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THE RUG FELL ON HER HEAD: AN ARMENIAN CARPET CUTTING CEREMONY
September 17, 2018 | Micaela Nerguizian 
Weavers Diana Hovhannisyan and Ruzanna Torozyan along with presenter Levon Der Bedrossian show off the completed rug on the Hyurasenyak Stage at the 2018 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Photo by Julie Byrne, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
Shortly after the last piece of fringe on the silk-woven rug was snipped off from its loom, the rug fell on her head—a ceremonial rite of passage often compared to cutting the umbilical cord after giving birth. It marks the female transition from girl to woman.
“In Armenian we say glkhin ynkav: it fell on her head. If the carpet falls and covers her head and face, like a veil, within the next year or so she will get married,” explains Hratch Kozibeyokian, a third-generation weaver who studies the symbolic imagery behind Armenian textiles. Kozibeyokian, along with other Armenians involved in sustaining and reviving ancient Armenian weaving traditions, led a demonstration on the Armenian carpet cutting ceremony during the last weekend of the 2018 Folklife Festival. They revealed the symbolism and rigorous process behind this communal undertaking, from setting up the loom and tying the first knot to cutting the last piece of yarn. 
The completed rug hangs on a loom before the carpet cutting ceremony. Photo by Julie Byrne, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
The silk rug they presented was the second in a series of three that had been woven in Yerevan, Armenia, as part of a training program at the Folk Arts Hub Foundation. Founder Levon Der Bedrossian co-presented the session on the National Mall, sharing the technique and challenges behind the art of silk weaving.
“The silk is a magical phenomenon,” he said. “If you just think, it starts from a moth. Since it is a subtle material to work with, the process is very difficult, requiring a lot of patience and dedication.” That doesn’t mean hours and weeks. We are talking months and years—for one rug. Festival participant Diana Hovhannisyan worked on the rug displayed at this cutting ceremony for about fourteen months, along with her other colleagues. Unlike the first rug in the series, which had about 600 hand-tied knots per square inch, this one consisted of 840 knots. The third, which Hovhannisyan is currently working on, has approximately 1,080 knots per square inch. That’s dedication.
Camera: Shaun Weber, David Barnes, Emma Cregan, Hannah Luc, Albouri NDiaye, Charlie Weber
Interview and editing: Kaylie Connors The participants dedicated the ceremony to the American people as a gesture of gratitude from Armenians. It was the one chance visitors had, during the two-week Festival, to experience this rite of passage, giving them a whole new spin on the weaving tradition and its rituals. But why is it a female and not a male rite of passage? According to Kozibeyokian, Armenian girls are traditionally exposed to the craft from an early age, observing and assisting their mothers and grandmothers weave carpets, belts, blankets, and other textiles. When a young girl decides to do her first weaving all by herself from beginning to end, her father builds a loom for her, places the warp (longitudinal section), and ties the first foundation. Once she completes the rug (or karpet, a carpet without pile), her father cuts the remains of the foundation that he tied. Traditionally, the completed rug represents the girl’s first accomplishment in her life, preparing her to face the world. If her mother and grandmother are happy with the finished result, they invite friends and family to their home for a day-long celebration filled with song, poetry, and dances. During the ceremony, when the time comes for the father to cut the rug, the girl sits on a chair under the loom (as seen in video) waiting for the rug to, hopefully, fall on her head. If the weaver happens to be older and is already married with children, then she would invite another female friend, who is also married but doesn’t have a child, to sit under the loom. If the rug falls on her friend’s head, then she will have a baby. 
Anna Tepanosyan explains some of the ceremony while weaver Diana Hovhannisyan sits below her completed rug. Photo by Julie Byrne, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
This cutting ceremony and numerous other traditional Armenian weaving practices have been passed down through multiple generations both for home use and to earn a livelihood. Despite the male-dominated commercial side of the weaving industry, female entrepreneurs, such as Ruzanna Torozyan of Goris Women’s Development Resource Center, have succeeded in forging a path and running their own establishments. Torozyan, another Festival participant who took part in the cutting ceremony, founded this co-op as a way to create income opportunities for rural women. They, in turn, are able to pass down their weaving knowledge while reviving and developing local crafts. Not only do they shear the sheep, wash the wool, spin the yarn, and weave the textiles, but they teach and sell their craft, creating unique pieces that combine traditional and contemporary designs.
At the Folklife Festival, visitors developed a new appreciation for these textiles. Not only did the presenters and participants bring awareness to the importance of the ancient Armenian weaving heritage, but they were able to recreate a ceremony that captured the essence of intergenerational social interaction. As their celebration came to an end in a culmination of song, poetry, and apricots flying through the air, Kozibeyokian cheerfully proclaimed, “This is just a small taste of what Armenian folklife is about!” 
To finish the ceremony, Levon Der Bedrossian throws apricots into the audience while stone carver Bogdan Hovhannisyan sings. Photo by Julie Byrne, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
Micaela A. Nerguizian is a production consultant in the performing arts and intern at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. She is completing her graduate degree at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, with a focus on cultural diplomacy and international education. As the great granddaughter of Armenian rug designer Bedros Mozian, writing this piece inspired her to journey back into her family’s history.
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 Carpet weaving is a traditional art form widespread in all regions of Armenia, but the Karabakh carpets, due to theirs features and popularity, represent a separate category. Until the proliferation of synthetic aniline dyes in the 1870s, the rich colors of the Karabakh carpets were made of only natural substances, mostly of plants and minerals, native to that region. Indigo (blueing) was imported from the East and cochineal from the Ararat valley. Some villages and settlements have never accepted synthetic dyes, staying true to their traditional natural methods. According to Dr. Dickran Kouyumjian, the Director of Armenian Studies Program of California State University, Fresno, various ancient sources testify about carpets and other textiles, skillfully made in Armenia. A unique example among Armenian ancient carpets, the carpet ‘’Gohar’’, which Dr. Dickran Kouyumjian called ‘’the biggest and most exquisite’’, has been made in Karabakh and has a signature identifying the weaver, Gohar, and the date 1700. “Another important carpet woven in 1731 in Artsakh for Catholicos Nerses of Aghuank is preserved in the monastery of St. James in Jerusalem”, states Dr. Dickran Kouyumjian in his article entitled “Armenian Textiles: An Overview”. In Karabakh, as in other Armenian regions, carpets and rugs were not originally made for sale .They were considered household items and heirlooms not a product. It was considered bad luck to take a carpet out of home. Heirloom carpets had a protective significance and often symbolized fertility. Symbols of legends Karabakh’s carpets are rich with symbols that represent family crests and ancient legends, some dating back to times. Although the carpets have changed a lot for many centuries, most of the ornaments have kept their original look. The most prevalent symbol is dragon. Though the dragon is the common symbol of carpets and rugs throughout the Caucasus, it is largely the result of a large outflow of Armenians from Karabakh in the 18th century, who have founded or revived many towns throughout the region bringing with them their carpet weaving traditions. Another symbol common in Karabakh carpets is medallion. There are five main types of medallions, though several other variations can also be found. They are most likely derived from the crests of prominent clans and meliks (semi-independent princes) who presided over the principalities of Karabakh from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. Some of the medallions have the suffix “-berd” (fortress) in their names, which implies that each fortress had its own crest. These include Jraberd (Water fortress), Arevaberd (Sun fortress) and Odtsaberd (Snake fortress), which are composed of swastikas (symbolizing power and eternity) and writhing dragons. At the beginning of 19th century the Caucasus was joined the Russian Empire and gradually the prevalence of meliks with their historical borders started to weaken. But their traditional medallions, after the fall of those princedoms, stayed long in the art of carpet weaving. Although crests and medallions are relics of the Karabakh historic royalty, many symbols used in ancestral carpets reflect day-to-day lives of the inhabitants of this ancient land. The centerpiece of such rugs is a crowned bull (ox, buffalo), the role of which in the lives of the people of Karabakh was not limited only with agricultural functions. In ancient times the bull was glorified. Even after its death, its skull was put as a talisman in a prominent place in the home. Many carpets also have images of bovine leather and sheep's wool, as well as pagan sacred symbols images. A great number of Karabakh carpets have various symbolic images of eagles, the image of which was perceived as a symbol of power, strength and striving towards infinity. By the early 20th century the production of hand-loomed rugs and carpets had stopped in the most Armenian cities as a result of massacres and continuous dislocation, when the great part of Armenian precious rugs were lost or destroyed. The art of carpet weaving was passed from generation to generation, and the destruction and separation of families made the continuation of that tradition almost impossible. In Karabakh, however, carpet weaving as an art form and industry, was preserved during the Soviet era. In the 19th – 20th the carpets of Shoushi were the best in the region and were sold in all neighboring cities. In 1907 in the rug factory of Shoushi 120 women were working. 600-700 rugs were produced a year, most of which were exported to Europe. During the Soviet period the factory was transported to Stepanakert. Today the handmade carpets and rugs are woven not only in Stepanakert and Shoushi but also in surrounding villages, especially in the Nikol Duman House Museum in the Ethnographic District of Tsaghkashat village. These carpets are still popular and have great fame due to their high quality. Currently, the ornaments of Armenian carpets are also used in fashion and design elements. The basic colors that are used in Karabakh carpets are tight and dark tapes of red, blue and brown. |
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