Bakhtiari is one of the most ancient immigrant tribes in iran who reside in the central region of the Zagros mountain ranges. Most of historians consider some relationships between Lor and Bakhtiari people, and believe that they separated from Lor tribes in Safavid era. Some others regard them a population of people arriving from Syria to the central parts of iran in the 12-14th centuries. Definitely, there are evidence of their fort presence in the southern regions of Ishpahan province since Safavid era; they were considered politically important and after Safavid fall, they were exiled from these areas. After Zand dynasty rise, who were originally Lor, the Bakhtiari Khans’ strength reinforced. KarimKhan Zand considered them as a formal tribe in the province called today as “Charmahal Bakhtiari” where they reside actually. This region has a desirable soil for farming and has a good condition for raising animals as well; while most of their descendants used to live as immigrant and stockman. Their yearly immigration passes the south of Isphahan where is the winter accommodation of this tribe, also they pass the valleys dominating the northern parts of Zagros in the Charmahal region where the “Zayande rud” river originate from.
In the first decades of the 19th century, Bakhtiari tribes possessed wide parts in Charmahal, and they abandoned their immigrating lifestyle and resided in the adjacent villages of summer accommodation areas. During some decades, the tribe presence declined about 20 percents and Charmahal became a Bakhtiari region. The heads of two major tribes called “chaharlang and haftlang, chose “Shahrekurd” as the official city and Charmahal and the center. The turks and Armenians who resided before in this regions were gradually impressed by Bakhtiari people and joined them. Opening one of the main trade path from Khuzestan ports to Isphahan made this region richer and this region turned into one of the most important economical and political area in the Pahlavi era. Their strength doubled after discovering some iol sources there. In the good economical era, this region was so active in weaving field; we describe them in detail by presenting the districts of the region. The local production still keeps the relationship with the tribal traditions. It seems that weaving in this tribe is so similar to Lor tribes even before they tried to stop immigrating as some rugs are weaved on long horizontal looms.
This rugs had small and tiny designs which had filled all the background in the exact rows and geometric patterns with hook-like shapes were preferred. Using symmetrical knots were common among tribes whose density range from 900 to 1200 knots in each square Dm. two wefts which are often red are used. Bakhtiari weavers used to weave sacks for travelling called “Khorjin” designed as a rug-form, of course in some extents and based on the sense that this rugs were destined to use as sack, whose application ranged from saddlebage to a means to carry salt, to even a cover for saddles and etc. unlike the usual way, the backsides of the sacks were tatted and decorated by colorful lines which are weaved with wefts of various colors.
Another feature of this “Khorjin” (Saddlebag) which is made by Bakhtiari and specially ones for carrying salt, is that in the lower sides and in the corners , some asymmetrical parts are weaved to increase the resistance of the rug against depreciation while touching the ground.
Read our other blog posts on Bakhtiari Rugs:
