Colours and motifs of the traditional handknitted socks of Ağri province of Turkey

Abstract

The sacred land Anatolia, the cradle of many civilizations, covers many crafting traditions as clothing, kitchen tools, dowry items, carpets, rugs, socks, booties, jewellery works, pottery, or wooden products. These products, which people use daily from past to present, reflect the experience and knowledge accumulated over a long period of time, and carry historical values within themselves, ensuring cultural continuity. In this sense, it can be said that handicrafts are a part of life with their production and have a great value in terms of cultural history. Ethnography with a deeper understanding of culture, accept hand-knitted items not as mere garments worn on the body, but as nonverbal communication tools conveying the region, social life, feelings, and thoughts of the knitter through the colours, compositions and motifs. This paper aims at supporting the strong relationship between craft and ethnographic research by documenting it with the use of both traditional examples of handknitted socks and the identification of their common elements. Motifs used in traditional textiles play an important role in reflecting Turkish culture and identity and transferring it from generation to generation. In this context, 22 socks knitted in Ağrı were examined and the motifs used on the socks were determined. The motifs of hand-knitted socks, which are generally knitted for daily use and dowry, are stripes, diagonal stripes, cleats and hooks; It was concluded that black and white were preferred as colours. Nowadays, with the development of technology, the motifs in the products traditionally made in the regions have become more important, especially for use in culturally based textile products. For this reason, it is important to document and introduce the motifs that reflect our cultural identity to future generations.