Comparative study of Mat- weaving art and craft in Gilan and Hormozgan provinces

AbstractHandicrafts as the objective manifestation of popular functional arts with their own original designs have always held a special place as an important factor in the economy of Iran. Given its elevated status as the second factor in GNP growth, extensive support and guidance policies have been implemented for its development with a range of significant effects. It can be stated that values in arts and culture, together with high value-added and power to earn foreign currency, have transformed handicrafts into ideal products for exports.The quality of Iranian handicrafts is entirely influenced by its natural and human geography, and anthropological characteristics. This takes on importance because adopting sociocultural approaches to designing and producing handicrafts and examining the intervention of these products in the context of daily life in any natural and human geography can pave the way for sustainable attitudes towards this industry. As such, the arts and crafts can act as components in examining and interpreting their climatic and geographical regions, beliefs, and local customs. Therefore, maintaining local production, craft production methods, as well as form and performance analysis to increase their survival rate and feasibility for exports are vital requirements for the arts and crafts of all regions.Light and soft, and at times coarse and rough, wicker weaves made of natural plant fibers have been used for centuries. Gilan Province, in northern Iran, is one region which has benefitted from this. Regretfully, vulnerability to the extensively humid climate of the northern regions of Iran has meant that few valid documents have remained behind from its nascent days and exploitation. But according to the written sources of the past few decades, it can be said that Mat- weaving in Gilan Province has enjoyed considerable fame and quality. It was produced mainly in the cities of Rasht and Anzali where marsh plants constitute the main raw material for Mat- weaving in this region.Mat- weaving is also the most common handicraft of Hormozgan Province in southern Iran, because palm leaves are also another raw material for this craft and found in abundance in this region. The towns of Minab, Bashagard, and Bandar Lengeh and its outskirts are important regions for mat weaving, which is mainly carried out by women and girls.Therefore, Mat- weaving in two provinces on waterfronts - Gilan and Hormozgan - is one of the oldest and most important handicrafts which are very popular in these regions due to unlimited access to raw materials, providing the basis for a comparative study. This research aims to recognize, analyze, and match the qualities of Mat- weaving in these two regions by considering their natural and human geographies. By paying attention to the local similarities and differences and climatic aspects which have given rise to diverse production methods, forms, and functions of these handicrafts, one may endeavor to find sustainable solutions to safeguard and maintain their continuity and promote exports. Based on this and to evaluate and analyze the background of the Mat- weaving arts and crafts taking shape in Gilan and Hormozgan provinces against the backdrop of their natural and human geography and the said anthropological characteristics, the present research endeavors to answer the question of: What is the quality of Mat- weaving in Gilan and Hormozgan provinces and its related components such as preparation of raw materials, tools, production methods, popular patterns, range of products, and innovations in production?This is a descriptive analytical research. The library method was used for data collection and field interviews were conducted with local producers to assess their products. Data were subsequently compiled in the descriptive-analytical method so that the local geography, human life, and Mat- weaving arts and crafts of Gilan and Hormozgan provinces were initially introduced. In the next stage, research findings were presented by matching the dimensions of this craft in both provinces. These include: production materials, preparation of raw materials, dominant production method, tools used to prepare the raw materials, tools used for weaving, prominent productions, popular patterns, and production innovation.The results suggest that the rawest materials used in Hormozgan Provinces are “Pish”, “Pangash”, “Sis”, and “Kertak”. The rawest materials used in Gilan Province are “Sub”, “Li”, “Koler”, and “Kulus”. The main stages for preparing raw materials include pruning, drying, and soaking in Hormozgan Province, and harvesting, drying, and soaking in Gilan Province. Tools used in Hormozgan Province to prepare the raw materials include sickles, range of knives, saws, planes, pliers, scissors, hooks, awls, beater combs, and oil rocks. Tools used in Gilan Province are mainly sickles, knives, files, awls, scissors, and hooks. In both provinces, weaving is carried out by hand using hooks. In Gilan Province, mats are woven on wooden looms using wooden mat weaver’s combs, “Katal”, and knives. Outstanding Mat- weaving in Hormozgan Province includes “kanduk”, “Takel”, “Sop”, “Tavizeh”, “Savas”, Jar Lids and Mat. Gilan Province produces an array of baskets, hampers, mats, screens, and other similar items.The motifs of woven mat in Gilan and Hormozgan provinces are affected by their natural and social geography, but in Gilan province, the motifs of woven mat are evident in products that are woven using the warp and weft method. However, the common motifs of the woven mat of Hormozgan province can be distinguished depending on whether they are woven in a spiral way or in a warp. In both Gilan and Hormozgan provinces, innovations in Mat- weaving are classified as “Mat- weaving products with modern functions using traditional weaving methods”, “Mat- weaving products with traditional functions and new weaving methods”, and “Mat- weaving products with modern functions and weaving methods”.The results of this research are consistent with the direct effects of climatic and cultural factors on the continuation and disappearance of the arts and crafts of both regions, changes in their form and content, innovations, and product variety. As mentioned above, climate is an important factor contributing to the production of arts and crafts in every region. The two important natural indicators shared by both provinces in this study include their location on the sea and the dominance of a mountainous topography. But we witness different climatic conditions in these regions due to different geographical latitudes, regional factors, and external atmospheric systems. These differences create raw materials with different physical and chemical characteristics.Also, if we consider culture to be a system of shared values, beliefs, and customs in a community through which people give meaning to their world and use it as a means of finding identity, then culture must be considered as another factor affecting the formation of the arts and crafts and all the relevant issues in these two regions.Hence, to create a better landscape for the comparative study of the ancient Mat- weaving arts and crafts of the said provinces in the present research, components such as raw materials, tools and methods, range of products, and design and production innovations in each province (Gilan & Hormozgan) have been studied to reveal how each of these components are dealt with in their respective climatic-social-cultural contexts and the sociocultural approaches taken in designing and producing handicrafts by the designers, while creating sustainable attitudes in the design and production of handicrafts.The results of this study show the direct influence of natural and human geographies and anthropological characteristics on the continuity, disappearance, changes in form and content, innovations, and product variety of the arts and crafts in both regions. Future research can concentrate on the study of the volume of other arts and crafts shared by Hormozgan and Gilan provinces, such as pottery, traditional embroidery, jewelry, maritime crafts, design and production of wooden boats, production of fishing tools, etc., by taking into consideration the climatic conditions and sociocultural backgrounds of the said two provinces.