Artistic traditions often evolve in response to changes in time and place. Cultural events are reflected in art, influenced by the magnitude and nature of those events. Sometimes, a political shift or migration leads to significant changes in artistic expression. Occasionally, the impact of an event is so profound that it completely transforms a society’s artistic and cultural trajectory. War is one such catalyst.
In recent decades, no country has been as engulfed by war as Afghanistan. Since the Soviet invasion in 1979, followed by internal conflicts and the rise of the Taliban, Afghanistan has struggled to find stability and peace. Amidst this turmoil, artistic creation—particularly in the form of handwoven rugs and carpets—has persisted. Carpet weaving is one of the most renowned and cherished art forms in Afghanistan. The deep impact of war on various facets of Afghan life has led to the emergence of unique weaving patterns that reflect the nation’s struggles.
This article examines the evolution of war-inspired weavings in Afghanistan over approximately four decades of conflict. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, we delve into how these rugs have transformed, gathering information through literature review and direct observation. We analyze the design elements of selected weavings, considering historical, political, cultural, economic, and social contexts.
Image Description: Woven Afghan war rug with a beige background, three decorative borders and beige tassels. Shades of pink, green, orange, purple and blue used throughout. The square rug features a large body of water replete with boats and surrounded by buildings, trees and a mountain range. Russian block houses are depicted on the mountain tops and the sky is full of military helicopters and planes dropping star shells. The second and widest decorative border includes a variety of tanks and armoured vehicles. Inscriptions in Farsi.
Production date: 1979-1985. Made in Afghanistan. At The British Museum.
What Are War Rugs?
While war-influenced weavings are not exclusive to Afghanistan—similar art forms have appeared in Chile, Peru, Vietnam, Thailand, Palestine, Egypt, and other countries—the scale and duration of the Afghan conflict, along with the volume of related weavings over four decades, make Afghan war rugs particularly significant.
War rugs are typically associated with weavings crafted since the early 1980s during Afghanistan’s successive wars. Observing these rugs, it’s evident that their weavers experienced deeply shocking and tragic events. For them, these creations serve as a reaction to and a coping mechanism for the devastating impacts of war on their culture. They provide an inner healing process and act as political statements, communicating their plight to the world.
Nigel Lendon, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Art at the Australian National University, who has extensively studied war rugs, regards them as “the highest tradition of war art in the twentieth century” and notes that “this method is far more pervasive than other ways artists have reacted to war” (Khadige, 2012).
Recognizing war rugs as a vital part of contemporary Afghan art is essential. These weavings have been praised as pure expressions of women and children and as historical, cultural, and social documents. They’ve been referred to as “protest rugs,” “victory rugs,” “anti-war rugs,” and “peace rugs” (Bonyhady et al., 2003).
Image Description: Soviet soldiers direct tank traffic outside Kabul on January 7, 1980. Tank units had set up positions all around the capital city. AP Photo
Afghan War Rugs: A Historical Overview
First Generation: The Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989)
Emergence and Characteristics
The first generation of war rugs emerged during the Soviet-Afghan war. Weavers began incorporating war motifs into traditional designs almost immediately after the Soviet invasion. Initially, these rugs continued to showcase Afghanistan’s rich carpet-weaving traditions, with subtle inclusions of war elements like weapons and aircraft hidden among traditional patterns.
These early war rugs are attributed to the Baluch people of northwest Afghanistan, near Herat, who had the cultural background for innovation and creativity (Bonyhady et al., 2003). Some of the earliest examples were woven in response to the needs of a new consumer group—the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. The presence of inscriptions resembling the Cyrillic alphabet on some early war rugs supports this claim.
Influence and Production
An important feature of the patterning in this group was that war-inspired motifs were few and subtly integrated into the traditional designs, making them hardly noticeable at first glance. These rugs show little sign of the Afghan military context. Another feature is the influence from neighboring carpet-weaving areas like Iran, evident in some designs. The early war rugs exhibited strong balance and symmetry rooted in the ancient carpet-weaving traditions of Afghanistan (Herat) and eastern regions of Iran.
The second group of the first generation was woven outside Afghanistan, significantly differing from their counterparts inside the country. A prominent aspect of this group is that the rugs were woven for commercial purposes. After the Soviet war began, Pakistan housed the largest gathering of Afghan refugees, with camps like “Faisal” in the North-West Frontier Province becoming home to millions of displaced Afghans.
War rugs became a significant part of the refugees’ economy. Peshawar, a city in Pakistan, emerged as the main center for the war rug trade. Previously an important hub for Afghan rugs, Peshawar saw rapid growth in rug trade as Afghan rug dealers relocated there. Evidence suggests that small rug-weaving workshops were established in or near Peshawar.
Design and Market Influence
The designs of refugee war rugs, which gave Afghan war rugs their identity, are divided into four groups:
- Combination of Traditional and War Motifs: These rugs combined one or more tanks and weapons with traditional symbols like family, hospitality items, and local products.
- Cities with Military Equipment: Depictions of cities filled with heavy war equipment like helicopters and fighter planes, sometimes surrounded by borders of repeated tanks and armored vehicles.
- Dominant Kalashnikov Motif: The Kalashnikov rifle became a symbol of the Mujahideen’s resistance and featured prominently in these rugs.
- Heavy Soviet Weaponry: Rugs displaying heavy Soviet weapons, especially armored personnel carriers, tanks, and helicopters, arranged in orderly rows and columns.
The commercialization of war rugs and the influence of market demand, especially from Europe and America, began to shape the designs during the mid-1980s. Employment opportunities in the refugee camps and the tastes of commercial managers and buyers started to impact the patterns of war rugs.
Sayed Ahmad Gailani, leader of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan, commented on this transformation: “Until ten years ago, people wove these rugs with patterns of deer and camels, but now only tanks, military planes, and bombers are seen” (Bonyhady et al., 2003).
Image Description: Woven Afghan war rug with a brown background, a wide, deep red border and short brown tassels. The central image is of an Afghan soldier attacking a Russian soldier, while two others (an Afghan and a Russian soldier) look on. The Russians are depicted as horned demon ('divs' in Persian) in the style of traditional Persian miniature paintings of scenes from the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) depicting the hero, Rustam, slaying the evil White Div. Also included in the central ground are two camels led by Afghans, helicopters and soldiers. The wide border around the carpet features a convoy of tanks with machine guns. Several inscriptions in Farsi are placed around the main scene.
Production date: 1980–1989. Made in Afghanistan. At The British Museum.
Second Generation: Civil War and Taliban Era (1989–2001)
Shift in Design and Purpose
Following the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan plunged into civil war. The second generation of war rugs reflects this period’s chaos and shifting power dynamics. These rugs were woven in Pakistan’s refugee camps or within Afghanistan itself. During this time, especially among refugees, men also began weaving rugs alongside women.
A significant feature of this period’s weavings is the extensive use of English texts, often with spelling errors—a clear indication of their target market and a shift toward commercialization. The designs lacked the balance and symmetry of earlier works, reflecting the instability of the times.
Themes and Political Statements
Rugs of this period can be divided into four groups:
- Celebrating Moscow’s Defeat: These weavings celebrated the Soviet withdrawal, depicting tanks exiting the map of Afghanistan via northern roads, sometimes on the Salang Highway. Woven texts included phrases like “Soviet forces are leaving Afghanistan” and “The final defeat of Russian invaders.”
- Portraits of Leaders: Rugs featuring portraits of important figures in Afghan history, such as Ahmad Shah Massoud and Amanullah Khan. These pictorial rugs were mostly woven in Afghanistan due to their specific subject matter.
- Critique of the Najibullah Regime: Rugs depicting the struggle against the Soviet-backed president Mohammad Najibullah. For the first time, sharp political satire appeared in protest against the current situation, with motifs like a hand with the “hammer and sickle” symbol placing a figure inside the map of Afghanistan, indicating the puppet nature of the president.
- Allegorical and Epic Designs: Rugs with symbolic and literary themes, drawing from Persian literature, containing allusions to contemporary events in Afghanistan.
Decline in Interest
While war rug weaving continued, some weavers returned to traditional motifs. Collectors and art dealers began to lose interest in war rugs. This decline was largely influenced by the United States. With Najibullah’s fall in 1992, the U.S. abandoned Afghanistan, cutting off aid because there was no longer a Soviet presence. International media generally forgot about Afghanistan until the mid-1990s, but attention returned with the rise of the Taliban and the emergence of al-Qaeda.
Image Description: Woven Afghan war rug with a cream background, red and green border and white tassels. The main design features a map of Afghanistan in green with rocket launchers and Kalashnikov machine guns depicted inside the map that are pointing at several armoured vehicles and helicopters shown leaving Afghanistan. The rug includes a large poppy plant and a green flag on the right. The lower third of the rug features various types of anti-aircraft guns which are labelled in English script. These include a 12.7mm M1938 DshKM heavy machine gun, known as a 'Dashika' (i.e. 'DASHAKA' on the rug) and a 14.5 ZGU-1 air defence weapon nicknamed 'Zigroat' (i.e. 'ZIGORK' on the rug). Several bands of inscriptions in English and Farsi are spaced around the rug.
Production date: 1989-2000. Made in Afghanistan or Pakistan. At The British Museum.
Third Generation: Post-9/11 Era and Global Attention (2001 onwards)
Global Events Reflected in Art
The events of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent U.S. invasion brought Afghanistan back into international focus. The third generation of war rugs began depicting the Twin Towers, the attack on the World Trade Center, and themes related to the “War on Terror.” Most of these rugs, woven after 2001, included details of these events, and many backgrounds were dedicated to American military hardware.
Commercialization and Decline in Quality
With increased demand from foreign soldiers, journalists, and aid workers in Kabul, these rugs became more commercialized. The weaving skill and materials in many new rugs declined, approaching mass production levels, with similar designs produced in large quantities with minor changes.
Design Themes and Market Influence
While English texts, often with spelling errors, continued to appear, the designs further distanced themselves from traditional balance and symmetry. For the first time, the use of media montage techniques and images from American propaganda brochures distributed in Afghanistan became evident in these rugs.
Common motifs included:
- Flags and Peace Doves: The flags of Afghanistan and the U.S. connected by a peace dove, symbolizing the U.S. bringing peace to Afghanistan.
- “War Against Terror” Rugs: Featuring the map of Afghanistan and significant locations like Tora Bora, referring to U.S. military operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
- American Military Equipment: Prominent displays of American weaponry, such as spy planes and M16 rifles, praising U.S. military strength.
The writings on these rugs reflected Western perspectives, often including phrases like “Afghans liberated from terrorists” and “Defeat of terrorism with help of America and Britain.” Previously, war rugs expressed Afghan sentiments; now they mirrored the views of American buyers.
Image Description: Woven Afghan war rug. Small rug with a beige background, deep red border and short white tassels. Depiction of the September 11 2001 (9/11) al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in New York. The scene depicts the two jetliners crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and explosions ensuing from the impact. The plane on the left represents American Airlines Flight 11 (the first plane that crashed) and the one on the right represents United Airlines Flight 175 (which crashed 17 minutes later). The tower on the left shows two people leaping from the building and a helicopter flying above. A central band features the American and Afghan flags and a white dove with an olive branch in its beak. The lower half of the rug illustrates a US aircraft carrier with jets taking off and a rocket launcher. The rug includes a number of inscriptions in English and a date.
Production date: 2003-2004. Made in Afghanistan or Pakistan. At The British Museum.
The Cultural Impact of War Rugs
War rugs serve as tangible records of Afghanistan’s turbulent history. They illustrate how prolonged conflict can permeate everyday life and artistic expression. Each generation of rugs provides insights into societal changes—from the initial resistance against Soviet forces to the complexities of internal strife, and finally, to the globalized conflicts of the 21st century.
These rugs also highlight the interplay between local traditions and external influences, showing how market demands and global events can shape artistic expression. The evolution from traditional designs to politically charged and commercially influenced motifs reflects the broader impacts of war on cultural heritage.
Image Description: Woven Afghan war rug with a peach ground, multiple cobalt blue borders, a flatweave blue border with fuschia patterns along the weft edges and short, beige tassels. Predominant colours include blue, brown, pink and green. The main design on the peach ground features a repeating pattern of an abstract floral design which incorporates four blue helicopters on the corners. A small inscription in Farsi has been incorporated on one corner of the rug (possibly the weaver's signature). The multiple blue floral borders frame the peach ground. Apart from the blue helicopters, there is very little else on the rug connected to war.
Production date: 1980-1990. Made in Afghanistan or Pakistan. At The British Museum.
The evolution of war rugs in Afghanistan underscores the profound effects of prolonged conflict on art and culture. These rugs are more than mere commodities; they are narratives woven by those who have endured the hardships of war. While they began as personal and cultural expressions of resistance and coping, over time, external influences and commercial interests have shaped their designs and purposes.
Studying war rugs offers a unique lens through which we can understand the resilience of the Afghan people, the transformation of their artistic traditions, and the broader implications of war on cultural heritage.
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