A wide variety of traditional crafts, from making felt to weaving and making household items, were an integral part of everyday life for people throughout Central Asia. Why is it important to preserve traditional techniques, revive lost skills and pass on folk heritage to future generations? At Manshuq we’re exploring these questions within the framework of the Silk Road project implemented by UNESCO and sponsored by the European Union.
Manshuq
November 5th, 2020
The felt carpet is a world of colorful mosaics, exotic ornamentation, and stunning patterns that evoke bleeding watercolors. Working with felt is an ancient traditional craft of the Kazakh people, dating to the times when they practiced a nomadic way of life. In this story, we’d like to tell you about a woman who has been working all her life to preserve the secrets of her people’s craftspeople and to pass on her knowledge to future generations.
Zhansara Bolegenova, who lives in Kyzylorda Province, is one of the most famous felt masters in Kazakhstan. Zhansara was born in 1961 at the Koksu State Farm in the region of Shymkent, graduated from high school in 1978, got married in September of 1979 and has lived ever since in the village of Kyzylkayin in Kyzylorda. According to her, they have a small family - four sons, one daughter and seven grandchildren.
“My craftwork is in my blood - my mother was a craftswoman, making tekemet and other items from felt. One of my fondest memories from when I was a kid is how we would get together and spend hours working on our crafts together. My little sisters and I (there were six girls in our family) made our first tekemet when I was in the first grade.
Decorating the carpet with patterns we made out of wool was one of the most interesting parts. I liked that particular process, and thanks to that in particular I fell in love with the craft."
