Ala kiyiz (Kyrgyz: ала кийиз, [ɑlɑ kijíz]) or tekemet (Kazakh: текемет, [tʲekʰʲemʲet]) is an ornamenting style for textile floor- or wallcovering made by pressing wet, soaped wool of various colours together to make it felt. The chemical process of felting transforms the loose woolen fibers into a thick cloth. The felt carpet-making technique is a traditional folk art among the nomadic farming Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Mongolian peoples of the Tien Shan mountains and the steppes in Central Asia for over two and a half thousand years.[1] From the various methods of ornamenting, ala kiyiz is among the widest spread, with shyrdak.[2]
The motley felts traditionally were made from local sheep’s wool of autumn shearing. The carpets are a component of the insulation and decoration of the yurt or ger, a movable round tent that is the nomadic dwelling throughout Central Asia.
In 2012, Kyrgyz felt carpets ala-kiyiz and shyrdak were inscribed into the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in need of urgent protection.[3]
- ^ The first written description of a yurt was recorded by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus as the dwelling tent of the Scythians, who lived in the northern Black Sea and Central Asian region from around 600 BC to AD 300.
- ^ "Kyrgyz handicraft". Kyrgyz Style. Center for Development of Traditional and Contemporary Culture "Kyrgyz Style". Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
- ^ "UNESCO - Ala-kiyiz and Shyrdak, art of Kyrgyz traditional felt carpets". ich.unesco.org. Retrieved 2022-12-06.