.
”Zilus” have occasionally been confused with “kilims”,
whereas these two textiles present large differences concerning both
their weaving techniques and raw materials. The fiber used in Zilu
is “cotton” thread, a material in agreement with rural life,
while the raw material of kilim is “wool”, produced in tribal
societies.
The prolific rural population of Meibod has long been competent in
the art of Zilu weaving. Such was the fame of Meibod Zilus that, for
a long time, they covered the floors of most mosques and shrines
throughout Iran. A research, dating back to 1978, gives the number
of Zilu looms as 3000. Alas, the art of Zilu weaving declined
thereafter, to the extend that, according to a survey carried out by
the author, only 400 looms still existed in Meibod in 1982, of which
a mere 250 were in operation.
| Causes
of decline of Zilu Weaving |
1- Changes in the economic structure of Meibod
As Zilu production depends entirely upon agricultural production,
and since the latter has undergone changes resulting in an increased
migration of the working rural population, the reduction of labor
power caused the wages to rise, in turn making Zilu production
costlier. Therefore, being no more a cheap floor cover for
low-income villagers, Zilus have been replaced with less expensive
industrial products.
2- Lack of assistance on the part of governmental organizations and
institutions
3- Impossibility of replacing traditional techniques with industrial
ones
4- Modification of cultural values
Zilus were mostly utilized in mosques and other religious edifices,
since people preferred holy places to be simple, unadorned
environments. But in recent years, popular tastes having changed,
such locales now have their floors covered with expensive carpets.
With only slight difference, the loom used in Zilu
weaving is the same as that in weaving carpets. Its component parts
are called:
1- Tir
2- Osun
3- Teng
4- Shemsheh
5- Posh-band
6- Kamuneh
7- Kali
8- Shelit
A Shelit is a bunch of multi-stranded spun threads, itself
subdivided in accordance with the intended pattern into smaller
bunches. Each of these has a name and function of its own. Two are
called “Sefid-Jow” and “Siah-Jow” and three other, called
“Modakhel”, are related to the border pattern.
Shelit includes seven other types, called “Maj”, which affect
the ground pattern. The number of Maj bunches varies with the
pattern chosen. The Shelit of Zilus including a border, involves a
total of 13 Maj bunches, of which 7 pertain to the ground. The
nomenclature of Shelit strands begins from the area most accessible
to the weaver that is at the bottom of the Zilu. From there upward,
these are called:
1- Sefid-Jow
2- Siah-Jow
3- Maj-e Pa’in
4- Barmaj-e Pa’in
5- Barmaj-e Miun-Pa’in
6- Barmaj-e Miun
7- Barmaj-e Miun-Bala
8- Barmaj-e Bala
9- Maj-e Bala
10- Modakhel-e Pa’in
11- Modakhel-e Miun
12- Modakhel-e Bala
These are fixed, together with other components called “Gort”,
to the strands of “Chelleh”. A Gort likewise refers to a bunch
of thread, which is tied from one extremity to the Chelleh and from
the other to the Shelit and Shemsheh.
The extremity tied to the Shelit has two parts, called “Gort-e Doj”,
when it is related to the border pattern, and “Gort-e Naqsh”,
when it belongs to the ground pattern. Plain Gort, which plays no
role in creating the pattern, is invariably tied to Shemsheh,
serving to displace the warps. Otherwise, Gorts are tied differently
in function of the pattern involved.
In case of border patterns, the suffix “Doj” is
used, and the single term “Naqsh” is applied in relation with
ground patterns.
There are 14 different border patterns, called:
1- Kash-o-Kenareh
2- Modakhel
3- Kash
4- Kongereh
5- Char-Kash
6- Band-o-Gol
7- Tekrar-e Char-Kash
8- Tekrar-e Kongereh
9- Seh-Kash
10- Parog
11- Tekrar-e Char-Kash
12- Tekrar-e Kongereh
13- Tekrar-e Char-Kash
14- Tekrar-e Knogereh
Four or five of these are principal patterns, and the rest are
simply repetitions of the same. In order to creat each of the
patterns, the Gort are tied following various sequences to the
strand of Chelleh. For example, in case of the first pattern, four
Gort bunches are alternating tied to the Sefid-Jow andSiah-Jow.
In tying Maj Gorts, that is the Gorts of the ground
pattern, a Gort is tied to each of the Maj, and the work begins at
the lower Maj. By repeating in reverse each such cycle of tying the
Gort from the lower end to the upper, the complete pattern of a
“flower” is formed, and as the ground includes at least 15
“flowers”, the process must be repeated as many times.
Numerous patterns are used in Zilus, and the number of Maj
increases in proportion with the complexity of the pattern selected.
In the past, Zilus involving 70 Maj were woven, but today 7-Maj, and
rarely 13-Maj Zilus are the norm. The most famous 7-Maj patterns
are:
1- Part-e Tureh
2- Zolfok
3- Bandog
4- Baftog
5- Rokneh-Duni
6- Hasg-Par-e Kuchik
7- Talig
8- Zanjirog
9- Saborg
And the most famous 13-Maj patterns are:
10- Do-Bandog
11- Band-e Ru,I
12- Gereh
13- Kelid
14- Hasht-Par-e Bozorg
| Technical
Stages of Zilu Weaving |
The artisan selects the number of Shelit strands required
by the pattern, and, using a hook, forms a “flower” and ties his
wefts. In tying the wefts, with one hand he passes the Dami through
the opening of the Chelleh, and with the other, which he plunges to
the elbow amid the warps, he catches the Dami and swiftly throws it
toward the opposite end. And the Panjeh-zan rapidly beats the weft,
with his Panjeh (comb). At the end of every full cycle, the weaver
swiftly actuates the Kali and Kamuneh mechanism, which acts like the
pedal system used in pit-mounted looms, and resumes laying the weft.
Only two colors, which can be blue and pink, green and pink, or blue
and white, are used in Zilus, with the latter two combinations being
reserved for those woven for holy sites.
| Length Scale
in Zilu Weaving |
The length scale used in Zilu weaving is called the Banum.
Every 6 to 8 wefts represent a Banum, and each pattern spans 2
Banums.
| Pattern
Creation and Weaving Method |
As in tying the Gorts, weaving the Zilu begins at its
border, and the border and ground each measure 12 Banums. The border
is woven with Modakhel threads, and the ground with Maj.
At this stage, at least five groups are involved in the
work:
1-
Panjeh-zan, usually a boy aged 8 or older
2- Pu-Kash, an exclusively male master artisan
3- Kalaf-La-Kon (spinners of multi-stranded thread), more often
girls and women
4- Tuneh-Tab, whose task is to spin the Chelleh thread, as women
used to do using a manual spinning-wheel before the advent of
factory-spun thread
5- Zilu Foroush (Zilu merchant), who takes care of buying and
selling Zilus, and is also exclusively a man.
| Relations
of Labor Forces |
Usually
the capital of the Zilu weavers belongs to intermediaries, but all
the production stages are carried out under the supervision of the
weaver, who therefore both earns and pays wages. Although he
provides most of the labor force from within his own family, he
occasionally has to enroll outsiders as well. As paymaster, he not
only teaches the trade to his pupils, but also educates them in
social behaviors. Sometimes such friendly relationships are
established as to lead to the pupil becoming the master’s
son-in-law and establishing himself within his household.
Zilu
merchants offer a small fraction of their goods on the local market,
exporting the main bulk to those lying outside their perimeter of
activity. The bazaars of Tehran, Meshed and Isfahan are generally
considered the main buyers of Zilus.
The
majority of patterns adorning Zilus are familiar motives rooted in
ancient Iranian culture, later blended with those derived from the
Islamic culture. Among these there is the cypress tree, a symbol of
immorality in ancient Iranian culture, as well as the knot and the
key, both also used in Islamic architecture and often found on Zilus,
woven for mosques. Also a number of better-known patterns, such as
Part-e Tureh, Talog and a few others, are inspired from indigenous
cultures.
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