Amazing nomads » Handicraft

Handicraft

The main material for nomads is felt. Their yurts, clothes, carpets, bags, etc. are made of felt.                 There are many ways to produce a felt carpet. The fastest way takes just 3 hours. The name of this carpet is Ala Kiiz. You can participate in the process of carpet making.

To produce Ala Kiiz carpet people take some wool and put it in the form of a square on a mat. Then they take coloured wool. All dyes are of a natural origin. They get it from roots, leaves and barriers. Afterwards they make a pattern with coloured wool. Nomads have a lot of different patterns, all of them with a special meaning. For example sheep's horns mean wealth, a dog's tail means friend, a jar for kumis means generosity, a fire-bird is deep wish and triangles stand for the defence from evil spirits because they look like mountains, which are defence for nomads. As soon as the design is completed, people splash hot water on it and roll the future carpet with the help of a Chi (chi is a mat made of reed) and then beat it during 2-3 hours. As a result they get a beautiful carpet. All carpets are unique because nobody will be able to make the exact same pattern again.