COLOUR AND SYMBOLISM IN DAGHESTAN FOLKLORE LITERATURE AND CARPETS - A FRESH LOOK
In the present article, we study more issues of color semantics and symbols. Our research is based on the analysis of mainly Daghestani folklore and ethnographic materials and colour characteristics of traditional textiles, including carpets. We examined two methods of gathering evidence about associations of colours in the minds of people. The first is to use some kind of psychological tests. The second is to use ideas incorporated in folklore and folk litera- ture, as handed down through generations of narrators and listeners. During this process, successive narrators have unconsciously filtered the material to ensure its relevance to their audience. This is clearly an indirect meth- od: nobody actually answers the questions from today's experimenter, so any colour associations must be inferred from the context. Colours in oral tradition were considered, not in isolation, but rather in contrasting pairs or in sequences. It was found that a specific colour could have different associations in different conditions, and that generally the associations were more abstract than concrete. In surviving woolen rugs and felts and silk embroideries, colours appear to be linked with availability of dyes or decorative preferences rather than symbolism.