Greetings, friendly viewers,
and welcome to
A Journey through
Aesthetics Realms
on Supreme Master
Television.
Today, in the first
of our two-part series
on the art of weaving,
we will visit
several countries
to learn more about
their wonderful
cloth making traditions.
Whether it is creating
cotton fabric
or bamboo baskets,
the art of weaving is
an ancient practice
of interlacing
one-dimensional threads
into two-dimensional
objects.
The oldest woven artifacts
have been dated back to
around 5000 BCE,
and were excavated
from archeological sites
in Egypt, Switzerland,
and Peru.
In fact, cloth-making
techniques and tools
existed in
many early civilizations
around the globe.
Weaving is not only
carried out to produce
clothing and household
items, but also practiced
in many cultures as a way
to record mythical tales
and historical events.
In addition, it has been
widely employed
as a form of craft
that expresses
the aesthetic values
of the weavers
through their choices
of colors, patterns,
motifs, and designs.
Although the modern
textile industry has been
transformed with
the invention of highly
automated machinery
and synthetic threads,
handmade products
with natural materials are
still preferred by many.
Let’s now go to
the Golden Hands Festival
in Istanbul, Turkey
to find out about their
traditional cloth weaving.
Hallo. Welcome.
We are coming
from Moda Yeşiyurt.
We participated in
the Golden Hands Festival
in İstanbul.
We are very happy
to present our work here.
Right now,
on our handloom
is the weaving
we have been making;
it is natural, 100% cotton,
100% handmade,
from beginning to end.
Right now, there are
so many synthetic products
in the market, and
the things that are retro
and cotton are in demand.
Whether
it is the popular scarves
or decorative house items,
the motifs and colors
of Turkish woven textiles
carry profound
cultural meanings.
Tulip is an example
which dates back
to the Ottoman Empire.
It is an example
which is used as a motif.
In particular,
I like this color, red,
the color of our Turkish flag.
This is the rose pattern
that represents love.
Because we are Muslims,
in our religion,
rose is the kind of flower
that our Prophet loves most.
On our fabric,
we work on the signatures
of the sultans.
This is the signature
of Mahmut II.
It is used as a seal,
and it is very popular.
And also,
everything that is natural
gives human beings
much calmer,
much nicer feelings.
We like to work
with pastel colors,
to gain people’s admiration.
It is necessary
to reach the souls.
It is necessary to understand
people’s feelings.
Weaving techniques
can be adjusted to satisfy
a variety of needs
and create
more comfortable clothing.
When you weave
the fabric densely,
then the fabric
becomes coarser.
In order to give it
a softer and silky look,
we weave more sparsely.
In any case,
after it is washed,
it becomes more vibrant
and denser.
We are
from the Aegean Region.
We are from Muğla.
Our yarns are first quality
Aegean cotton.
When we are wearing this,
we feel very light,
very comfortable,
because this is
completely pure cotton.
There is no other
ingredient in it.
I mean
it makes you feel fresh.
It also lets the wind through;
you know
the fabric is not dense.
The creation
of comfortable clothing
involves weaving
on the loom.
Despite slight
regional differences,
the method
of fabric production
is similar across cultures.
Please follow our camera
to the HASDER
Folk Arts Institute,
a non-profit organization
in Cyprus, to find out more.
Hallo and welcome!
My name is Yıldız Acaröz.
I have been working
at HASDER since 2002.
Here, we are doing
weaving works.
We have students,
we are giving courses.
Our goal is to revive
the past, to promote and
cherish the old products
in Cyprus.
The tool you see here
is our weaving loom.
We are wrapping
the threads
we use on the loom,
winding it around
a spinning wheel.
Let me show
our spinning wheel,
it is in the back.
We wrap the bobbins
around it.
We assemble them
on our shuttle
and weave them here.
On this bench, we can do,
for example, chest covers,
trestle covers, curtains,
and various products.
On the other bench,
we produce products
in the weaving style
we call “peşkir.”
They are thinner.
We are warping
the main threads.
The hardest part
is preparing this warp
and assembling it
on the benches.
This consumes
a lot of time and effort.
After that comes
the easiest part: weaving.
Here, depending on
which hand
we have the shuttle in,
we press with the foot
on the opposite side.
On our other stand,
the shuttle and the foot
work in the same way.
The stand
where Karpaz weaving
is produced
works differently.
Hands and feet
work reversely.
Here we hold the shuttle
with the right hand and
press with the left foot.
Here we can create
different motifs
by inserting stripes
in the pattern.
First of all,
we start weaving
on our shuttle loom, then
switch our foot below.
Also, we call the
mechanism here “comb;”
we press our comb.
With the help of this comb,
we press our yarns.
Again, the same way.
We switch our foot.
We beat our comb.
Just like this.
We can make it
in any size we want.
We cannot do its width
sixe 5
but we can do its length
as much as we want.
It depends on the product
you want to make.
Weaving brings a great
sense of fulfillment to those
engaged in the craft.
We are both
producing things
and continue
to give our courses.
It is very enjoyable.
I used to
hear from my mother
that my grandmother
was doing such things
in the past
but I had never seen.
I love what I do.
For many cultures,
weaving is a family
tradition that is passed
from mother to daughter.
The link
to future generations
creates an invisible tie
that connects people
with their heritage.
Let’s now have
a welcome glimpse
into Tais, an ethnic fabric
of East Timor.
The Tais is part
of the cultural heritage
for East Timor
because it used to
be worn as a cloth, back
in our ancestor's times.
The Tais is worn at births,
deaths, marriages,
and for various
traditional ceremonies,
according to
each district's customs.
It varies from one district
to another, slightly.
Schools nowadays,
there are machines,
manually,
but to me personally,
nothing can replace the
back strap, our tradition.
Traditional Tais weaving
is a long process initially
involving preparing
and coloring the thread
with vegetable dyes.
With the commercial thread,
you know the color
you want and then
you pick the color you want.
Whereas with this,
it is a long process.
They have to pick the cotton,
they have to dry it,
they have to
protect the seeds, clean it
and beat it up to fluff it
and then spin it,
then put it into color.
I value the cotton one more.
Because of the process
and because of the motifs
that the women keep using.
I was lucky enough
that I grew up close
to my grandmother
and my mother.
That’s how I learned
a little bit about dyes
because in my days,
there was nothing
documented.
If you have somebody
in your family that weaves,
then you grow up
knowing about dyes,
but if you don’t,
then you grow up
without knowing anything
about dyes.
During the years
that I lived overseas,
I was lucky
my sister stayed here.
So she used to send us Tais,
and my two sons grew up
knowing a little bit
about Tais because
I was able to show them
the pieces that I had.
And as they grew
a bit older, I made shirts,
which they wear proudly,
of Tais.
Once a year, we still
have a cultural party like
every other nationality.
So Tais has been
something very important
in my family life as well.
We always love it,
and of course
my eldest son as an artist,
because the father is
from Oecusse,
of course he has always
been interested in
Oecusse patterns
because of the variety.
Ms. Napoleao encourages
the traditional
weaving industry to return
to its time-honored roots.
I'd like to see every weaver
growing their own cotton.
That's the work that our
economic development
program is doing.
My colleagues
are doing that.
Talking to the weavers
in the districts,
in some district
encourage them
to grow their own cotton
using the natural dyes,
to bring back
what we almost lost.
Document it
for the future generation,
because otherwise we lose
our cultural heritage.
And this is part of it,
it is important because
your culture is your roots,
you know
where you came from,
what you are.
We thank
Ms. Ayşen Karancan,
Ms. Zeynep Karancan,
Ms. Yilda Acaröz, and
Ms. Ofelia Nevez Napoleao
for generously sharing
your fascinating knowledge.
The traditional weaving
of various cultures
is a precious asset
our ancestors
have gifted to us.
It records their way of life
and carries their love
of beauty.
May this exquisite art form
continue to flourish,
enriching a peaceful world
for eons to come.
Gracious viewers,
thank you
for joining us today on
A Journey through
Aesthetic Realms
on Supreme Master
Television.
Please tune in tomorrow
for part 2
of our 2-part program
on the timeless
weaving traditions.
Coming up next is
Vegetarianism:
The Noble Way of Living,
after Noteworthy News.
May you
be evermore blessed with
inner tranquility and joy.
Hallo, artistic viewers.
Welcome to A Journey
through Aesthetic Realms
on Supreme Master
Television
for the second and final
part of our program
on the timeless traditions
of weaving.
Yesterday
we were introduced to
cloth weaving practices
of Turkey, East Timor
and Cyprus.
Today, we will visit
three other countries
to explore weaving
in the context
of ethnic handicrafts.
First, please join us
for a trip to the Republic
of Uganda of East Africa.
Now ladies and gentlemen,
I am
Ayimbisibwe Catherine.
Where I am, it is called
Sumba Bukaluba.
Now I am going to
show you how to weave
a Buganda cultural basket.
We get this
from banana leaves
for weaving.
This is the mid vein
of the banana leaf.
This is how we do it.
After drying them,
they look like this.
Then we begin
our cultural basket.
We put a little water on
the mid vein of the leaf
so that it becomes soft
and cannot break.
This is the needle we use
to weave our basket.
Now I have begun.
I pierce first, make a knot,
and pierce again.
And weave.
And tie real tight.
This is how the Buganda
cultural basket is made.
It takes me two days
to complete this basket.
After the food is ready,
we place it in this basket
and served from this basket.
This cultural basket
is taken to the garden
and sweet potatoes
are put in it
after being dug up.
Then they are carried
back home.
It helps
in carrying raw food
and cooked food as well.
These cultural baskets
have a lot of uses.
Any Muganda woman
must have this basket
to help her in the home.
Besides banana leaves,
palms leaves are also
a popular raw material
for craft weaving.
Let’s find out
how palms leaves are
used to make floor mats.
Greetings,
ladies and gentlemen.
I am a member of this
village called Bukaluba.
My name is
Nabulime Harriet.
My job is to make mats.
When I am going
to start weaving mats,
I first cut palm leaves.
After cutting, I lay them out
in the compound to dry.
Then I boil them in colors
I want.
I boil them
in purple and green.
I also leave some white.
I make three colors.
When starting my mat,
I begin like this.
I put the cut palms first,
then start from
the bottom of the mat
to make it strong.
Then weave this side
while turning to this side
and that, also
adding more palms.
On one side
you weave three times,
and the other also
three times.
Within my mat,
I have to include poles
to make it strong.
These are called poles.
We put them
on either side for the mat
to be straight,
without being crooked.
This is how big it is
on completion.
Let’s now go from
beautiful East Africa,
across to the Indian Ocean,
and arrive
at the South Eastern
Asian country of Brunei,
the Abode of Peace.
Here our host is weaving
a traditional dish cover
called tudung dulang.
My name is
Jauyah Binti Hj Ali from
Kampong Lorong Dalam.
I was born in
Kampong Lorong Dalam
66 years ago.
I learnt the art of
weaving tudung dulang
(dish cover)
from my mother
for about 20 years.
I have completed various
types of tudung dulang
(dish cover); many of them
have become the choices
of locals and foreigners.
My wish for this art is
that it will flourish well
into the future.
First, pandanus leaves
are separated into pieces,
boiled like this, to form this.
Slit the stem,
remove the thorns like this,
and boil all of them.
Once completed, have them
all folded like this.
Look here, the folds
are boiled like this.
Boil them, drain them;
once drained,
dry them in the sun,
and have them soaked
for a minute.
Once dried,
roll them like this.
Then we dye them.
Pandanus, napong, silat
and pelang leaves are
all the materials required.
Four types only,
four types of leaves.
First, do it this way;
once completed, cut it.
Once cut, make the edge
like this from the bottom.
Once completed
from the bottom,
dry them in the sun.
Once dried, make a frame,
starting from the bottom,
like this.
Once completed,
raise the frame.
Once all are crossed,
you may start stitching,
like this.
First this one,
twice this one,
thrice this one,
four or five times.
Once completed,
add another edge
at the bottom.
Complete the bottom one,
then the top one;
do it for all.
From here you just use
your own creativity
to make it look nicer.
You may have it colored.
Once made,
the food covers
are sent to craft stores
and sold as souvenirs.
Let’s take a look at
a neighborhood gift shop.
My name is
Hajah Norma Hajah Latif.
This is my shop.
All shops here carry things
made in Brunei.
As you can see here,
plenty, right?
Like this tudung dulang
(dish cover),
it’s modernized,
made in Brunei.
All are made in Brunei.
This old one,
mothers used it
in the past 50 years
to cover food.
Nowadays it’s used in
weddings to cover dowry,
like jewelry.
People always choose
to use it.
This is a hat;
we call this “siraung.”
It’s made from leaves also.
This is made from leaves
for those sellers on boats.
Sellers on boats
in the past were women.
Rowing from one village
to another, they use this
to cover their heads
from the sun and rain.
This one,
we call “takiding,”
made in Brunei also.
The handmade takiding,
from bamboo or rattan.
This one is
for carrying paddy
from the paddy field.
Takiding is quite durable;
it takes two to three years
to be worn out.
This is
a “takung” (colander),
made from bamboo.
It’s used
for washing vegetables.
After washing,
if the vegetables are left
in the takung,
water is drained.
That’s the use of it.
This is “bahai” (basket).
The small bahais are
for decorations.
This is a large bahai.
It is used to carry fruits.
It’s made from rattan,
sometimes made
from bamboo as well.
Fruits such as durian,
rambutan, mampangat...
People carry it
on their back.
Nowadays, the items
and their materials
are taught in schools.
This means that
Bruneians appreciate
the traditional heritage.
We have produced
our very own Bruneian
products ourselves.
That is what
makes Bruneians proud.
From floor mats to baskets,
from dish covers to hats,
woven crafts
have been widely used
in households
for hundreds of years.
Let’s go back to Africa
and see how
the same basic technique
is used in Cameroon
to create furniture
such as chairs.
Greetings, everyone.
I’m Mr. Kameni Joseph,
and I’m a craftsman,
based here
in Douala, Cameroon.
I specialize
in the conception
and construction
of cane products, such as
chairs, tables, cupboards,
sofas, beds etc.
The material we use
in the production
of these items
is called cane.
Cane is long
and the length varies
between 2 and 10 meters,
and even more.
We call
this model “cocoon.”
The structure
is made of big cane.
And to finish, to render it
more aesthetic,
we embellish it
with small cane.
That’s how it is.
He is heating it up
as you can see;
and that heat permits him
to fold the cane and
produce different pieces.
That will serve
as the frame of the chair.
Right, once folded,
we can unfold it.
Right. You see how
the technician’s hands
are very agile, very apt.
Thank you.
And that is how
we shall obtain our chair,
after assembling
all the different pieces.
Yes, what we see here
at the moment are
small canes, called liane.
They are scrubbed
and folded.
They have been folded.
It’s with it that
we embellish the chairs,
after scrubbing them.
Good, this is still
in its raw state.
This is how it comes out
from the forest.
This one is a square chair,
a little high
as you can see.
It’s also made of big cane.
And now, we embellish it
with liane. This time,
the liane are split.
And you see how it is woven
and how the structure is
covered by these lianes.
Products produced
from cane are very good
for the environment.
When we cut them
in the wild, others grow
immediately and as such,
the forest stays preserved.
They are cheap and
economical and help us
to express our culture
and our creativity.
Many Cameroonians,
as well as expatriates,
like cane products.
This encourages us
to continue to seek
the bettering of this work.
We also train
young people so that
this art is preserved
for future generations.
We thank
Supreme Master Television
for coming
to sympathize with us and
for featuring our creativity.
Our many thanks,
Ms. Ayimbisibwe Catherine,
Ms. Nabulime Harriet,
Ms. Jauyah Binti Hj Ali,
Ms. Hajah Norma Hajah
Latif,
and Mr. Kameni Joseph,
for kindly sharing
your vast knowledge
and expertise.
Wishing you
the best of success
in the continuation
and development
of your precious craft.
The art of weaving
provides practical items
which help us
in many daily activities,
besides enriching us
with the intangible values
that are treasured
by each culture.
With Heaven’s blessings,
may this time-honored
heritage flourish evermore,
bringing more cherished
creations and beauty
to our world.
Gentle viewers,
thank you
for your loving presence
on today’s episode of
A Journey through
Aesthetic Realms.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
Up next is
Vegetarianism:
The Noble Way of Living,
after Noteworthy News.
May your heart and soul
resonate with
God’s eternal love.