Baluchi Tribes:

The Baluchis are a sub-tribe of a Turkoman tribe known as Salor, the oldest of the five major Turkoman tribes including the Yomoud, the Tekke, the Ersari, the Saryk, and the Salor. All of these tribes wove rugs that filtered into the 19th century Afghanistan markets. Prior to that time, Baluchi weavings were relatively unknown because of their geographic isolation.

Early records of Baluchi history are meager. Essentially, there were two main Baluchi tribes, the first of which was forcibly relocated by the Shah of Persia (now Iran) to Western Nuristan (now Western Afghanistan) in the late 1700’s. The second group was relocated to what is now Southern Afghanistan. This collection features both knotted, pile weavings of the Baluchis in Western Afghanistan and the flat-woven textiles (kilims) of the Baluchis in Southern Afghanistan.

Southern Baluchis speak Makroni and Western Baluchis speak Farsi. But since the early Baluchis had no written language, Russian and English military officers, as well as Persian, Arab and Bokharan historians, have provided the only known written historical references about the Baluchis.

In essence, the only “permanent documents” provided by the Baluchis themselves are their weavings. These textiles, both artistic and functional in nature, were the ultimate combination of spirit and craft and provided the very foundation upon which the nomadic culture of the Baluchi tribe was built.

18th Century Diagram of a Yurt

These textiles of the Baluchis provide insight into the relatively unknown tribal culture that consisted of annual and seasonal pastoral migration. (In other words, the seasons determined where the tribesmen would take the flock.) But throughout the migrations, and throughout the centuries, there existed a timeless, uninterrupted weaving tradition that is now, unfortunately, lost to us forever.

Textiles for a Tent Culture:

The setting up and taking down of tents in a fast and efficient manner within a nomadic society was essential. The function of many textiles was to readily move all of the various items associated with nomadic living, including the tent itself and even the babies of the tribe from place to place in the desert. Other textiles, such as hearth rugs, and rugs used for dining and family rituals were a form of movable architecture. Therefore, textiles that could be assembled and disassembled easily and those that could be used as transportation and storage bags were a fundamental part of the Baluchi way of life.

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