Elements
Culture of Çay (tea), a symbol of identity, hospitality and social interaction
marks_1
-
Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00002501 Country Turkey,Azerbaijan ICH Domain Oral traditions and representations Social practices, rituals, festive events Knowledge and practices about nature and the universe Traditional craft skills Address Azerbaijan: Tea culture is present in all regions of the country, both in rural and urban areas. Communities practice tea culture both within families and in special places for tea drinking called “çayxana”, which are scattered in cities and villages all over the country. The craftspeople making tools and materials for tea culture live mostly in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba and Ganja. Farmers grow tea is southern regions of Azerbaijan, especially in Lankaran (where it was first grown in 1896), Astara, Masalli, as well as in Zagatala (northwest of the country). Turkey: The element is known and practiced almost in all geographical regions of Turkey including rural and urban areas. Teahouses and tea gardens are the specific places located almost in all regions of Turkey, where tea is served at any time of day and people meet, converse, share news, read books and socialize. Especially Rize, Trabzon, Artvin, Giresun and Ordu are the provinces located in Eastern Black Sea Region where tea cultivation is the most intense. There are approximately 850 thousand decares tea plantations and over 205 thousand farmers in that region. Amasya and Samsun are the provinces where samovar is mostly made by coppersmiths. Gümüşhane and Erzurum are the provinces located in Eastern Anatolia Region where communities drink tea in “kıtlama” style.
| Description | Tea culture is an essential part of social and cultural life and is an important social practice aiming to show hospitality, celebrate important moments in lives of communities and helping them to build and maintain social relationships and enjoy moments by drinking tea for social exchange and interaction. It also represents knowledge, traditions and skills linked to cultivating, preparing and drinking tea by communities in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Tea is an agricultural plant the leaves and buds of which are used to make beverage. Tea plant transforms into dried leaves after steps such as plucking, withering, disruption, oxidation and drying. Although there are different types and brewing techniques in both countries, communities harvest and consume mostly the black tea. Traditional techniques used in preparing and harvesting tea led to development of special tools and vessels such as teapots, samovars, silver tray, woven tea baskets and tea plucking shear. Communities brew tea by using a great variety of kettles, produced in traditional craftsmanship, called “çaydan” or “çaynik” in Azerbaijan, a double container called "çaydanlık" (tea pot) in Turkey and samovar in both countries. Water is boiled in the larger pot and tea leaves are added to the smallest pot. Samovar is a traditional copper, clay, metal or brass container used to heat and boil water for brewing tea in smaller teapot, which is put on samovar. This method allows people to drink tea as they desire: strong or light. In rural areas especially, communities use metal samovars or “çaydanlık” heated with wood. Tea is traditionally served in special pear-shaped cups called “armudu” (literally, “pear-like”), made from glass, porcelain, faience, and silver in Azerbaijan and similarly small tulip-shaped glass, which is called “ince belli bardak” (thin waist glass) in Turkey. Communities traditionally serve tea freshly, brewed and hot, accompanied with various sweets, pastry, sugar, slices of lemon, jams and dried fruits. In different regions of Azerbaijan, communities also add local spices and herbs to tea, such as cinnamon, ginger and thyme. There is a special style of drinking tea with sugar called “kıtlama” or “dishleme” in both countries. In this style, tea is drunk by placing a piece of sugar between tongue and chin instead of pouring sugar directly into glass. |
|---|---|
| Social and cultural significance | Communities consider drinking tea as a ‘ritual’, creating mood, leading to friendly, open-hearted atmosphere. Through the tea culture, communities celebrate important moments, build and maintain social relationships and use serving and drinking tea as a cornerstone of socialization and expression of hospitality. Communities drink tea all day long. When breakfast is ready, people say: “tea is ready”. In tea houses and tea gardens friends meet, people communicate and share their daily problems. There is tradition among women to meet at “teatime”. In every home and workplace, a pot of tea is always brewing and ready to be offered. In rural areas, samovars accompany gelin hamami (bridal shower in Turkish bath) for the bride and her friends. Visitors bring packets of tea and sugar to funeral home to express solidarity. It is accepted that color of tea indicates its quality and has different meanings. Drinking steeped tea instead of light one is a symbol for the end of childhood and the start of adolescence for children. In Turkey, the guest puts a spoon on the glass to imply that he/she does not want to drink more tea. In Azerbaijan, they say that a person becomes a poet at tea. Tea is also an attribute of matchmaking among Azerbaijanis. The answer of the bride’s parents is given to the matchmakers through tea: if tea with sugar is offered to the matchmakers, it would imply that parents agree on the wedding; if tea is served without sugar - chances for marriage are very low. In the Eastern Black Sea Region (Turkey), tea culture guides the life of tea farmers. Tea was given to the district names like “Çayeli” and “Çaykara”. Here, people refer to tea as 'green gold' since its significant presence in economic life and plan social events (e.g wedding or circumcision ceremonies) after harvest time. Tea culture led to many poems, stories, folk songs, epics, hymns, legends, proverbs, riddles, rhymes, jokes and idioms. A proverb in Turkey is ‘A conversation without tea is like a sky at night without a moon.’ Another proverb from Azerbaijan is linked to hospitality: “How people serve tea with in Azerbaijan? In Sheki-with a joke; in Baku-with smile, in Lenkoran-with respect; in Tovuz-with greatness, in Ganja-with wisdom, in Shusha-with pride, in Aghdam with music and everywhere- with kindness.” |
| Transmission method | The knowledge, skills and practices related to the tea culture and tradition transmitted today mostly informally through orally, observation and participation. Besides family consumption in houses, tea houses and tea gardens, as cultural places, play a significant role in communication and provide an environment for transmission of this tradition to the next generations. Non-governmental organizations and associations related the culinary arts organize brewing and serving tea workshops mostly attended by women and youth. Tea is the most widely cultivated plant in Eastern Black Sea Region (Turkey) and small-scale family enterprises are common in the area. Practitioners harvest tea plantations three times a year and generally use traditional ways of plucking tea by hand or shear, as machine harvesting can damage the leaves. Experienced family members and practitioners transmit their knowledge and skills concerning the traditional tea plucking methods to the younger generations through non-formal transmission in the region. Children go to the tea fields with their parents, experience and learn by observation and ‘by doing’. Apart from non-formal transmission there are tea expertise departments at universities and the chambers of agriculture that organize courses for the people who want to engage in tea cultivation in a professional way. Manufacturers and craftspeople of the tools and utensils for brewing and serving learn their craftsmanship in master-apprentice relationship. Coppersmiths transmit the knowledge of making samovar, tea tray and tea shear to the apprentices through informal practical trainings. Tea basket makers live near the places where tea is cultivated. They know how to use the local raw materials like wood, bamboo and wicker and transmit this knowledge and techniques to young apprentices. The tea culture is also formally transmitted in vocational and apprenticeship schools, public education centers, where practitioners and instructors, in specific courses, demonstrate the skills related to the preparing tea, adding additional ingredients and preparing pastries served with the tea simultaneously to a group of trainees/students, who memorize stages of preparation and techniques. |
| Community | There are different communities related to the Çay (tea) culture. The element is present among all communities, groups and individuals (men and women) at homes, workplaces, teahouses and tea gardens in Azerbaijan and Turkey. Tea farmers living in the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey and in the southern regions of Azerbaijan also represent a part of the concerned communities. The communities of the element also include owners and people working in traditional tea houses, which are considered places of social interaction of tea culture. These are called “çayxana” in Azerbaijani and “çay ocağı” in Turkey. Manufacturers and craftspeople of tools, materials and utensils for the element, such as tea glasses, teapots, teaspoons, boilers and samovar, tea baskets, trays and tea plucking shears are also concerned groups of the element. In Azerbaijan and Turkey, some practitioners, tea-makers and craftspeople are also members of non-governmental organizations, associations and public unions. |
| Type of UNESCO List | Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |
| Incribed year in UNESCO List | 2022 |