What it means
ترمه (termeh) is a luxury woven fabric, traditionally silk and wool, patterned with the boteh (paisley) and other Persian motifs in dense, glowing fields of color. It is the cloth that covers a haft-sin table at Nowruz, drapes a tea tray brought out for an important guest, and wraps the gold coin or Quran given at a wedding. Termeh is the fabric of ceremony. In a household, a piece of termeh is not used daily; it comes out for the moments that matter and is folded away again.
The center of termeh production is Yazd, in central Iran. Yazdi weavers have produced termeh continuously since at least the Safavid period, and the city’s name is bound to the cloth the way Isfahan is bound to enameled copper and Kashan to silk rugs. A piece labeled ترمه یزد (termeh-ye yazd) tells you both its origin and its claim to authenticity.
How it is used
The most visible everyday role of termeh is as a سفره (sofreh): a large rectangle laid down to define a ceremonial space. The haft-sin sofreh for Nowruz is often a termeh. The sofreh-ye aqd, the cloth at the foot of a wedding ceremony where the bride and groom sit, is frequently a termeh, sometimes a family heirloom passed daughter to daughter. Smaller termehs serve as runners across a console table, throws over the back of a sofa, or covers for a teapot kept warm.
Termeh also wraps gifts in formal Iranian etiquette. A Quran given at a wedding is wrapped in a small green termeh. A pair of gold coins for a newborn arrives in a termeh pouch. The act of unwrapping is part of the ceremony.
How to use it
madar-bozorg yek termeh-ye qadimi az yazd dare ke baraye haft-sin pahn mikone.
Grandma has an old termeh from Yazd that she lays out for haft-sin.
مادربزرگ یک ترمه قدیمی از یزد داره که برای هفتسین پهن میکنه.
quran-e arusi-ro tu yek termeh-ye sabz pichidand.
They wrapped the wedding Quran in a green termeh.
قرآن عروسی رو تو یک ترمه سبز پیچیدند.
termeh-ye yazd az nasl-e gozashte beja mande.
The Yazdi termeh has been passed down from the previous generation.
ترمه یزد از نسل گذشته به جا مانده.
Where it comes from
The word ترمه is Persian, with the same form used in modern Tajik and in Urdu (where it appears as ترما). The weaving technique is older than the name and shows clear continuity with Safavid-era silk and wool brocades. Yazd’s centrality is structural: the city sits at the edge of the desert with the wool and silk supply lines of central Iran, and its dry climate is friendly to fine textile work. The Yazd Termeh Cooperative, established in the 20th century, still operates, and pieces are produced on both hand looms and semi-mechanical jacquard looms.
In our voice
If you visit an Iranian home and a termeh is laid out, the host is signaling that this occasion is not ordinary. The cloth itself, before the food on top of it, is the welcome. If someone gives you a termeh-wrapped Quran or a termeh runner, you have been entered into the ceremonial register of their household; thank them with the same weight.
References
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