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textiles
ICH Materials 111
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Mongolian Culture and HeritageThe culture of the Central Asian steppes expresses itself vividly in the lifestyle of traditional nomadic practices. Mongolian culture has been in practice in the nomadic life and the traditions surrounding the nomad’s home (ger). And it is present in religious celebrations, national festivals, art and crafts, music and dance, language and literature, which form the backbone of Mongolian intangible cultural heritage of Mongolia. Mongolia is filled with valuable cultural properties and intangible cultural heritage of humanity that have been kept or practiced for thousands of years.\n\nGer, Mongolian Traditional Dwelling\nThe traditional architecture of the Mongols differed strongly from that of the settled peoples of Asia and other continents. Centuries ago, there the ger, also known as a yurt, appeared. It still offers shelter to nomads in particular places in Central Asia. Its development and fundamental principles are determined by the specific features of the way of life of Mongol tribes, which made it necessary to evolve a light and collapsible structure to be used as a dwelling or for public functions.\n\nMongolian Language and Literature\nMongolian is the language of most of the Mongolian population and inner Mongolia. By origin, Mongolian is one of the Altaic family of languages, and the history of the Mongolian language is long and complicated. Significant literary work of early Mongolia includes The Secret History of the Mongols, which was published in 1228).\n\nMongolian Religion and Beliefs\nThe Mongols have practiced several religions, of which Shamanism and Buddhism were the most common. The faith in Mongolia is Buddhism, though the state and religion were separated during the socialist period, but with the transition to the parliamentary republic in the 1990s, there has been a general revival of faiths across the country\n\nMongolian Art and Crafts\nMongolian arts and crafts have been passed down across generations from the Paleolithic times to today, leaving behind deep impressions on all facets of life and conscious, aesthetic, and philosophical thinking. Highly developed Mongolian arts and crafts come from the second millennium BCE. The works included sculptured heads of wild animals with exaggerated features. Other items include knives, daggers, and other items of practical and religious use.\n\nMongolian Music and Dance\nMusic is an integral part of Mongolian culture. Among Mongolia’s unique contributions to the world’s musical culture are the long songs, overtone singing, and morin khuur (the horse-headed fiddle). The music of Mongolia is also rich with varieties related to the various ethnic groups of the country. Among the most popular forms of modern music in Mongolia are Western pop and rock genres and the mass songs written by contemporary authors in the form of folk songs.\n\nHorse Culture of Mongolia\nIt is famously known that horses play a large role in the Mongols’ daily and national lives. Common sayings are, “A Mongol without a horse is like a bird without wings,” and “Mongols are born on horseback” these are arguably true words. Even today, horse-based culture is still practiced by nomadic Mongolians.\n\nVisit https://www.toursmongolia.com/tours for additional information about Mongolian culture.\n\nPhoto 1 : Prairie meadow grass inner Mongolia traditional clothing © Batzaya Choijiljav\nPhoto 2~7 : © Batzaya ChoijiljavYear2020NationMongolia
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Puppeteers of Muragachha Colony: Relearning Art, Performing Bengali TraditionA puppet festival is a public-driven performance of tradition in Muragachha Colony in the Nadia District of West Bengal, about 120 km from Kolkata. It is organized by the local people under the aegis of Banglanatak dot com, a social welfare organization. Muragachha Colony, and its neighboring village, Borboria, are home to puppeteer families who have not only plied their craft across Bengal but also traveled to many fairs and festivals across India. Masters in string puppetry, or suto putul as it is known in Bengal, they are trying their best to preserve this traditional folk theater, often referred to as putul natok or putul nach in Bengal, against stiff competition with electronic media and modern forms of amusement.\n\nMost puppeteers in these areas trace their roots to Khulna and Barishal in Bangladesh; their practice of string puppetry originated from the Kathputli of Rajasthan. According to veteran puppeteers, however, they are facing challenges as the younger generation is not keen on pursuing a life of puppetry—typically a family-driven profession—due to dwindling income.\n\nConventionally, the puppeteers travel all over the Bengal region between Durga Puja at the beginning of summer, performing at various fairs, festivals, and household functions with their portable stage and dolls. A puppet head is usually made of sholapith, a mold-able milky-white spongy plant matter, which is then painted with facial expressions that require the delicate touch of a master. Designing and tailoring the colorful and intricate puppet garments are also important.\n\nBanglanatak dot com has been working with the puppeteers for the past few years, training them to create a script and a more contemporary, more relevant stagecraft; their intervention is chiefly to provide support to revitalize Bengali puppetry in a workshop setting. This activity helps not only to discover the cultural dimensions of entertainment but also to understand the ways in which puppetry can be a tool to disseminate cultural knowledge. A writer, narrator, musicians, puppeteers, and skillful assistants work together as a team to prepare the puppet festival.\n\nWith support from the West Bengal Khadi and Village Industries Board (WBKVIB) and Rural Craft Cultural Hub—an initiative of West Bengal government’s Department of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise & Textiles (MSME&T)—in association with UNESCO, the puppet festival, Putul Naach Mela, was held for the first time from 15 to 17 December 2017 at Muragachha Colony Primary School to spread awareness about the suto putul of Bengal.\n\nPhoto : Putul against a wall between showings © Banglanatak dot comYear2018NationIndia
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Crafts of Sonipat, HaryanaHaryana is a state in the Northern part of India. The region is famous for its historic connection with the ancient Indus valley civilization, stories of Mahabharata, and the three famous battles of Panipat. The state also boasts of a rich cultural heritage and is home to the Suraj Kund Mela held in Faridabad every year, one of the largest cultural gatherings in the world.\n\nThis article focuses on the craft of basket-making undertaken by the members of Self Help Groups, functioning in Tanda village of Rai block, Sonipat district, Haryana.\n\nIndia has a long tradition of basket weaving and it is a very popular craft in rural India. Basket weaving is the process of sewing or weaving materials into a shape with a cylindrical, circular or square base. The craft of basket weaving was introduced to Haryana by women of the Multani-speaking Audh community who had migrated from Pakistan during Partition and taken up this craft as a means of supplementing their meagre earnings. Traditionally, the raw materials were the locally grown date palm; phoos, a wild grass; and pula, thin leaves of the sarkanda plant—these were made into coiled baskets intended for domestic use by the womenfolk of the household. The products include a range of round-bottomed, cylindrical, and shallow baskets with and without lids. Some of the cylindrical baskets are nearly three feet high and have lids. The leaves are also plaited into strips and formed into bags and mats. The dry palm leaves, some of which are dyed so as to achieve a coloured pattern, are wound around a bunch of phoos or pula and sewn in place by threading the leaf through the lower coil; a big blunt needle is utilized to push the leaf through. (Ranjan, Handmade in India)\n\nPyari (name of the artisan), a resident of Tanda Village originally belonging to Punjab, moved to Haryana with her family in the late 1980s. She has inherited the skills to make beautiful baskets from her mother. Pyari, called Ammi (meaning mother in Hindi) by everyone, shared her techniques to make them and how she innovates with the designs during the process.\n\nThe basic raw materials used for the craft include Sarkanda or moonj grass– a type of grass grown abundantly in Haryana during winters, Khajur leaves(date palm leaves) that are soaked in water overnight to make them soft. To make new designs, colored Khajur leaves are also used as it adds unique patterns to the baskets.\n\nPyari is proud of her traditional skills and believes that they should be continued by the next generation. She is also concerned about the sustenance of the craft as most of the young people aren’t interested in such skills and may never understand the importance of the same.\n\nIndian crafts sector is the second-largest employer in the country after agriculture and the Sonipat administration is taking many active steps to keep the cultural heritage alive. It further aims to promote handmade crafts and make them accessible at the local, district, and national levels.\n\nHaryana has a rich cultural history that reflects inter alia in its crafts, textiles, and food. What’s interesting to witness about all the above crafts is the knowledge preserved by women who are involved in continuing these crafts.\n\nphoto 1 : Pyari bai (Artisan), Tanda Village, Sonipat, Haryana © Jyoti Shukla\nphoto 2 : Map of Sonipat district in Haryana, India\nphoto 3 : Basket Makers of Punjab(Courtesy of Special Collections_University of Houston Libraries)\nphoto 4 : Pyari bai (Artisan), Tanda Village, Sonipat, Haryana © Jyoti Shukla\nphoto 5 : (Left)Sarkanda leaves / (Right) Khajur (Date palm) leaves © Jyoti Shukla\nphoto 6 : Colorful Khajur leaves © Jyoti Shukla \nphoto 7 : Sarkanda baskets in the making © Jyoti Shukla \nphoto 8 : Final products: Sarkanda baskets © Jyoti ShuklaYear2022NationIndia
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3.8. Weaving for a Better Tomorrow in NagalandHeirloom Naga is a design-based firm of Nagaland that was formed in 1992. The organization promotes and exports native Naga textiles, jewelry and artifacts. It retails at most of the high-end domestic stores in India and exports to countries such as USA, UK, France, Spain, Chile, Japan, and Germany. The design team trains the local artisan to weave designer textile products and create decorative items with their traditional crafts. The Heirloom Naga Journals documents the step-by-step process of creation behind the Heirloom Naga textile pieces and different handicraft products. The documentation team also concentrates in looking at the lives of the artisans and the traditional Naga techniques that are still being practiced in the state of Nagaland.Year2017NationIndia
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GEUMBAKJANG: GOLD APPLIQUÉGold has been long viewed and used as an ornament of preciousness and luxury. Gold is often used to decorate textiles and this process is referred to as gold appliqué. Gold appliqué has a long history in Korea, and there are several records explaining a situation where the government prohibited the use of gold appliqué during the Three Kingdoms era (4-7 CE) due to concerns about the dissipation of the country’s wealth.Year2010NationSouth Korea
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SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON RILLIThose familiar with Pakistan’s history can easily appreciate the range and variety of its hand-made textiles and the sight of a humble villager using them as everyday wear. The cloth weaving and dying tradition from the Indus Valley that originated roughly five thousand years ago has continued throughout the Middle Ages and has received a tremendous boost of encouragement with the onset of new technological developments and the introduction of new motifs while under Muslim rule.Year2010NationSouth Korea
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BLOCK PRINTING IN THE PHILIPPINESNot much is known about the history of block printing on textiles in the Philippines. Although one could safely assume that this craft found its way to the Philippines through the Sino-Philippine trade beginning in the tenth century or earlier. Or it could have been the Philippines’ pre-Hispanic interactions with the Hindu-influenced, pre-Islamic civilizations of neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia that block printing as a craft was introduced in the archipelago.Year2019NationSouth Korea
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The traditional woven carpets of the Kyrgyz peopleThe traditional carpet weaving takes a special place in the material culture of the Kyrgyz people, nomads and pastoralists of Central Asia. Its centuries-old history, customs and traditions has developed in various forms and techniques and is in demand on the market to this day. In the harsh and minimalistic conditions of nomadic lifestyle, textiles, including woven carpets, were an important part of a girl’s dowry. According to the local customs, when the bride initially arrives at her husband’s house, she decorates her new home’s interior with beautiful textiles given to her as a dowry. Different types of carpets and covers protected people from the cold, gave the home a cozy look and even functioned as furniture. They were created by the Kyrgyz women in different techniques and forms: embroidered wall panels, felted floor covers, woven lint-free and pile carpets.\n\nKyrgyz woven carpets can be divided into two types:\n1. taar or terme-taar is assembled from patterned stripes woven separately and then sewn together in the form of a bedspread or carpet. The stripes bo are woven by one craftswoman on a primitive loom using the terme or kajary techniques. The length of the patterned stripes reaches up to 20 – 25 meters; the width varies from 4 – 70 centemeters, depending on their purpose. Bo is also used to fasten together different parts of the yurt, a portable dwelling of nomadic peoples, assembled from a wooden frame and felt covers.\n\n2. The Batken, Osh and Jalal-Abad regions in the south part of Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley of Central Asia, are considered to be the birthplace of the Kyrgyz woven traditional carpets – kilems. The main business of women to this day in Margun village in Leilek district of Batken region is carpet weaving. In the villages Kulundu, Samarkandek, Toguz Bulak, Aibikeh, Chimgent, Andarak, Kok Tash, Patkhoz, Bulak Bashy, carpet weaving is also developed and practiced by local women. Usually, women weave big size carpets, which can reach 2,5x4m or 2,5x5m, on horizontal looms – duken. Woven carpets with nap – zhule kilem, lint-free – arabi kilem and mixed – pombarkyt kilem.\n\nThe preparation of yarn using an archaic spindle – iyik is the most labor intensive and time consuming action. For different types of weaving, yarn is produced of varying degrees of twist and thickness in accordance with the specific requirements. Cotton, camel and goat wool is used for the base of the carpet, where is local sheep wool is mostly used for weaving. The pile knots are nailed with a wooden comb with teeth; the pile thread is cut off with a knife, and trimmed with scissors. In the traditional Kyrgyz carpets there are 80-90 thousands knots per 1 square meter. Pile height is 6-8 mm. A large carpet is woven by several women collectively. Approximately 3-5 women can complete a big arabi-kilem in 7-8 days, jule and pombarkyt – in about 15 days.\n\nPredominant colors: all shades of red combined with blue or black. Yellow, orange, pink, green, white and brown colors are used in limited quantities. For coloring, vegetable dyes made of local plants as onion and nut peels were previously used; since the end of the 19th century – aniline. Carpets are decorated with geometric, floral and horn-like patterns. The main ornamental motifs are: kaykalak – curl, tai tuyak – foal’s hoof, bychak uchu – knife tip, it taman – dog’s paw, ala monchok – variegated bead, boru gozu – wolf eye, jyldyz – star, etc.\n\nBy the beginning of the 21st century, weaving crafts in Kyrgyzstan almost had disappeared. Cheap machine-made synthetic carpets mostly imported from China and Turkey had practically ousted labor-intensive and expensive traditional carpets and strips made locally of natural raw materials. Nevertheless, hand-made carpets are still sold in the markets of Isfana, Batken and Kulundu villages. The main consumers are the locals of the Ferghana Valley, who appreciate them for traditional aesthetics. Prices for the dowry carpets at the market vary: 180-200 USD – for arabi, and 600 USD – for jule. The interest among local population to the traditional woven carpets increased due to the shyrdak, traditional Kyrgyz felt carpet, becoming the most successful craft product at the local touristic and export markets. In 2012 shyrdak was inscribed into the UNESCO List of ICH under the danger of disappearance.\n\nThe Crafts Council of Kyrgyzstan with the support of local administration is training of various traditional weaving technologies to the young generation of weavers in rural areas of the Kyrgyz Republic. International organizations support rural craft communities and cooperatives to create new working places, buy necessary equipment and train in both business management and marketing. This helps Kyrgyzstan to reach the UN goals of Millennium: to decrease poverty and safeguard traditional culture.\n\nPicture 1: A piled floor carpet in “jule” technique, size: 2.5x5m. Materials: sheep wool, goat wool (for the base); natural dyes: moraine, indigo, walnut. 1950s. Kulundu village, Batken region, Kyrgyz Republic. © Dinara Chochun\nPicture 2: A wall cover made of the woven patterned stripes in “kajary” technique. 1990s. Jalal-Abad region, Kyrgyz Republic. © Dinara Chochun\nPicture 3: A craftswoman weaves a patterned stripes using the “terme” technique, in the circle of a rural community on summer pastures. 1990s. Alai district, Osh region, Kyrgyz Republic. © Dinara ChochunYear2022NationKyrgyzstan
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The Tradition of Acheik Weaving in MyanmarIn Myanmar, people wear traditional clothes, prominently acheik longyi (skirt) in events such as weddings, novitiation ceremonies, and national gatherings. When you find a lady wearing acheik longyi abroad, she is certainly from Myanmar. Myanmar people regard acheik textiles an important aspect of the identity of the people of Myanmar, representing tradition and practice of a thriving culture.\n\nLuntaya acheik is an indispensable item that projects the social status of women. The term lun means shuttle and taya means a hundred. Acheik, on the other hand, means connect, and it is also the term for tapestry weaving methods. So luntaya achiek is a kind of woven cloth with threads crossing under and over each other on plain textile using many shuttles. Acheik textiles have flourished since the nineteenth century CE. During the ancient period, achiek was used for royal costumes; ordinary people were not allowed to wear achiek. The highest ranking officials, royal services, and merchants could only wear achiek if the king rewarded them. Until now, achiek workshops are mainly based in Amarapura, Sagaing, and Mandalay in upper Myanmar.\n\nFor the weaving process, three of four raw silk threads are twisted tightly with the aid of a machine for tautness and smoothness. After that, silk-woven faces are removed by washing in boiling nut soap liquid. This step helps the fabric become softer than ordinary silk thread. While boiling the silk, colors can be added to dye the thread. And then, the dyed threads are washed with water and placed under the sun to dry. For weaving, the silk threads are kneaded onto bobbins, and then the bobbins are attached to the loom; the weavers will then weave the desired achiek patterns. Between one hundred and three hundred small bobbins are used to weave intricate and complex acheik designs. Traditional acheik have a lot of names according to the designs, depending on the color usage and the number of small bobbins. There are fifty-two kinds of classic achiek designs, and they are expensive as it takes many days of manual labor to produce achiek textiles.\n\nNowadays, cotton and silk are mixed and Achiek designs are modified to produce cheaper versions by weaving machine. Though handmade achiek textiles are expensive, Myanmar ladies proudly wear this classic design textile pattern for both special social and religious occasions. Since Myanmar people have worn acheik designs during special events and ceremonies since ancient times until today, Myanmar acheik continues to be a living heritage. The weaving practitioners relentlessly transmit their knowledge and skills to the young generation.\n\nPhoto 1 : Acheik fabrics CCBYSA3.0 Wagaung/Wikimedia\nPhoto 2 : Weaving acheik,/em> with small shuttles ⓒ La pyae\nPhoto 3 : Acheik weavers ⓒ La pyae\nPhoto 4 : Wearing acheik in a ceremony ⓒTheint kanmaYear2018NationMyanmar
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Interconnectedness of Culture and Craft (Tais) in Timor-LesteCeremonial cloth known as tais (traditional handcraft) has been woven in Timor-Leste for generations. Weaving traditions are considered key social functions for strengthening familial bonds. Textiles handcrafts are an invaluable expression of traditional knowledge and East Timorese culture. The designs and techniques to produce textiles have been handed down matrilineal lines recording a woven narration of the culture, lore, paradigms, and stories of Timor-Leste’s history.\n\nTraditional textile cloths are traditionally given by one Timorese woman to another as a mark of respect or symbol of repentance. From Timorese ancestors’ time, a woman learns how to make tais so that when she gets married, she can make tais for ceremonies or to sell in the barter market. Meanwhile tais led important role for Timorese children, and the local knowledge has been transmitted across generations. In Timor-Leste, transmitting weaving knowledge from mother to daughter is interwoven within a cultural system of collaboration and respect, where women, men, and young people work together to share cultural practices in a way that benefits the entire community.\n\nTais place a significant value on the process of feto-sa and umane in Timor-Leste’s cultural context (relationships between two families having marriage, and they establish a bond of obligation between the marrying families). Tais were also used on occasions such as funerals and kore-metan ceremonies (funeral anniversaries usually held one year after death).\n\nBoth dyeing and weaving are intimate social processes, usually done by a group of women. Women who are isolated in villages both socially and economically usually work together as team to work on obtaining a common goal. This reflects a broader social structure in Timor-Leste, where people once built their societies on a system of connectedness and community, a set of values and beliefs surrounding kinship, ceremony, spirituality, and weaving. The weaving, wearing, and use of the textiles are essential to the Timorese sense of being and was a way of asserting their differences in the past.\n\nWaving Techniques\nThe designs and color used to make a tais vary. For instance, in eastern part of Timor-Leste tais is mainly woven from cotton using a combination of plain weave and ikat techniques. Ikat is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarn prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. In ikat the resist is formed by binding individual yarn threads or bundles of yarn with a tight wrapping applied in the desired pattern (ikat means “to bind” in the Indonesian language). Long, narrow panels of cloth often take months or years to complete. Concern with the dyeing process, usually the giant pestle is used to pound leaves and bark for a new batch of natural dyes.\n\nIn the western part of the country, weavers have used a tapestry weaving technique called mnaisa to weave small sections of belts for the past four years, which is the overall process of using natural dyes.\nIn tradition, the colors chosen for any one cloth depend on the occasion and where it will be worn. In the villages, weavers use endemic plants to color hand-spun cotton; however, the lack of raw material for dyeing and increasing availability of polyester fibers and synthetic dyes are changing the way tais is made.\n\nThe practice of the weaving traditions have declined dramatically due to globalization and post-conflict isolated conditions in Timor-Leste. The lack of participation of young peoples on the weaving process and the lack of the society awareness and government support to enact ICH as a priority national action plan has created challenges on pursuing safeguarding implementation.\n\nPhoto 1 : The Kingcraft, Tais weaving in Timor-Leste Ⓒ i0.wp.com/thekindcraft.com\nPhoto 2 : Baucau weaver, East part of Timor-Leste Ⓒ Abraão Ribeiro MendonçaYear2020NationTimor