THE TABLE

Muserref when asked if she has something in her home that she might like to talk about, directly points a small, white table which stands by the wall in her living room. She seems to be in the need of looking at the table while talking about it as if she is reading a textbook whose secret letters could only be seen and interpreted by her. The moment she starts talking is the one when the very being of the table in the living room starts to come forth as a narration. From that on, the useful object (which still serves for eating, drinking or reading newspapers) extends its physical and material boundaries, and emerges as a container of meaning and memories which, unless being narrated by its owner, remains silent. “Often the meaning of a particular object is completely unrecognizable to anyone but the woman who keeps it and knows the stories it holds.” (3) Such possessions are claimed to function as “a visible diary” which are written in a very subjective manner that unless revealed by the keeper they cannot be figured out.
Muserref says that the table is very important for her as it was bought by her father and given to her youngest son as a present in the eve of a separation in the family. The value of the table, therefore, stems from the memories of a beloved father who passed away thirty years ago and the pain of a separation which, after all those years, still seems to be alive. She also mentions the ultimate attention she pays for keeping this fifty-five-years-old table ‘one piece.’ She says she warns the guests for not to hold it carelessly as she fears that it may be broken down and paints it from time to time in order to enable a fresh look. This particular narration of an old, wooden table reveals the character of a common practice among women in the sense that they preserve and protect personally and collectively meaningful objects in their domestic surroundings.

THE CORNER

Müge and her museum-like ‘corner’ in her living room is another example that strikingly illustrates how women keep and cherish objects in their homes. Even though there are so many objects that might be narrated, only three of them are selected within the limits of the video. One is a Singer sewing machine which used to belong to Müge’s mother in-law, the other is a hand-made shawl given by her grandmother and a worn magazine in which one of her father’s short stories was published.
She says that “when these things are around me, I feel myself as if I am still together with them.” The previous owners of these objects all passed away and it seems that these objects, in a way, substitute for those who are not present anymore. It is significant to note that while speaking she has the habit to touch her objects as if she connecting to those beloved ones through their objects. She says “there are traces; traces of people, traces of their hearts… All these objects are filled with memories. Whenever I look at them, I try to figure out what their feelings are. I wonder if my grandmother is sad or happy, in pain or in anger while making this shawl.”

THE RUG

Women are the archivists of their own lives and the lives of the beloved ones, and they are, in a sense, the purveyors of heritage. (4)Here is another example that expresses briefly the role women play regarding the heritage that is kept from generation to generation.
Necla says that her mother gave each of her seven children a rug as a trousseau. These rugs were made by her mother (she even painted the ropes by herself) during her pregnancy. This particular rug was made when her mother was pregnant (to her), waited all those years and finally was given to her when she was about to get married. She says that she and her youngest brother’s wife are the only ones who keep their rugs. She mentions how regretful the rest are now as their mother passed away and no one can make it again.

THE CLOWN

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THE BOX

Gizem, the youngest of the overall participants, is the owner of a ‘memory box’ in which several photographs, a piece of hair, stones, letters and notes are placed. A very special gift, two wooden figures symbolizing her (the shorter) and her boyfriend (the longer) came inside of this box as a birthday gift from her boyfriend. The wooden figures in a dancing position are now displayed in her living room and the box serves as a special container of everything related with her boyfriend and the love in between them. She says that “after I got the box, I started to collect everything he gave to me.” On the top of the box, which actually is a shoe box, there is a photograph of these figures glued to it and this makes the box itself something unique and valuable for her.
“In many instances, smaller items are nested within special containers, which are often keepsakes in themselves but which also contain other valued possessions.” (Cairns & Silverman, XIV) Here, Gizem’s box is valuable for her because, on one hand, it was the container of her most praised object (the wooden figures) and, on the other hand, it is now the container of other valuable objects.