PI: Renas Babakir | Collaborators: Yad Deen, Shirwan Can
Project ID: 2022SG01 | Location of Research: Kurdistan, Iraq | Host Institution: Culture Project
This project documents a non-woven, ancient textile technique of felt-making from sheep wool by the few practicing felt-makers in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. The traditional method of felt-making and the use of felt garments are still alive among the people of Kurdistan, but are disappearing due to conflict and political unrest in the region as well as rapid changes in the textile and fashion industries. Despite the historical and cultural significance of felt, there has been a lack of scholarly attention paid to this ancient craft in the region. This project documented in detail the techniques practiced in using wool fibre to produce felt, known as “Libad”or “Newg” in Sorani Kurdish dialect and “Kulav” in Kurmanji Kurdish dialect. Felt is used to produce protective clothing and rugs, such as traditional narrow rugs, hats, waistcoats and shepherd’s coats, known to the community for as far back as they can remember. By considering an ethnohistorical approach, the team worked towards a comprehensive understanding of the traditional felt-making and the historical and cultural significance of felt among the people of Kurdistan.
The focus area is South Kurdistan; particularly Kifri and Sinjar where practicing felt-makers continue making felt. Even though felt-making has a historical and cultural root in the region, the craft of felt-making is at the brink of disappearance. Not only the craft is disappearing but also felt as a material which is rooted in the region is fading away in the memory of people. This research documented the craft of felt-making as practiced by the felt-makers Salim Ali in Kifri and Khalaf Darwesh in Sinjar.
As the only practicing felt-maker in Kifri, Salim Ali has continued the traditional felt-making he learnt from his uncle and makes felt rugs and garments used by Kurdish people. While there are no other practicing felt-makers, Salim Ali’s children sustain the craft by acquiring the knowledge while assisting their father.
At the same time, Khalaf Darwesh in Sinjar re-introduced the craft of making felt-hats rooted in his Ezidi tribal tradition, the Jwana tribe. After surviving the 2014 genocide in Sinjar and returning in 2017, Khalaf Darewsh called on his childhood memory of watching his uncle, the master craftsman of Ezidi felt-hats, making felt hats. Khalaf Darewsh’s urgency in safeguarding a central element of his community’s identity is evident in his practice.
Felt-making used to be a central part of everyday material culture, practiced by many people in various villages, towns and cities and felt was utilised for garments and rugs. While today, imported rugs and garments made from plastic and synthetic materials have predominantly replaced naturally and locally produced textile including felt. The older generation and those who have knowledge of felt appreciate and seek the material.
This research also documented the challenging journeys and endurance of the craft through practicing felt-makers and those who continue to use felt. This has been achieved through generating visual, audiovisual, and text data sets and represents the first study of its kind in South Kurdistan. Recognizing that the decline of felt-making is contributing to a broader decline in traditional textile production and textile processing technology, the overarching goal of this project was to create a comprehensive and detailed record of this practice and its associated knowledge systems before they vanish.
Methodology
Fieldwork was conducted in two trips. The first trip took place in March and April 2023 and the second trip took place in August and September 2024. In the first field trip, visits to different locations were conducted to better understand the disappearing craft. In addition to conducting field work in Kifri with the felt-maker Salim Ali, the research team also visited other locations and conducted oral history interviews in places where felt-making was a very widespread craft in the past, such as in Hawraman and Shahrazour. The second trip was focused on Sinjar and was the result of expanding to Sinjar after the team identified practicing Ezidi felt-makers who continue to make felt there.
The research team collected data through a combination of unstructured and semi-structured interviews, as well as participant observations. Data collection involved recording videos, photos and taking notes based on the felt-making activities the felt-makers undertook as well as based on in-depth interviews with the felt-makers. Additionally, illustrations of felt-making and felt-making tools were created for future uses such as, creating booklets and illustrated children’s books. Data was stored on hard drives and backed up on iCloud storage after every visit. The data was reviewed at the end of every visit to ensure quality, clarity and to identify any possible missing parts.
Video assets were selected and transcribed and translated into English from the original Kurdish both Sorani (Southern Kurdish) and Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish) dialects using ELAN. The research team had a few sessions with the PI to familiarize themselves with the software. Adobe Premiere was used for editing videos and photos for focus and clarity as well as to make the documentary film. Additionally, Clip Studio Paint was used to make illustrations. This was a choice of the artist who was familiar with the software and used it for his other works.
The audio visual footage was filmed using a Sony A7SII camera fitted with a Sony Carl Zeiss 24-70 Z E Mount Vario Tessar F4 Zoom lens. This particular camera model boasts a unique and unparalleled low-light performance and was carefully selected with consideration to the anticipated low-light filming conditions that might occur; setting up lighting is not always an option and a lack of access to electricity and a limited filming time was anticipated. The sound recorder used was the Zoom F6 Portable 32-Bit Multitrack Field Recorder, which allows constant recording in 32-bit float. This was carefully considered and selected as this feature offers the ability to record with almost no concerns about adjusting the sound levels through the production. This feature records sound from the lowest to the highest levels, allowing the editor or sound mixer to find the right levels in post-production; a significant amount of time was saved by using this sound recorder. Although our choice in the type of equipment was ideal, the production would have benefited from an additional camera on a tripod while the other camera is exploring the subjects on another tripod or being operated handheld.
In order to gain more insight on felt-making in Kurdistan the PI reached out to museums in the U.K. and the Kurdistan Region since available literature and information about felt-making in Kurdistan is scarce. Unfortunately, at the time of the research the textile collection of the British Museum was not available to see due to collection transfer, but the team has been very helpful to take photographs of felt from their collection and send copies to the PI. Furthermore the PI and the audio-visual collaborator visited the Pitt Rivers Museum, the Kurdish Textile Museum in Erbil, and the Town Cultural Museum in Kifri which have offered insightful knowledge on felt and felt-making in Kurdistan. The PI facilitated acquisition of felt garments from craftsman Salim Ali on behalf of the Pitt Rivers Museum, photos of which are included in the assets.
Documentary film, “Felt: Unveiling an Endangered Craft”
Selected Assets
The following provide an overview of the project’s constituents.
Khalaf Darwesh
Preparation and tools
Implements Salim Ali uses to make rugs: a fork for dispensing wool tufts and a balance-stick for rolling the felt.
Before felting, wool must be processed to remove particles and reduce it to a fine consistency.
Erbil Textile Museum collection
One of the dozen traditional felted rugs on display at the museum in Erbil, Iraq.
Production context
A Kurdish shepherd and his flock. These sheep provide wool for felt-making.
Khalaf Darwesh keeps his own sheep in addition to sourcing wool from his neighbors.
Salim Ali
Felt making
Salim Ali in the final stages of rug-making. After setting his design, he folds the edges and adds extra wool.
The Darwesh family uses Halab soap and thread to sculpt the felt hat from a flat disk into a conical shape.
Felt-making workshop
Renas Babakir and Noori Issa led a felt workshop in August 2023 for children in Sinjar.
Finished felt items
Salim Ali produced a rug for a local museum that includes chukar and deer motifs.
Khalaf Darwesh in a hat he made, traditionally worn in the Hababi clan of Sinjar’s Jwana tribe with their braids coming down the sides.
Acknowledgements
The EMKP thanks the makers Salim Ali, Khalaf Darwesh, and their families and neighbors for taking the time to participate in the project and share their practices.
The project documentation would not have been possible without its collaborators, Yad Deen and Shirwan Can, as well as research assistants Fahad Harbo Kheder and Alaa Essa. Noori Issa and Mhamad Omar provided further key services in creating the project’s audiovisual and visual assets, respectively. Last but not least, Joanna Cole, curator of the Pitt Rivers museum, generously provided access to relevant objects in the collection.