Nagshe Khani (Pattern Singing) is a mechanism of singing the patterns of the carpet to the other co-weavers. This highly endangered cultural heritage had been a widespread tradition in Iran, having its own complex lexical and diverse musical structure depending on the region it is being carried out.
To this date, no documents, studies or presentations on this topic could be found and the upcoming documentary is the first attempt to document this rapidly vanishing intangible heritage.
Watch Mehdi Aminian’s documentary “The Woven Sounds”
THE WOVEN SOUNDS
THE ROLE OF SINGING CULTURES AROUND CARPET WEAVING IN IRAN
By Mehdi Aminian
The mention of Persian carpets conjures images of realms of colorful woven materials as well as perhaps the materialistic and tangible value they hold. The proposed study, however, aims at investigating the intangible dimensions of carpet weaving in Iran, focusing in particular on the singing cultures surrounding carpet weaving. The focus is represented by the yet to be investigated phenomena of Naqshe Khani (Pattern Singing).
Just like other types of works songs, such as those sung when fishing, during crop cultivation or during the winnowing of grain, which exist in traditional societies around the world – the singing culture around carpet weaving has evolved and shaped the craftsmanship and artisanship of weaving itself. Persian carpets, as the foremost heavy textile art craft of Iran, have been emerging within the traditional process for millennia; peak production was attained around the 2000s when statistics show that there were around 2.2 million weavers living in Iran. Since then, however, the number of weavers has been falling drastically (reaching the estimated number of 750,000) as a result of a multitude of social and political factors (e.g. sanctions on carpet, consumerist culture, etc.).
Carpet weaving in Iran, which has formed throughout history synergic exchanges between labor and artistic creation, has developed its own unique style of work melodies intertwined with the weaving process. Despite the widespread culture and variety of traditions in carpet weaving across Iran, no studies on the intangible cultural heritage around carpet weaving could be found. Many of these traditions, along with the accompanying craftsmanship, are vanishing rapidly, which in turn has highlighted the urgency of conducting the present research.
In a pilot project I carried out in the provinces of Isfahan, Kerman and Fars (2018/2019), I identified two categories of work music traditions that accompany carpet weaving. The first one, known as Naqshe Khani (Pattern Singing), consists of recitals and tunes which serve as a guide of patterns for the weavers while they are weaving. The second one, manifested in the form of storytelling, singing, poetry and prayer recital, is not directly connected to the weaving process but accompanies it and, I argue, influences the labor process.
