War Rugs

At the Textile Museum of Canada, I saw an exhibit called "Battleground: War Rugs from Afghanistan." The documentation explained that hand-made Afghan tribal rugs with motifs from modern warfare began to appear during the Soviet invasion in the 1970s. A repeated bird motif might become a border of planes and tanks. A realistic kalishnikov might appear in a place of honor. A traditional mountain scene or a battle between the hero Rustam and a snake might include a helicopter.



Before the Soviet era, families of weavers belonged to a group and lived in the same place for generations, and their rugs were identified by their location of origin. All has changed. Invasion, resistance, displacement of people, emigration, modern communication such as TV, flight to cities, and constant war has dominated the lives of the people of Afghanistan. The rugs in the exhibit, I learned, could not be traced or associated with a clear location, a tribe, or a distinct political point of view. English words that appear in the rugs may not even be understood by the weavers.


To my eyes, these rugs express the same sense of beauty and color as the older rugs with patterns of "elephants' feet" and flowers, but the sense of violence and even violation is chilling.