Jajim (; ; ; ) also spelled as gelims, or Jajim-bafi, is a handmade, flat-woven textile made of colored natural fiber which is created and used in the majority of villages and rural areas of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Other locations the Jajim is found include

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

About

The nomadic

Shahsevan The Shahsevan ( az, Şahsevənlər), are a branch of the Turkic Oghuz groups, a sub-ethnic group of Azerbaijani people, located primarily in Iran and Republic of Azerbaijan. The name ''Shahsevan'' means "adherents of the Shah, a people who are lov ...

people are thought to be the originators of the handicraft. Jajim is a thicker textile, similar to a blanket. The yarn used to created Jajim are either wool, cotton, or a wool and cotton-blend. In contrast to the classically woven

kilims A kilim ( az, Kilim کیلیم; tr, Kilim; tm, Kilim; fa, گلیم ''Gilīm'') is a flat tapestry-woven carpet or rug traditionally produced in countries of the former Persian Empire, including Iran, the Balkans and the Turkic countries. Kil ...

and carpets which is a single panel, to weave a Jajim you create multiple narrow woven panels (often 4) and the panels are sewn together. They traditionally were used as way for nomadic people to pack their belongings for migration. They have also been used as a mattress, to wrap a bed, as a

korsi A ''korsi'' or ''korsí,'' or sandali (Persian: کرسی) is a type of low table found in Iran and Afghanistan, with a heater underneath it, and blankets thrown over it. It is a traditional item of furniture in Iranian culture. A family or oth ...

cover (a table heater), as a curtain, as a tent, and as a carpet. After a Qashqai bride and groom are married, they use Jajim to create a ceremonial tent. Since 2020, the Iran

Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization ( fa, وزارت میراث فرهنگی، گردشگری و صنایع دستی ایران, ''Vâzart-e Miras-e Ferhengi-ye, Gârdâshigâri-ye vâ Sânai'-ye Dâsti-ye Iran'') is ...

has been investing money in promoting the ancient craft through an educational program. Several museum collections have Jajims, include at the

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. The permanent collection of the ...

(FAMSF).

References

{{Authority control Tapestries Oriental rugs and carpets Textile arts of Iran Textile arts of Turkey Textile arts of Azerbaijan Textile arts of India Persian handicrafts Turkish handicrafts

About

See also

References