpets. Water, tree, pomegranate, plant and animal motifs, and
complex geometric elements often ap-
pear and a hooked cross is interpreted as
a symbol protecting and defending peo-
ple. This district where different Turkish
tribes were settled was singled out in the
diverse semantic elements pictured on its
carpets.
Carpets woven using techniques for kilims and palazs were
more common in Agbaba-Shorayel provinces. Certain motifs
were specific to the carpets of these provinces, such as damga
(emblem), goja damga (old emblem), dilikli damga (toothed em-
blem), and garmagli (hooked emblem). The colors of these car-
pets catch the eye with their vibrancy and liveliness. Sometimes
vibrant colors were juxtaposed
with calm colors, creating a spe-
cific color arrangement. Carpet
colors in these provinces were
changed from seven to ten and
were designed using traditional
patterning.
Agbaba and Shorayel provinces