Sat 22, April

Authentic Turkmen traditions in northeast Iran

Iranian Turkmen are an ethnic community living in Turkmen Sahra region which is located in northeastern Iran, mainly Golestan, North Khorasan, and Khorasan Razavi provinces.  Turkmen wedding ceremonies are flamboyant, eye-catching and filled with authentic traditional customs preserved and passed down from generation to generation.  The Turkmen consider marriage as an important social and economic dimension to their lives. They believe marriage and child bearing would make their families and tribes more powerful. The photos below depict a rainbow-like wedding ceremony held in Raz and Jargalan district, Taklah Quz village, North Khorasan province.Tehran Times / Omid Shekari

Taklah Quz is located near Iran-Turkmenistan border, 167 km from Bojnourd, the capital of North Khorasan province.  Turkmen women use scaffolds to weave double-sided carpets. They do their work with love and patience. A little shepherd is opening the sheepfold door to let the herd in. The villagers earns money from animal husbandry. Handicraft making and farming are other sources of income. Young girls of the village in colorful dresses accompany the bride from her father’s home to her new home, where groom is waiting for her. A newly-wed Turkmen couple pose for a photo with a little child. They believe that cuddling a little child during the wedding ceremony would lead to their childbearing. A Turkmen weaver sits by her loom working on weaving a colorful carpet. Taklah Quz women set up carpet looms during cold season. The village is known for its astonishing double-sided carpets.  Single men of the village try to catch a shoe thrown from the roof by groom’s family. Anyone who catches the shoe receives a reward while returning it to groom’s family. Different items including balls, money, toys, and chocolate are thrown by groom’s family as a part of the wedding ceremony. The guests gather around the wedding car which is decorated with traditional Turkmen textile and colorful balloons. A Turkmen woman in traditional dress bakes bread in a tandoor in her house. Although the village has a bakery, most of women prefer to bake bread in their houses.

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