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Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00000047 Country Tajikistan ICH Domain Oral traditions and representations Social practices, rituals, festive events Knowledge and practices about nature and the universe Traditional craft skills Address The art of chakan embroidery is spread mainly in Kulob, Vose, Muminabad, Danghara, Farkhar, Khovaling, Shurabad, Mirsaid-ali Hamadani districts of Khatlon region of Tajikistan. Kulob city is considered the center of chakan crafts women. As the result of migration of many families of Kulob district to western districts of Khatlan in 1930-40’s, chakan embroidery art was partially distributed among population of Vakhsh valley of Khatlon. In the past two decades as a result of development of information and communication technolgoies (ICTs), the craft of chakan embroidery and embroidered products are widely spread in other regions of Tajikistan. Similar to chakan there are some other embroidery arts in Hisar valley, Sugd, and Badakhshan of Tajikistan and as well as in neighbor to Tajikistan region Surkhandarya oblasts of the Republic of Uzbekistan. But the art of chakan embroidery differs with its distinctive style of sewing and ornaments.
| Description | The art of chakan embroidery is a kind of sewing ornaments, image of flowers and symbolic drawings with colorful threads on cotton or silk fabrics. Chakan embroidery is used to decorate women’s shirts, pillows, bed spreads, head scarves, towels, curtains and coverlets for cradles. In the chakan embroidery art, there are symbolic depictions and mythological images related to the surrounded nature and cosmos, which express people’s wishes and hopes. Each ornament has special name and meaning, for example, pomegranate flower, willow leaves, almond, tulip, cockscomb, nightingale, peacock’s tail, moon, star, sun, cloud and so on. Process of chakan embroidery consists of selection of textile and threads, drawing ornaments, doing the needlepoint images, and sewing clothes. The threads were prepared in the past from cotton and silk fibers, and colored them with natural paints prepared with some kinds of plants and minerals. Now, chakan dress makers use fabric threads for needlework. In the Khatlon region chakan shirt is an important dress of brides. Every bride should have chakan embroidered curtain and pillows as well. Grooms during wedding ceremony will put on tāqi – the national skulp-cap with chakan embroidery. In houses of the Khatlon are hang chakan embroidered needlework curtains. During the traditional festival and holy days Tajik women and girls wear chakan dress. Musical folklore groups and dancing ensembles of Tajikistan widely use chakan embroidered dress in the scene. Annualy in Tajikistan are held festivals and competitions of traditional costumes titled "Jilvai chakan". |
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| Social and cultural significance | The art of chakan embroidery has served key functions in the related communities for the past few centuries. Firstly, the art of chakan embroidery is a means of producing dress and other household products like curtain, pillow, table-cloth and etc. Chakan designed articles today are widely used among Tajik women. Secondly, chakan embroidery and sewing art is a good source of income. The crafts women of Kulob city and surrounding districts employed by the dress making firms make income from curtain sales. Individually crafts women sell their products in the bazaar or at the dress shops. Also chakan embroidery art is considered as an elemental part of national identity of Tajiks. Crafts women and local people wear chakan dresses with pride and devotion to their country and culture. people dress up in the chakan embroidered clothes in festivals, competitions, musical programs, weddings, celebrations and holidays. In Tajikistan regularly are held festival-contests of folk art and traditional crafts “Taronai chakan”, “Chakomai gesu” and “Andaleb”. Showcasing traditional chakan embroidered dresses is an important part of the contest. Crafts women have pride that their products are in the centre of attention of population of country. The chakan also promotes socialization and improves relationships among people in the community. Today many women in the Khatlon region have unemployment problems, and they are gathering up to engage in chakan embroidery and sewing. Women come together to talk to each other, tell stories, and sing folksongs, which help them to spend their time lively and keep themselves from physical tiredness. |
| Transmission method | Knowledge and skills related to the chakan embroidery till today are transmitted in two traditional ways. The first way of its transmission runs vertically within the family. In the families young generations learn the art of chakan embroidery from mothers, grand-mothers, and elder sisters. Girls usually start observing their mothers or sisters' work of embroidery since 8-9 years old. The second way of its transmission runs horizontally, which is called "ustod-shogird" (master-student). In the group work old and skilled seamstress women teach girls of 16-20 years old the finesse of embroidery, selecting the colors of threads and ornaments, drawing pictures on fabric, and sewing in general. Paintings of chakan ornaments also are taught in art schools and colleges. For example, a group of school girls in the Children Art School of the Kulob city learn chakan embroidery craft. Every year 8-10 school girls accomplish this specialization and continue study at art colleges and Technological University of Tajikistan. Some of them after finishing the school collaborate with chakan seamstress groups. As well as some firms and non-governmental organizations such “Hunarmand”, “Chakan” and “Duzanda” play active roles in the transmission of knowledge and skills of chakan embroidery art. International Fund of Craftsmen “Haft paikar” closely collaborates with local chakan masters and carries out master-classes of chakan embroidery for young women. |
| Community | In Tajikistan, the Chakan embroidery tradition is widepread among women and girls. Women and girls of many streets of Kulob city and surrounded villages and districts organized informal independent working groups. Women in the neighborhood come together almost everyday to each other’s houses and spend their time sewing chakan. For example, a group of women from Kakimov street in Kulob consisted of 12 women of 30-50 years old and their daughters aged 17-21. Savronbi Hasanova is the leader of group and bring together her colleages in her house 5 days per week. In the capital city Dushanbe, the communities concered with the element are placed in the special working places so called ‘Art houses’. In such working places are working young women under sewing masters. In the Kulob city since 2005, there is a non-governmental firm ‘Chakan’, where 50 women and girls work with masters of chakan sewing. |
| Type of UNESCO List | Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |
| Incribed year in UNESCO List | 2018 |
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DI00001080
The Art of Embroidery: Subregional Networking on Multinational Nomination
The art of embroidery is one of the ancient traditions of applied and decorative arts in Central Asia. The uniqueness and beauty of Central Asian embroidery, the abundance and diversity of its ornaments and techniques testify to the rich traditions of this art. Embroidery is widespread mainly in trade and handicraft cities and large villages along the Silk Roads in Central Asia. Each existing traditional schools have a unique symbol, style and color balance based on local knowledge and social practices. Embroidery is common activity among women in Central Asia. Traditionally, women and girls embroider individually and in groups. Embroidery is passed down from generation to generation, mainly from mother to daughter, in the form of master-apprentice schools. Indigenous population in Central Asia wear embroidered items, it serves as a symbol of their devotion to their homeland and culture. It is especially found at craft fairs, festivals, contests, weddings and social festivities. Networking on elaboration of the multinational nomination “The Art of Embroidery” in Central Asia was initiated by the NGO “Living Heritage” of Uzbekistan (“Umrboqiy Meros”) in May 2019. Main objectives of the networking were to strengthen collaboration among scholars and artisans in Central Asia and to promote joint safeguarding activities by inventory of traditional schools on art of embroidery in Central Asia. Ad hoc working group has been created, which consisted of representatives from ICH stakeholders (governmental and non-governmental organizations, artisans and scholars) from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Offline and online meetings of the working group were organized from May 2019 to March 2020 on the monthly basis. In every meeting experts exchanged views on current status, development perspectives and safeguarding challenges of the art of embroidery in their countries. It has been observed that element is practiced and transmitted almost in all the regions of three countries: Uzbekistan (especially in the centers of artistic embroidery such as Djizak, Fergana, Namangan, Nukus, Nurata, Bukhara, Samarkand, Shakhrisabz, Urgut, Tashkent, as well as other rural areas), Tajikistan(mostly in Dushanbe, Khujand, Kulob, Istaravshan, Bokhtar, Panjakent, Hisar, Gharm, Darvaz, Khorogh, as well as other cities and regional centres) and Kazakhstan (Eastern/Altay, South-Eastern/Almaty and Nothern/Mangystau and since last century in Western parts of the country). Annually, traditional textile festivals in Central Asia are being organized in Kazakhstan (“Korpefest”, “Kazakhstan oneri”, “Altyn sapa”), Uzbekistan (“Atlas Bayrami”, “Silk and Spices”, “Altin Kul”, “Raks Sekhri”, “Boysun Bahori”) and Tajikistan (“Diyori husn”, “Taronai Chakan”, “Idi Atlas”), where many masters from these countries and also from various regions of Central Asia participate and display their handmade art products. This kind of cultural events are proper places for exchanging knowledge and establishing dialogue among societies, groups and individual masters. The multinational nomination “Traditional embroidery of Central Asia” was successfully completed and submitted to the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in March 2020 by the National Commission of Uzbekistan for UNESCO. The nomination will be examined by the ICH Intergovernmental Committee in 2022. As follow up activity, following institutional members of the working group became coordinators for ICHCAP/IICAS Survey Project on Silk Roads Handicrafts Workshops, which was started in July 2021: Kazakhstan National Committee for the Safeguarding of the ICH, Institute of Culture and Information of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan and NGO “Living Heritage” of Uzbekistan. photo : © Lutfiya Mirzaeva
LUTFIYA MIRZAEVA 2021 -
DI00000332
TAJIK EMBROIDERY
Embroidery is an ancient decorative and applied art of the Tajiks that is used for decorating dresses and homes. In the Tajik language, embroidery is gulduzi, which is understood as the process of using colorful threads to sew ornaments, flower images, and symbolic drawings on cotton or silk fabrics. Tajik embroidery practitioners are women. Embroidery art masters sew women’s shirts, men’s and women’s national caps, pillows, bedspreads, headscarves, towels, curtains, cradle coverlets, and wall decorations, known locally as suzani.
Laylo Nosirova Senior Researcher, Research Institute of Culture and Information Dilshod Rahimov Head of the Department of ICH, Research Institute of Culture and Information 2018