Baluchi Capet Culture

The Baluchi tribe residing in Iran, Afghanistan & Pakistan speak a form of Persian language. With historians of the view that the tribe must have descended from the Arabian Peninsula or Iraq's surrounding area, some even think that they were even found in the southern region of Iran near Kerman in the 10th century. They however migrated to Afghanistan & southern Iranian Province Sistan by the 13th century.

Though, by early 18th century, Turkoman ruler Nadir Shah forced many to migrate north to the Iranian Province of Khorassan near the city of Mashad in the regions of Torbat-e-Heydarieh & Torbat-e-Jam which finally became the market place for Baluchi weaving.

Carpet & Culture
With half of the Baluchi population living in the Baluchistan territory which includes the southwestern Pakistani Province of Baluchistan & a part of southeastern Iran, the Baluchis are primarily nomad group which dwells on weaving flat weave carpet. While another Baluchi section weaving pile rugs thrive in western Afghanistan & the Iranian province of Khorassan.

The Afghani Baluchi weavers live a nomadic life in camps while Khorassan's Baluchi weavers live in villages. Functioning as a vital source of income, rug weaving art has always been an essential part of the nomadic Baluchi tribes everywhere.

The carpet weaving style is a bit different as practiced by the Baluchis which generally makes use of small size rugs for varied purposes, such as :

• Sofrehs (a cloth laid on a rug for placing food)
• Ru-korsi (table cloth used to cover a table with a heater underneath)
• Saddlebags
• Salt bags
• Pillow covers

The nomadic Baluchis are known for living in simple tent-like structures where the women are the principal weavers while unmarried women weave the necessary household items during the engagement period to be used after marriage.

The carpet designs generally exhibit geometric patterns. The traditional Blauchi tree-of-life prayer rug as well features the most popular Baluchi designs. The Baluchi rugs are often sold under a specific tribe's name which has woven them such as the Mushwani, Nishapur, Dokhtar-e-Ghazi, Koudani & Haft Bolah as well the Chichaksu village tribes.

The Baluchi rugs are even marketed by the names of Mashad or Herat Baluchi where the latter is made in Afghanistan mainly used for prayers while the former rugs are made in Iran & are generally all-over repeats.