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needlework
ICH Materials 20
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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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The Art of Embroidery: Subregional Networking on Multinational NominationThe 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.\n\nEmbroidery 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.\n\nNetworking 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.\n\nAd 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.\n\nIt 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nAs 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.\n\nphoto : © Lutfiya MirzaevaYear2021NationCentral Asia
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KalpureganIntroduction\nThe vast land of Sistan and Baluchistan, the place with such a rich history associated with legends and narrations of great poets, is known as one of the few main genesis centers of pottery around the world.\n\nKalpuregan is an ancient village South of Sistan and Baluchistan Province with the most enchanting deserts, including the incredible vegetation and magnificent climate, which caused the unique lifestyle of the inhabitants that has penetrated through the veins of the culture recognized on the needlework and pottery of Kalpuregan design.\n\nThe Untold History\nHistory, as a diary of events, has recorded the origins of pottery and needlework in this region. Pottery in Kalpuregan dates to 3000 BCE, and the precise art of needlework of this region is estimated to be from 5000 BCE. In the past, only men did pottery, and women did needlework art. Today, both arts are performed by the hands of Kalpuregan women.\n\nSimilar Design and the Identity Behind\nThe art comes from the heart, and penetrates through the fingers onto the body of subjects, the warp and weft of carpets, and within the yarns of the fabric, to create forms to tell the history and the interaction between the people and their environment, to depict definitions, and identities, as the bones of the culture.\n\nLiving in the severe desert conditions has turned concepts such as alliance, integrity, and protection into the values of Kalpuregan society. The basic forms used in Kalpuregan needlework and pottery are simple geometric forms carrying a deep meaning and value, turning these spectacular arts in this ancient village so special.\n\nCircle: Represents unity and integrity and shows the connection between people and their living environment.\n\nZigzag: Represents how Baluchs stand against natural harshness, which you may not face in other ethnic groups.\n\nTriangle: Giving an offensive sense that in Baluch folk beliefs, it separates enemies and evil spirits because, in ancient beliefs, spirits are intertwined with the existence of Baluch.\n\nThe Pottery Design\nFrom the combination of the basic geometric shapes in the design of pottery, simple designs express the values among the traditional people of Kalpuregan. The values are derived from demanding lifestyles, unique living environments, failures, or wishes. Behind these forms, there are deep semantic concepts that express the depth of Kalpuregan artists’ perception of the environment and the nature of human existence and people’s tendency to self-fulfillment to reach a high level of aesthetics.\n\nThe closer he got to perfection, the more he resorted to his surrounding environment to solve his issues and became more in touch with the atmosphere. Following that, he sought to express his concepts and beliefs in nature. As a result, the combination of designs became more complex. And after combining a few simple shapes, he created more complicated forms to create abstract images of nature on artifacts to evoke the sense of being in nature.\n\nThe Needlework Design\nSince art is the reflex of human emotions and senses he receives from his living environment, it expresses the way it affects people’s thoughts.\n\nEven though they picture the environment, the way the lines and shapes are assembled are born of the artist’s mind. Among the forms created, shapes of flowers are the most used on the fabric.\n\nAlso, figures with sharp angles and triangle-based ones are common among other shapes originating from the nature and history of Sistan and Baluchistan. Especially through the people’s point of view that reminiscent of war scenes. Each line and form are the wage of the cultivation in the artist’s thought to have an abstract expression in the form of the visual structure.\n\nHow Similar but Different\nA comparison of needlework with Kalpuregan pottery shows the close relationship between these motifs. In addition to their structural similarities, in many cases, they also have common semantic domains. These characteristics are influenced by the nature, culture, beliefs, and rare wishes of Kalpuregan people. Women in both fields are the essential creators of these historical arts. Despite being inspired by nature over the centuries, these mothers, who are a symbol of birth and growth, have not limited themselves to imitating the environment and creating new designs. They are very creative. However, the role of animals is less used in both areas.\n\nSimple geometric forms are most present in various combinations due to the changes that occur through the minds of these artists. Visual qualities such as rhythm, repetition, symmetry, balance, and centralism have put both the Kalpuregan pottery and needlework art in order. In the end, the existence of many commonalities in both areas leads to the strengthening of cultural values. And will become the identity of the Baluch people in the Kalpuregan.\n\nPhoto : Kalpuregan designs © Mohammad ShirkavandYear2020NationIran