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THE MYSTERIOUS LANGUAGE OF
‘OYA’ |
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Though its techniques and motifs may vary by region, the hearts,
hands and language of the women of Anatolia are evident in their
lace.
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A new bride whose
relationship with her husband
is unhappy wears 'pepper lace' on her head
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Anatolia's thousand and one
species of plants and gaily colored flowers are reborn in the
the imagination and inner eye of its women. And Flora, Ionian
goddess of plants and flowers,
is
immortalized in the 'oya' or lace edging produced by their
hands. The history of the decorative edging known in Europe as
'Turkish lace'is thought to date back as far as the 8th century
B.C. to the Phrygians of Anatolia. Some sources indicate that
needlework spread from 12th century Anatolia to Greece and from
there via Italy to Europe. Traditionally, the headdresses and
scarves women wore on their heads, the printed cloths, and
prayer and funeral head coverings were decorated with various
kinds of lace, which was also used on undergarments, to adorn
outer garments, around the edges of towels and napkins and as a
decorative element in many other places. In the Aegean region
even men's headdresses were decked with layers of lace.
While an expectant young
mother wears 'good tidings lace'
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A young girl who wants to
marry the man she loves wears
'good tidings lace' |
MOST PRIZED OF ALL
Lace edging, which appears
all over Anatolia in various forms and motifs, has different
names depending on the means employed: needle, crochet hook,
shuttle, hairpin, bead, tassel to name just
a few.
Sewing needle lace
is a variety that was
produced by affluent, aristocratic, urban women. The most
beautiful examples of such lace, which was usually made with
a sewing needle using silk thread, were produced in the
Ottoman Palace. Crochet work can be done in different ways
in colors of one's choosing by using a single crochet hook.
It differs from sewing needle lace in that it employs
thicker thread and is less delicate in appearance.
Shuttle lace is produced more by women in
the villages and provincial towns, using a small shuttle
made of bone. Either one or two colors are used.
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'Firkete' or hairpin lace is made by threading
beads, sequins, coral or pearls onto thread of a single
color.
'Caput' meanwhile, which is
more common in the villages where very beautiful and creative
examples are produced with limited means, is done by cutting and
folding colorful pieces of coarse cloth into squares and using
a crochet hook. Crochet
hooks are also used for adding tassels.
Beaded edging, which is
frequently encountered in Anatolia, is done by threading beads
of various colors onto the ends of lace made either with
a sewing needle or a crochet hook. Finally, silk thread and cocoon
fragments are the materials of 'koza' or cocoon lace, whose
primary motifs are created by the cocoons and later added on to
lace produced with either a sewing needle or a crochet hook.
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IF FLOWERS COULD TALK
Woman's delicacy,
.sensitivity, creativity, fertility, philosophy and oneness
with nature are observed in the most beautiful examples of
lace, an elegant and refined art that has its own mysterious
language. Young maidens, new brides, and young women
traditionally conveyed their loves-whether hopeful or
hopeless, their
expectations, their good tidings, their happiness and
unhappiness, their resentment and their incompatibility with
their husbands to those around them through the lace they
wore.
In the Marmara and Aegean
regions, for example, floral lace
is a phenomenon in and of
itself. A woman adorned her head with lace embodying
flowers, nature's loveliest gift to man, the species of the
flowers differing depending on her age. Aged grannies used
tiny wild flowers, which symbolize the return of dust to
dust. Virgins, brides and young women employed roses, arbor
roses, carnations, jasmine, hyacinths, violets, daffodils,
chrysanthemums and fuchsia in their lace. |
A woman whose
husband has gone abroad to work wears 'wild rose lace' on
her head |
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And all of
them carry messages which are conveyed through their shapes
and colors.
Women reaching forty used
a bent tulip. As in
the poem 'Narcissus' written by the Roman poet Ovid in the
8th century, a woman who wrapped yellow daffodil lace around
her head was declaring a hopeless love.
A woman whose man had gone
abroad to work bound wild rose lace around her head; new
brides on the other hand wore lace of roses and arbor roses.
Girls engaged to marry the man they love wore lace of pink
hyacinths and almond blossoms, while a girl in love wore
purple hyacinths. Plum blossom lace was worn
by brides. A new bride who has a disagreeable relationship with her
husband chose 'pepper spice' lace for her head, as if to say
'my marriage was unhappy from the start'. But if she bound
red pepper lace around her head, this was a sign that her
relationship with her husband was as spicy as red hot
pepper.
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The lace with a tree branch motif worm by bridegrooms in
some regions symbolizes the tree of life |
'TURKAN SORAY'S
EYELASH'
In Konya
a girl engaged to be married
sends a piece of lace-edged printed cloth to her prospective
mother-in-law. If what she sends is 'meadow and grass' lace,
this implies that their relations are cordial. But if she
sends 'gravestone'lace, it means 'the coldness between us
will endure until death '. By sending 'hairy wolf' lace
meanwhile a young girl indicates that she is displeased with
their relationship. Since the lace is seen by the neighbors
at the wedding ceremony, it is of course the wish of all
mothers-in-law that their new daughters-in-law wrap
'meadow-grass' lace around their heads.
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The groom's family, too,
sends the bride a
'bridal cloth' with two or three lace flowers from which the
bridal headdress will be made. Lace edging consisting of
flowers on a branch is worn by brides in some regions of
Anatolia. Such lace, of which there are many varieties,
represents a sort of 'tree of life' for a bride who wants to
produce many offspring.
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Not only women's emotions
but also incidents that have left a mark on society can be
observed in lace: 'Pasha star', or 'Zeki Muren eyelash'
named for a famous Turkish singer of the 20th century,
'Turkan Soray eyelash' associated with Turkey's veteran
star of the silver screen, and 'Ecevit eyelash' named
after former prime minister Bulent Ecevit, to name just
a few. Others include 'kaymakam rose', 'Ataturk flower',
'rose of Japan', 'sot's leg', 'shepherd's flea',
'bachelor's flea '... The list is endless. |
Young girls wear
'daisy lace' |
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A product of
the deep-rooted Anatolian culture with no exact equivalent in
other languages, lace edging not only adorns women's headscarves
today, it is also used as an accessory in modern design.
Meanwhile it continues to be an indispensable addition to a
girl's trousseau chest.
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'Daffodil lace' is a symbol
of hopeless love |
Young girls in Anatolia
prepare some
40-50 varieties of lace-edged printed cloth and crepe for their
trousseaux |
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Source: Skylife 11/04 |
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Sabiha Tansug & Servet Dilber |
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