Suzani - Decorative Textiles

Painting with Suzani by Robert Falk, Savitzky Museum, Nukus

Suzani is a type of embroidered and decorative tribal textile made in  Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries. Suzan which means needle. Suzanis usually have a cotton (sometimes silk) fabric base, which is embroidered in silk or cotton thread. Chain, satin, and buttonhole stitches are the primary stitches used. There is also extensive use of couching, in which decorative thread laid on the fabric as a raised line is stitched in place with a second thread. Suzanis are often made in two or more pieces, that are then stitched together.  One of the things that make suzani fascinating is they are handmade and so no two are exactly alike. Every suzani has an intentional imperfection be it an unfinished corner, a distorted shape, or the “wrong” colour this is “because the world is not perfect, a suzani should not be perfect”.

Some patterns are abstracted and geometric, but most are legible: snakes, suns, knives to cut bad luck and hot peppers to ward it off, pomegranates for fertility, many forms of flowers Popular design motifs include sun and moon disks, flowers (especially tulips, carnations, and irises), leaves and vines, fruits and occasionally fish and birds.

The oldest surviving suzanis are from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but it seems likely that they were in use long before that. In the early 15th century, Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, the Castilian ambassador to the court of Timur (Tamerlane), left detailed descriptions of embroideries that were probably forerunners of the suzani. In the nineteenth century, Uzbek women produced fabulous embroidered hangings,  bed covers, wrapping cloths, table covers, and prayer mats for their households and their daughters' wedding trove. Brides Suzani's were traditionally as part of their dowry, and were presented to the groom on their wedding day.

Suzanis were traditionally as part of their dowry, and were presented to the groom on their wedding day. These hand-embroidered vintage suzanis are infused with the character that only comes from everyday use. The story of each suzani is as rich as their colors, as intricate as the designs that cover their surfaces.

Source: http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Suzani_(textile)

Uzbekistan Red Book Stamps - Saiga Antelope

The Post office of Uzbekistan (O’zbekistan Pochtasi) and the State Communications Committee released the stamps on May 30, 2014 titled Fauna - Rare animals of Uzbekistan.«O'ZBEKISTON FAUNASI». The series consists of two stamps and two postage block of two of the most endangered large mammals in Uzbekistan the Saiga antelope and the Turkestan lynx both in the Red Book of Uzbekistan. Number of stamps minted was 10,000. Number of copies of each postage block - 7000.

Saiga tatarica 3200 Som

 

Source: http://infocom.uz/2014/06/05/vypushhena-novaya-seriya-pochtovyx-marok-fauna-redkie-zhivotnye-uzbekistana/  

Imom Ismoil al-Buxoriy (810-870)

Imom Ismoil al-Buxoriy also known as Muhammad ibn Isma`il al-Bukhari al-Ju`fi (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن اسماعيل بن ابراهيم بن المغيرة بن بردزبه الجعفي البخاري‎‎‎) was an Islamic scholar and theologian born in Bukhara who lived from 810  to 870. A follower of the Hanbali school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence he authored the influential Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Arabic: صحيح البخاري‎‎) one of the Kutub al-Sittah (six major hadith collections of Sunni Islam). Also recognised by Zaidi Shia Muslims.

The word sahih translates in Arabic as authentic or correct, the hadith themselves being prophetic traditions based on cases of life or sayings attributed to the Prophet  many after being transmitted orally for generations. Out of those al-Bukhari selected as “flawless” 7400 which he collected to include into his “As-Sahih”. To this day being considered the most authentic collection of hadith,  ahead of the other famous collection 'Al - Muwatta' by Bukhari's student in Nishapur Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj.

The work is considered the most authentic because of both its quality and the soundness of the chain of narrators of the selected ahādīth. Al-Bukhari followed two principle criteria for selecting sound narratives. First, the lifetime of the narrator had to overlap with the lifetime of the authority from whom he narrates. Second, it had to be verifiable that the narrators have met with the source. They also had to have expressly stated that they obtained the narrative from this authority. This is a stricter criterion than that set by 'Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj'. In addition al-Bukhari accepted the narratives from only those who, according to his knowledge, not only believed in Islam but practiced its teachings. The way he arranged and ordered the chapters in his book also demonstrated his profound knowledge and understanding of his religion. His work proving for over a millennia to be a guide in understanding the Islamic religions disciplines.

Al Bukhari also composed other books, including the al-Adab al-Mufrad, (which is an abridged collection of chains of narration going back all the way to the Prophet regarding matters pertaining to the Prophet, his practices and his times) which is a collection of hadiths on ethics and manners. Bukhari also wrote three works discussing narrators of hadith with respect to their ability in conveying their material: the "brief compendium of hadith narrators," "the medium compendium" and the "large compendium" (al-Tarikh al-Kabīr, al-Tarīkh al-Ṣaghīr, and al-Tarīkh al-Awsaţ).

His burial place is located within a complex in the small village of Hartang, 30 km from Samarkand. It occupies a vast site, there are mausoleums, mosques, hotels for pilgrims, souvenir shops and religious literature. The mausoleum of Imam al-Bukhari being one of the main pilgrimage sites in the whole of Uzbekistan. Pilgrims who go to this and two other  shrines in Samarkand – the mausoleums of Shakhi-Zinda and Rukhabad – within one day, are said to be going on the “small Hajj”.                                      

Armin Vambrey Orientalist

Vambéry, Armin (Hermann) (1832-1913)  born in the Austro- Hungarian empire in what is now Slovakia (albeit he was a native Hungarian speaker). A famed orientalist and linguist  after a year in Constantinople, he published a German-Turkish dictionary in 1858. Later, he also published various other linguistic works. He said to have spoken some twenty Turkic languages and dialects.

In the early 1860ies Armin travelled through Armenia, Persia and Turkestan and with his Turkic language skills was able to gain a deeper insight into the local customs than previous European travelers. Setting out from Budapest in June 1861 via Constantinople to onto Trebizond by crossing the Black sea and then overland via Kurdistan to Tehran . Here he joined a band of pilgrims returning from Mecca and spent several months with them traveling across Iran before crossing the desert to Khiva.

In these times travelling in central Asia was considered very dangerous for outsiders particularly to those like Vambery who were also it is said to be collecting information. (At various times Vambery worked for the Ottomans, the British as well as Austro-Hungarian authorities). For his trip to Khiva he was disguised as a travelling dervish who went by the name "Reshit Efendi,". Upon his arrival in Khiva he managed to keep up appearances during interviews with the Khiva Khan. Then onto Bokhara and Samarkand. Initially, he aroused the suspicions of the Bukharin Khan but managed to maintain his pretence, and left the audience laden with gifts. Upon leaving Samarkand, he then made his way back to Constantinople in Mach 1864, traveling by way of Heart. This was the first successful journey of its kind undertaken by a European to the heart of central Asia since medieval times.

On his return to Budapest he published his recollections from his travels in  Central Asian Journey. . This book was a great success and made him an internationally renowned writer and celebrity, with the Austrian Emperor rewarding him by granting him professorship in the Royal University of Pest in 1865.

References :
Ármin Vámbéry, Travels in Central Asia, being the account of a journey from Teheran across the Turkoman Desert on the Eastern shore of the Caspian to Khiva, Bokhara, and Samarcand, performed in the year 1863. (London, 1864.) 2354.d.1. (The book is divided into two parts: the first a description of his travels, the second devoted to notices concerning the geography, statistics, politics, and social relations of Central Asia). Other books in English Arminius Vámbéry, His Life and Adventures(ib. 1883) and Struggles of My Life (ib. 1904).

Kipchak Cuman Confederation

The Kipchak Cuman confederation were  a grouping of two Turkic speaking tribes with origins in Southern Siberia. In Russian and Ukrainian also known as the Polovtsy (or pale people). The Kipchaks originating between the River Ob and Irtysh, possibly connected to the Kimäks and the Cumans, who it is believed were connected with the Kun both amongst the original fifteen Turkic tribes).

In the course of the Turkic expansion during the 9th century both groups migrated further into Siberia and then westwards into the trans-Volga region. During the 11th century they continued spreading west, occupying a vast territory in the Eurasian steppe, stretching from north of the Aral Sea westward to the region north of the Black Sea (now within what is southern Ukraine and southwestern Russia) establishing a state known as Desht-i Qipchaq. By the late 11th Century they had spread from what is now Kazakhstan into Europe reaching the Moldavia, part of Transylvania and Wallachia up to the Danube. Their lands located between the Rus and the Black Sea the Polovtsy controlled trade between the two regions and directly participated in commercial activities. For their livestock, they received agricultural products and luxury items from Rus. Controlling much of the Crimea (from Sudak), the Polovtsy engaged in the sale of slaves and furs to Byzantium and the Islamic East. 

While some Polovtsy may have converted to Christianity and Islam, the overwhelming majority retained their shamanist-Tari religion. The great traveller Ibn Batutta said of Confederation. "This wilderness is green and grassy with no trees, nor hills, high or low there is no means of travelling in this desert except in wagons". His contemporary, Hamdallah Mustawfi, elaborated, "This is of the Sixth Clime, its plains bear excellent pasturage but there are here few houses or towns or villages. Most of the inhabitants are nomads of the plain Many of the lands here are swamps The pasturage, however, being excellent, horses and cattle are numerous, and the population for the most part subsists on the produce thereof. The climate is cold, and their water comes from springs and wells".

In the late 11th and 12th centuries the Kipchak Cuman confederacy became involved in various conflicts with the Byzantines, Kievan Rus, the Hungarians (Cuman involvement only), and the Pechenegs (Cuman involvement only), allying themselves with one or the other side at different times. In 1089, they were defeated by Ladislaus I of Hungary, again by Knyaz Vladimir Monomakh of the Rus in the 12th century. They sacked Kiev in 1203. During the first Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus (1221–23), the Kipchak sided at different times with both the invaders and with the local Slavic princes. In 1237 the Mongols penetrated for the second time into Kipchak territory and killed Bachman, the Khan of the eastern Kipchak tribes and incorporated their lands into the Golden Horde, the western-most division of the Mongol empire. The Kipchaks constituted a majority of the khanate whose lands today are split between present-day Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.

The Mongolian raids can be considered as a certain boundary which the Kipchacks started to become known as  the new-emerged Tartar people. However for at least one century after the Mongol invasions the name “Kipchak Khanate” was used for the Golden Horde with its capital at Saraj (Saratov) and extended from the Carpathian Mountains in eastern Europe to Siberia, and controlled many of the valuable Silk Road trading routes connecting China with medieval Europe.

In 1229 the king of Georgia was able to field an army that included 20,000 Kipchak mercenaries. In the east the  Khwarazmians were also being able to raise large armies of Kipchak mercenaries. In fact that was the backbone of their military.The defeated Kipchaks also became a major source of slaves for parts of the Islamic world, Kipchak slaves called Mamlūks serving in the Ayyūbid dynasty’s armies came to play important roles in the history of Egypt and Syria, where they formed the Mamluk state, the remnants of which survived until the 19th century. Members of the Bahri dynasty, the first dynasty of Mamluks in Egypt, were Kipchaks/Cumans as was Sultan Baybars, born in Solhat, Crimea. Some Kipchaks served in the Yuan dynasty and became the Kharchins.

Many Cumans fled into Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey before and during the invasion with some of their warriors becoming mercenaries for the Latin crusaders and the Byzantines. It is reported that Koten Khan, the leader of the Cuman-Kipchaks (western branch) when the Mongols invaded eventually fled to Hungary with 40,000 families. This migration is considered the last of several waves of nomadic migrations who came into central and eastern Europe from the east. (Huns, Avars, Maygars and Pechengs).

The name of the Kipchacks has not perished. It has survived in the form of personal names, the names of places, and the names of clans or families. The Kipchaks have also given their name to a whole family of Turkic languages. The descendants of the Kipchak language include the majority of Turkic languages spoken in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus today, as Kipchak was used as a lingua franca in Golden Horde-ruled lands. The Kipchak languages are today spoken by approximately 26–28 million people from China to Central Asia to the Crimea.

Kazakhs and Karakalpaks are remnants of Eastern Kipchak tribes who lived in Northern Kazakhstan in the 10th century, but migrated towards European Russia later so, their language originates from a more isolated form of earlier Kipchak. Bulgar-speaking Volga Bulgarians (or Kazan Tatars), Astrakhan Tatars, Balkars, Bashkirs and Mongolian aristocracy adopted the Kipchak language in the days of the Golden Horde. The most important surviving record is the Codex Cumanicus, a late 13th-century dictionary of words in Kipchak, Cuman, and Latin. The presence in Egypt of Turkic-speaking Mamluks also stimulated the compilation of Kipchak/Cuman-Arabic dictionaries and grammars that are still important in the study of several old Turkic languages.

Source: various Wikipedia articles. See https://karakalpak-karakalpakstan.blogspot.com/2016/10/kipchak.html 

Kipchak Language

Kipchak - The Kipchak language is the precursor language of a number of modern Turkic languages that are spoken in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia today. Kazakhs are remnants of Eastern Cuman-Kipchak tribes who lived in Northern Kazakhstan in the 10th century. So, their language originates from a more isolated form of earlier Kipchak. Bolgar-speaking Volga Bulgarians (later Kazan Tatars), Astrakhan Tatars, Balkars, Karachays, Kumyks, Cumans (later Crimean Tatars), Bashkirs and Mongolian aristocracy adopted the Kipchak language in the days of the Golden Horde.

The modern Northwestern branch of the Turkic language is often referred to as the Kipchak branch. The languages in this branch are mostly considered to be descendants of the Kipchak language, and the people who speak them may likewise be referred to as Kipchak peoples.

Karakalpak - Karakalpak is also a member of the Eastern Kipchak branch of Turkic languages, which includes Tatar, Kumyk, Nogai, and Kazakh. Due to its proximity to Uzbek, much of Karakalpak's vocabulary and grammar has been influenced by Uzbek. Like Turkish, Karakalpak has vowel harmony, is agglutinative and has no grammatical gender. Word order is usually subject–object–verb.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kipchak_language

Yellow carrots

The wild carrot, Daucus Carota, is native to Central Asia. Within the subspecies Daucus Carota sativus, two varieties are recognised: The Western carrot (variety sativus) and the Eastern carrot (variety atrorubens).

The Yellow carrot is an Eastern cultivar, domesticated in Central Asia as early as the 9th century. It yields a sweeter flavor at maturity than other cultivars while also retaining healthy texture; ie: its tap-root is not woody or fiberous. They have a firm and crunchy texture and an earthy sweet flavor with notes of celery and parsley. They belong to the Umbelliferae family along with parsnips, fennel caraway, cumin and dill. Whilst classified as a root vegetable its midribs and greens are also edible and nutritious. Yellow carrots are also one of the key ingredients in  the national dish of Uzbekistan Plov (dozens of variations of this dish but usually consists of chunks of mutton, shredded yellow carrot and rice fried in a cast iron or aluminium pot. Staple food for both every day and celebrations). and also popular in soups, stews, salads and are used as an ingredient in stocks. Uzbekistan at 1.6 million tonnes per year is the second largest producer of carrots in the world after China. They are rich in pro-healthy antioxidants both of lipophylic (carotenoids) and hydrophilic (phenolic compounds) characters and accumulate xanthophylls, pigments similar to beta-carotene that support good eye health. In addition they contain lutein, a pigment similar to beta-carotene that is absorbed as Vitamin A in the body.

Source:http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/qna.html