Posted by W. Kenneth Thompson on November 28, 1998 at 17:35:09:
Erol Abit's excellent discussion of the meaning of the Turkish salachak vs salincak raises another possibility. There is an archaic Turkish word "salacak" or "salaca" (the "c" is pronounced like the 'j' in 'jump' and the 'k' can be lost as a guttural). My old Redhouse Dictionary gives two definitions: "1. slab on which corpses are placed for washing. and 2. bier on which a corpse is borne." The latter could make sense. We read a lot about Turkoman wedding weavings and a bit about prayer rugs, but nothing about death and funeral rites. Logically there would be special pieces for funerals. Does anyone know anything about Turkoman funeral practices and whether they involve weavings? Erol Abit's observation that the shape in 3-d suggests something might be under the salacak makes me wonder if that "something" might have been a coffin. The shape would be about right. Any thoughts? Ken Thompson