Adana province Feke district flat weavings

Weaving, one of the important building blocks of Turkish cultural history, has been functionally involved in daily life for thousands of years. By using these textiles, Turks protected the places they lived in from cold, moisture and dust, and decorated them. They lined the inside of their tents with textiles, and protected their clothes and supplies in saddlebags, sacks, and sacks that they also woven. Today, in many important weaving centers from the west to the east of Anatolia, textiles with unique colors, motifs and patterns are produced for various purposes with the taste and skill of the Turkish people. The history of weaving art dates to the Turks living in Central Asia. With the migration of Turks from Central Asia to Anatolia, plain weaving spread throughout Anatolia. Plain weaving has created a deep-rooted tradition in the Feke district of Adana province in Anatolia. Varsak/Farsak Turkmens had a great influence on the development of weaving in the Feke region. Varsak/Farsak Turkmens keep their art and culture from the past alive in the Feke region today. Feke district, located in the north-east of Adana province, is mountainous and rugged in terms of its terrain. In the district located between the Taurus Mountains, most of the population lives in neighborhoods and this population consists of Varsak/Farsak Turkmens who migrated to the region after the 16th century. Although the livelihood of people in the Feke region is animal husbandry and forestry activities, wheat, grapes, walnuts, apples, cherries and kiwis are cultivated in some neighborhoods. In recent years, intensive lavender cultivation has been carried out in the neighborhoods in the Tapan region of Feke district. People living in the region are skilled in handicrafts and have a plain weaving culture. Weaving comes first among these handicrafts. In the field research conducted in 2023 in the Feke region, one of the important plain weaving centers of Anatolia, 245 plain weaving samples, including rugs, tapestries, prayer rugs, prayer rugs and saddlebags, were identified according to their intended use and the weavings were recorded. In this research, information such as the tools used in weaving, weaving technique, weaving types, how old the weaving is, the color, motif and pattern features used in weaving were obtained. The aim of the research conducted in the Feke region is to create a resource by collecting information about the past and present situation of the weaving art, which is practiced intensively in the region. Among the weavings identified, there are 20 rugs, 60 prayer rugs, 35 prayer rugs, 25 runners, 15 saddlebags and 90 sacks. In these weavings, plain rug, buttonhole rug, wrapped border weft rug and sparse motif cicim technique are used as weaving techniques, and the motifs are mostly ram's horn, dove's mouth, earring ball/rattle flower (scorpion), spike, walnut (eye), finger, comb, It was determined that belted apple (star), tulip, snake, donkey, half donkey, earring, hair tie and leaf motifs were used. Colors such as black, white, blue, green, brown, grey, yellow, henna yellow (orange), purple, red and pink are the colors predominantly used in the plain weavings of the region. As a result of the examination carried out in Feke district and its neighborhoods, two regions that stood out with weaving activities in the past years were identified and these are Tapan and Bahçecik regions. Both regions have their own unique weavings. When the weavings of the Tapan region are examined, it is generally seen that the buttonhole rug technique is used and the motifs in the weavings are; It is seen that motifs such as spike, comb, finger, tulip, flower, belted apple (star), apple, snake (hook), galamak (finger), fingered ball (chest) and amulet are predominant. When the weavings of Bahçecik region are examined, it is seen that the wrapping border weft rug technique is used as the weaving technique and as a motif in the weavings; It has been determined that motifs such as wolf print (wolf's mouth), sliding ball (chest), rattle flower/earring ball (scorpion), donkey, half donkey, wolf's mouth, ram's horn, hand on waist and walnut (eye) are predominantly present. When we look at the Feke region in general, it is seen that the weavings detected in the villages close to these two regions have the weaving characteristics of the region closest to them, and in some neighborhoods, there are samples woven using the weaving characteristics of both regions together. Keywords: Handicrafts, Weaving, Plain weaving, Rug, Adana, Feke, Tapan, Bahçecik