| The Iranian press and academia
has of late focused on the Koohi subtribe of the Qashqai
Confederation. In this little article I shall
borrow freely from their work and relate it back
to the rug weaving culture of Iran. Koohi
means Mountain people
The woman we see to the right is Koohi in her
Summer camp near the town of Eqlid/Eghlid north
of Shiraz in Fars province. This image is typical
of the traditional life of a Qashqai woman in a
migratory existence. We see traditional garb,
heavy iron pot in the background, traditional
butter churn on a rough hewn tripod with a hand
woven Qashqai band holding the churn together.
What we cannot see is the tremendous pressure on
this woman's way of life.
Take for instance the woven bands holding the
churn together. These bands have long been a
staple of daily life for the Qashqai but now they
are becoming scarcer. The bands serve a wide
range of purposes but daily needs are changing.
They were necessary to load a camel, but now
camels are being replaced by pickup trucks. There
are used for making butter but fewer and fewer
woman are milking and churning with the low
prices of dairy products in Iran.
While in many respects the life stays the same
it is rapidly changing. The Qashqai traditionally
had mixed herds of sheep, goats, camels, burros
and horses. Now the herds are shifting as camels,
burros and horses are replaced by trucks so the
herds now are overwhelmingly sheep and oats. This
means that while Gabbeh production is up
dramatically women are shying away from weaving
straps, bands, bags and items related to camels,
burros and horses.
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