Author

Abstract

Chante or Ayenedan is one of the Qashqa’I hand-woven arts that is made only by women. It is applied for carrying individual things like: money, food, etc. Qashqa’I girls and women learn how to weave Chante from childhood and will weave an excellent Chante when they are going to marry. In the tribal society, the women are in a lower position than men and they don’t have the reserved identity as an independent individual so there is no place to express their emotions. This causes that Qashqa’I women use Chante weaving as a device for illustrating their aims and happy or sad dreams. We can say that Chante is a way to their innocent loneliness and aspirations. These women utilize the ancient motifs and the pictures of inspiring nature around them to express their emotions. So, they show their love, interest or worries through weaving Chante, and this paper aims to search their mysterious world exploring them. First, the social and cultural history of Qashqa’I tribe is explained, and the position of women in the tribe is examined. Second, the paper introduces Chante and the technical way of weaving. Finally, the imagination of Qashqa’I women as appeared in Chante will be described. This paper is a library study and it exploits the historical approaches. It is also an innovative study semiologically introducing the symbols appear in Chante.

Keywords