CENTRAL COMMISSION FOR HOLDING ELECTIONS AND REFERENDUMS IN TURKMENISTAN
Under the wise leadership of our esteemed President, in the Revival of the new epoch of the Powerful state many activities aimed at preserving our national values and enriching them with new content are being implemented in our country, which is undergoing great development. Of course, one of the top of those values is our fine carpets.
The history of this wonderful, fine art goes back thousands of years. Carpet products have served as an integral part of our people's life since historical times. chuwalls, bags, and horjuns were used for clothing and transportation. Ak oys, the national pride of our people are decorated with carpets. The carpet products like düyphaly, ojakbashy, chuwal, bag, gapylyk, engsi are the beauty of turkmen’s sacred home – ak öy.
Every year on the last Sunday of May "Turkmen carpet holiday" is widely celebrated in Turkmenistan. In all parts of our sunny country celebrating the holiday artistic hand-carvers, carpet weaver beautiful women and other artists of our national art prepare their own gifts for this holiday and perform at various events.
If you look at the carpets woven in the 19th century, you can see that different ornaments were woven into the carpets. They were called teke golli, salyr golli, saryk golli, yomut golli (kepse gol, darnak gol), arsary golli (guli gol, beshir gol), chowdur golli, and each tribe had its own unique patterns and ornaments.
On December 12, 2019, at the regular 14th session of UNESCO's intergovernmental committee for the protection of Intangible cultural heritage, a decision was made to include "the national carpet art of Turkmenistan" in the outstanding list of intangible cultural heritage of Mankind.
The art of carpeting has been refined and perfected over the centuries. This can be confirmed by comparing carpets woven in the early period with carpets woven in the 20th and 21st centuries. In the early times, carpets were not only the one of the main accessories for decorating the house but also one of the main article for keeping home things, nowadays they are widely used for decoration.
As the times change, the types of handicrafts of our girls and women are also improved. Carpets that are woven in accordance with the requirements of today's times are woven in chitme and kakma styles. As can be seen from the data, nowadays the ancient samples of turkmen carpets and carpet products are restored, the quality, colour, types are modernized, great developments and changes are achieved in the art of carpet making.
Today, it's not just sheep's wool, but also using natural dyes the silk carpets are woven. These carpets are also known for their fineness and elegance.
The colour of carpets that have absorbed the medicinal power of herbs into their basis, over the years they do not fade at all. According to experts, there were 20 ways to weave the carpets. They have cheten, kepbe boyra, aldymgach, iki yuzli carpet and other types. There is a heart of turkmen in the carpet. This is the secret of this fine art taking place in the hearts of the peoples of the world.
The carefully woven turkmen carpet by our skillful girls and women’s miracle hands has been developed, transformed and improved. Artistic carpet enterprises are increasing in our country, and the number of weaver girls and women are increasing day by day. The national culture and art of our Motherland, which has a high reputation all over the world, has been written with golden letters on the layers of glorious history for centuries, and its value has been revealed to the rich and meaningful history of the turkmen people.
In the book "Living legend" published in 2011 by our Hero Arkadag, a special place is given to the unique giant carpets and two-sided carpets created by turkmen carpet makers. For example, the "Altyn Asyr" carpet with an area of 301 square meters was entered into the Guinness book of records as the largest hand-woven carpet in the world. This carpet has 304 threads per square meter.
Also, in 2016, the second book of our dear Arkadag about the carpets –
"Arşyň nepisligi" was published. It was a unique continuation of reflections on the role and importance of the carpet art of the turkmen people. The carpet pictures that decorate the book reveal the beauty of the turkmen carpet.
In these books of our Hero Arkadag, the beauty of the turkmen carpet is thoroughly revealed from a scientific point of view. Our dear Arkadag says: "The turkmen carpet is a rainbow-colored tulip of our people's love and tenderness. It is a record of our ancestors' glorious lives in the language of colours. Our beautiful carpets are the honor of our Motherland, the glory of our people, the glory spread to the world."
The first written sources about turkmen carpets are believed to belong to Marco Polo, an Italian traveler who traveled to Eastern Europe and Asia in the 13th century. Marco Polo notes that the finest and most beautiful carpets in the world are turkmen carpets.
This proves that turkmen women have raised carpet weaving to the level of art and gained world recognition, and that turkmen women absorbed their tenderness, love, and dreams into the carpets while weaving.
In general, there is little to say about the art of carpet weaving. This ancient profession of our girls and women is not only an art, but also a part of our country's economy, it is our national joy and pride!
As the great classic poet and thinker of the turkmen people Magtymguly Pyragy's work has increased in value over the years, the fame of the exquisite carpets woven by skilled turkmen women is increasing over time.
Congratulations on the Turkmen carpet holiday which will be held in spirit in the year that was declared as "the year of happy youth with Arkadag Serdar" in our Motherland.
May the lifes of the turkmen people’s National Leader, our Hero Arkadag’s and our esteemed President who are making tireless efforts to preserve our national values and spread the handicrafts of urkmen girls and women to the world be long, the nobel heads be save, the great deeds be prosper!
Ogulmaral Rejepova,
Leading specialist of Organizational management of apparatus of the Commission for holding Elections and referendums in Turkmenistan.