Ҡorama in Bashkir Culture: Traditions of Patchwork Mosaics and Appliqués

Introduction. The present days witness an increased interest in traditional female crafts worldwide, which makes issues of their revival and development relevant enough. Goals. The study seeks to consider the manufacturing techniques, practical use, and symbolic significance of Bashkir patchwork products in a historical perspective and in contemporary contexts. Materials and methods. The work focuses on the authors’ unpublished materials obtained during grant-supported field studies (‘Women’s World of the Ural-Volga Region: Historical and Ethnographic Studies of Traditional Bashkir Crafts’, Russian Science Foundation) and scholarly writings on material, family and household cultures of the Bashkir. To facilitate this, the comparative historical, structural semantic, and descriptive methods have been employed. Chronologically, the study covers a period from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Results. As traditional techniques with deep historical roots, patchwork mosaics and appliqués have been widely used in Bashkir household life and endowed with sacred, symbolic meanings. The practical significance was the latter would secure careful attitudes to woven fabrics, and the crafts as such would provide people with objects of material culture necessary in everyday life, such as blankets, beddings, curtains, clothing elements. Sacred meanings were manifested in the use of scraps from garments of the elderly believed to secure protection against evil forces and transmit their vitality, energy, well-being, and longevity. Meanwhile, symbolic meanings were manifested in the use of such scraps in rites and etiquette. The shape of a cloth scrap (triangle), its origin (ones to be obtained from healthy and successful long-livers), the number of such scraps have been endowed with sacral/symbolic properties. In Bashkortostan, much is being done for the development of various female crafts, including patchwork mosaic and appliqué techniques. Nowadays, patchwork is enjoying a revival to become part of contemporary textile arts. This applied art has successfully adapted to current conditions, craftswomen skillfully combine both traditional means and modern tools in their products. Patchwork pieces reflect cultural heritage at large, particular ethnic worldviews, and the creator’s individuality. Those are often exhibited at festivals and competitions.

1. Suleymanov A. M., Sultangareeva R. A. (comps.) Bashkir Folk Arts: Ritual Folklore. Ufa: Kitap, 1995. 560 p. (In Bash.).

2. Avizhanskaya S. A., Bikbulatov N. V., Kuzeev R. G. Decorative and Applied Arts of the Bashkir. Ufa: Poligrafkombinat, 1964. 260 p. (In Bash.).

3. Bikbulatov N. V., Fatykhova F. F. Bashkir Family Life, Nineteenth–Twentieth Centuries. Moscow: Nauka, 1991. 189 p. (In Russ.).

4. Borozna N. G. More on decorative amulets of Central Asia. In: Pre-Muslim Beliefs and Rites in Central Asia. Moscow: Nauka, 1975. Pp. 281–297. (In Russ.).

5. Dyrenkova N. P. Turks of the Sayan-Altai. [Collected] articles and ethnographic materials. St. Petersburg: Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (RAS), 2012. 408 p. (In Russ.).

6. Zhanaidarov O. Myths of Ancient Kazakhstan: A Children’s Encyclopedia. Almaty: Aruna, 2006. 252 p. (In Russ.).

7. Kamalieva A. S. Bashkir Costume: Technology, Construction, Decor. Ufa: Kitap, 2012. 216 p. (In Russ.)

8. Kuzeev R. G., Bikbulatov N. V., Shitova S. N. Bashkir Decorative Arts. Ufa: USSR Academy of Sciences (Bashkortostan Branch), 1979. 242 p. (In Russ.).

9. Lepekhin I. I. Daily Notes Compiled by Academician and Medicine Doctor Ivan Lepekhin during His Travels to Various Parts of the Russian State in 1770: A Continuation. St. Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1772. 359 p. (In Russ.).

10. Minibayeva Z. I. Bashkirs of Kurgan Oblast, Late Nineteenth to Early Twenty First Centuries: Folk Medicine. Cand. Sc. (history) thesis abstract. Ufa, 2011. 30 p. (In Russ.).

11. Muratova R. T. Ethnocultural symbolism of numbers in the Bashkir language. Ural-Altaic Studies. 2011. No. 2 (5). Pp. 53–70. (In Russ.).

12. Avizhanskaya S. A., Bikbulatov N. V., Kuzeev R. G. (comps.) Bashkir Folk Arts: An Album. Leningrad: Sovetskiy Khudozhnik, 1968. 110 p. (In Russ.).

13. Nebolsin P. I. Stories of a Traveler. St. Petersburg: Directorate of Military Educational Institutions, 1854. 347 p. (In Russ.).

14. Rudenko S. I. The Bashkir: Essays in History and Ethnography. Ufa: Kitap, 2006. 376 p. (In Russ.).

15. Khasanova Z. F. Chepraks and potniks for riding horses among the Bashkirs: Traditions and innovations. Izvestiya of Altai State University. 2023. No. 6(134). Pp. 73–80. (In Russ.).

16. Khisamitdinova F. G. Mythological Dictionary of the Bashkir Language. Moscow: Nauka, 2010. 452 p. (In Russ.).

17. Cheremshansky V. M. Orenburg Governorate: Economic, Statistical and Industrial Accounts. Ufa: Orenburg Governorate Executive Office, 1859. 472 p. (In Russ.).

18. Shitova S. N. Bashkir Clothing. Ufa: Kitap, 1995. 240 p. (In Russ.).

19. Shitova S. N. Folk Arts: Felts, Carpets and Fabrics of Southern Bashkirs. Ethnographic essays. Ufa: Kitap, 2006. 200 p. (In Russ.).

20. Yanbukhtina A. G. Bashkir Dwellings and Folk Decorative Traditions. Ufa: Kitap, 1993. 136 р. (In Russ.).

21. Yanbukhtina A. G. Decorative Arts of Twentieth-Century Bashkortostan: From Tamga to Avant-garde. Ufa: Kitap, 2006. 224 p. (In Russ.).