YARP hello from Elise! Today I’m going to tell you about Armenian comforters and pillows because they are a natural , energy saving, warm and soft way to sleep.
For pillows, let’s start with chickens. In Armenia chickens are very important (not that other animals aren’t important, just that I’m going to tell you about chickens). In Bjni village there are a lot of them. In Armenia, people use the meat of chickens for khorovats, and the feathers for pillows (the ‘down’ feathers). First you get a pillowcase. Then you wash the feathers and stuff them in the pillowcase and you have an extra soft pillow!
Comforters are made differently. To make comforters, you need sheep. In Bjni some people keep sheep. When people sheer their sheep, they use the wool for the insides of their comforters. After they sheer the sheep, then the people wash the wool and put it out to dry. When the wool is dry, the women hit it with a long wooden stick. They hit the wool with a stick because when the stick hits the wool, the wool separates, and when it separates, air can come in. When you stuff the comforter with this wool, it becomes extra warm, energy-saving and extra soft, which is perfect for a cold winter night!
Hello Elise !
I loved your post ! Uncle Ara has told us about the comforters in Armenia as well (including how much work it is to wash them!).
We are looking for forward to seeing you SOON !
Love,
Aunt Laura, Uncle Ara, and Sammy
Hello Elise and Isabelle!
I have been enjoying reading your posts and learning about Armenia! It seems as though you are both having a great time, and working very hard!
I think that it is great how the pillows and comforters are hand-made, and that people really seem to take advantage of what they have, rather than buying things from large stores like we tend to do in the United States. Have you seen a lot of other people making things by hand to sell, rather than using large factories and special machines? What other kinds of things can you buy in the villages in Armenia?
I look forward to reading your future posts!
-Nicole
Hi Elise,
That’s a great post. When you sleep on the pillows, do you sometimes see feathers coming out of them?
Also, why do you think the down feathers are used just for the pillows and not the comforters? Conversely, why is wool used in comforters and not pillows?
-AA