The term nawmal is mainly used in Eastern Anatolia. It mainly refers to textiles, which have a wide variety of uses. In Western Anatolia, nawmal goes by another name: ortu, and in the Konya region: cirpi. They were woven until the middle of the 20th century. From 1950 onwards, production ceased and was replaced by machine production. Nawmal are essentially woollen blankets woven in narrow strips (kanat) 30 to 40 cm long and 15 to 20 metres long. The strips are then cut into 4 or 5 pieces before being joined together to form a wider blanket. These textiles have a variety of uses:
• as partitions ('walls') in tents
• as protective coverings for belongings and personal items in houses and tents
• as insulation for walls or floors
• as samples of the young women's skills in weaving and dyeing wools
Although the word nawmal is used in Eastern Anatolia, it is striking how many terms are used to designate blankets in all their variety of uses throughout the East. Depending on the region, the same terms can take on a different or new meaning. Just as sometimes the meaning remains unchanged thousands of kilometres away....
Confusions abound and one shouldn't hastily jump to conclusions when translating. Some research in each area could be helpful. Words are sometimes slightly distorted or recomposed with consonants or vowels reversed (or added). This should come as no surprise. Most of these terms have been handed down through oral tradition.