THE MOTHER ARCHETYPE and HANDS ON HIPS MOTIF

Abstract

Symbols have become the most important tool for the human being’s self-expression from the first cave paintings to architecture. Each symbol has formed with values such as a message, thought and wish. In the memory of almost in every culture, the definition of weaving has been done over concepts such as eternity, immortality and plentifulness, however there is scarcely any data about their starting point. Archetype concept can be used to fill in these data blanks. Archetypes, propounded by the Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, modelling the human character and collective unconscious relations, have been efficient in bringing the mythological elements to come in sight. Concepts such as great mother and mother goddess, showing similarity in many geographies, is the biggest example of the mythologies shaped with collective unconscious. Many motifs in weaving involve mythological elements. Therefore, the relation between motif and archetype will provide benefits for defining the output sources of symbols. One of the most important archetypes developed by Jung is the “Mother” archetype. The motif which corresponds to mother archetype is the Hands on Hips in Anatolian weavings. Literature survey has been conducted in this study, emphasizing the relation between one of the symbolic building blocks of Turkish weaving arts; Hands on Hips motif and the mother archetype and as a result of the study, it is surmised that mother archetype has been a precipitating element in motherhood concept in reflecting to the motifs. Key Words: Hands on Hips Motif, Mother Archetype, Weaving, Carl Gustav Jung.