Kispet word comes from the arabic word “Kisvet” and it means the clothing worn on the portion of the body below the waist. The first of all items each wrestler needs before wrestling is the clothing (Kispet). The belt of the clothing, made of leather from water buffalo, water buffalo calf or calf, is four fingers’ width, and thick. It consists of Kispet, kasnak, hazne, arka, oyluk, paça, şiraze and ayna parts.
The trousers (kispet) worn by wrestlers as an important symbol of creativity in the field of handicrafts, made from the hides of healthy animals, reach from the waist to below the knee and have tight cuffs. This special article of clothing worn by wrestlers at the festival exhibits the fine handiwork of a small number of craftsmen. İrfan Şahin posses extensive knowlenge and skills in making kispet, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism proclaimed him to be a “Living Human Treasure” at a ceremony conducted in 2012.
Kispet (clothing) and Kispet mastery from our traditional handicrafts constitute a very important dimension of oil wrestling. The oldest one among famous Kıspet masters in Turkey is Nazif Master. The others are Yeşil Hafız, Mehmet Master from Talaşeli, Hidayet Başsaraç from Balıkesir and his apprentice İrfan Şahin from Biga, Mehmet Derse from Biga, and Uğur Kesen from Samsun.
