Kyrgyzstan · Feltwork / Textile
Ала-кийиз (Ala-kiyiz)
Ala-kiyiz (Ала-кийиз — 'colorful felt') is the second major Kyrgyz felt tradition — distinct from shyrdak (CRAFT-0698) in that the decorative pattern is formed during the felting process itself, not cut from finished felt. Colored wool tufts are laid in specific design positions on a base of carded white wool before rolling — as the rolling compresses the fibers, the colored tufts integrate into the white ground, producing a soft-edged organic pattern that cannot be replicated by cutting. The defining technical knowledge is the tuft placement calibration: 'place the tuft where the pattern should end, not where it begins — the rolling moves it forward.'
Risk level: Endangered · UNESCO Representative List (2012) — felt craftsmanship in Kyrgyzstan; national ICH list
The narrow-band weaving of boo — patterned woven straps woven on a simple portable ground loom called an ormok, used to bind and structurally secure every major component of the Kyrgyz yurt (kerege lattice walls, door frame, roof poles,…
The making of kookor — the distinctively shaped leather flask used for storing, transporting, and ceremonially serving kumis (fermented mare's milk) — one of the most culturally sacred everyday objects in Kyrgyz nomadic material culture,…
Shyrdak (Шырдак) is the Kyrgyz felt mosaic tradition — producing the elaborately patterned floor mats and wall hangings that are the primary decorative textile of the Kyrgyz yurt.
Sebet (Себет — basket) is the willow basketry tradition of the Chuy Valley in northern Kyrgyzstan — distinct from the felt and leather traditions of the southern and mountain regions in being a sedentary river-valley craft producing…
Palas (Палас — flat-woven) and kilem (Килем — pile carpet) are the Kyrgyz woven carpet traditions — distinct from the Uzbek and Turkmen pile carpet traditions in using a strictly symmetric (Turkish/Ghiordes) knot rather than the Persian…
Tush kyiz (Туш кийиз — 'wedding hanging') is the embroidered textile panel hung on the honor wall of the Kyrgyz yurt behind the bridal couple — the most elaborate embroidery tradition in Kyrgyz culture.
The Itneg (Tinguian) people of Abra province and the Kalinga people of Kalinga province — both in the Cordillera mountains of northern Luzon — produce distinct but related backstrap loom weaving traditions.
The wool combing tradition of Bradford — the processing of raw fleece into a parallel-fiber 'top' (the combed preparation for worsted yarn spinning) that defined Bradford as the 'Wool Capital of the World' from the mid-19th century.
The Norwegian Åkle tapestry tradition — the making of the distinctive Norwegian double-weave and tapestry woven textiles (including the flat-woven Åkle pattern textile and the rya pile textile) that have been the defining Norwegian…
Tai Dam (Black Tai) textile weaving is the silk and cotton weaving tradition of the Tai Dam people — one of several Tai sub-groups who settled in the highland valleys of northern Laos and northwestern Vietnam.
Tai Lue silk weaving is the textile tradition of the Tai Lue people — a Tai sub-group whose heartland is Sipsong Panna in southern Yunnan (China) but who established significant communities in Muang Sing, Luang Namtha, Laos.
The silk weaving tradition of Zürich — historically one of Europe's most significant silk textile centers from the 16th century, when Huguenot and Italian refugees brought silk-weaving knowledge to the city; at its peak the Zürich silk…