Salkım söğüt (weeping willow)

What does it mean?

Because its leaves let rain drip like tears, the weeping willow is a Western symbol of death, mourning and lovers who cannot be together; the mourning willow on gravestones is a Western tradition. It is not a documented motif on Ottoman gravestones. Instead, in 18th–20th-century Ottoman mosque and tomb wall paintings it is painted beside cypresses as an image of paradise. In Turkish-Islamic culture the willow stands for healing, protection and paradise as much as for sorrow; in Central Asia it is believed to bring protection and plenty. Because it roots so easily it also stands for rebirth. In some parts of Anatolia willow branches are carried before the coffin, and willows are planted beside saints’ tombs with strips of cloth tied to their branches ^[1].

Related plants

• White willow: The plant of the motif.

Same theme

Sources

1. Semiha Altıer, “Türk-İslam Kültüründe Söğüt Ağacı ve Osmanlı Dini Mimarisindeki Duvar Resimlerinin İkonografisi Üzerine”, Osmanlı Medeniyeti Araştırmaları Dergisi 24, 2025