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Old March 19th, 2018, 06:21 AM   #5
Patrick Weiler
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There are small flatweave textiles about 2'x4' or so that were used as either cradles or cradle covers by SW Persian tribes. Some retain hanging loops or what is left of them. They weren't used as tent door covers, but there are pictures of them used as cradles. Here is one from a NERS article:

By Frederik Barth.
Pictorial evidence is rare of ensis being used in situ, though a couple of etchings and photos show what may be "rugs" covering yurt entrances. Most of the pieces we have are rather short for an entrance, unless one stooped very, very low to enter.
However, it is not unusual for doors to be quite short for the purpose of defense. I have seen doors about the height of ensis in some Russian buildings of a couple hundred years of age. The idea was that someone entering would be stooped over and defenseless.
The most common assumption of today is that the vast majority of extant ensis were woven not for local use, but for sale once the railroads arrived in the late 19th century, opening markets for "tribal" goods to be shipped to metropolitan areas - exactly what occurred in the SW US with Navajo weavings around the same time frame.

Patrick Weiler
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