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Anatolian kilims · Abundance and fertility

Bukağı (hobble)

The chain that ties a horse’s two legs together: inseparable union and love.

What does it mean?

A bukağı is a short chain joining two rings, fastened to a horse’s two front legs so that it does not stray from the pasture. The kilim motif derived from it expresses the continuity of the family, love, union, being together forever, and that lovers should never part. It is found in kilims from Adana, Sivas, Eskişehir, Kırşehir and Yozgat; researchers have also noted motifs of very similar form in Navajo weavings [1][2].

Same theme

Elibelinde (hands on hips)Koçboynuzu (ram’s horn)Bereket (abundance)Küpe (earring)Nar (pomegranate)Başak (wheat ear)Asma ve üzüm (vine leaf and grape cluster)Ruyi

Sources

  1. M. A. Eroğlu, “Anadolu Kilimlerindeki Bukağı Motifinin Kızılderili (Navajo) Kilimlerindeki Biçimsel Benzerlikleri”, Korkut Ata Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi 10, 2023
  2. Zeynep Balkanal, “Türk Kültürünün Değer Yargılarını Yansıtan Kilim Motiflerine Tasarım Açısından Alternatif Bir Yaklaşım; Kaat’ı Sanatında Uygulamaları”, Pamukkale Üniversitesi SBE Dergisi 35, 2019

Drawing: Bitki Tabanı, interpreted from the traditional motif.