Download - OATG. Oxford Asian Textile Group

10
Unravelling the mysteries of the Karakalpaks
In the first of a new series, OATG members David and Sue Richardson present an
essay on two of their favourite textiles
Karakalpak shapan from Qazaxdar’ya
Those of us who attended Nick Fielding‘s home
in early January to see his wonderful collection
of Kyrgyz textiles were each requested to bring
along a textile of our own, for what the Americans
embarrassingly refer to as a ―show and
tell‖ session. For us the choice was obvious.
Like Nick, we too are fascinated by a visually
powerful group of Turkic textiles that in our
case come from the opposite, western side of
Central Asia – from the Karakalpaks, who for
the past two centuries have occupied the delta
of the Amu Darya at the southern end of the
Aral Sea.
We have been studying the Karakalpaks
almost full time for the past seven or eight
years, trying to spend a full month in the delta
every year furthering our research.
Karakalpak textiles are difficult to collect.
There are no proper dealers in Karakalpakstan,
quality items never appear in bazaars, and the older generation is still reluctant to part with
their heirlooms. Often a decision to sell is a protracted process that requires the approval of the
whole family. Despite these obstacles, we have now assembled one of the largest collections of
Karakalpak textiles currently in existence outside Karakalpakstan.
Sadly many of the textiles in Karakalpak, Uzbek and Russian museums lack any detailed
provenance. In acquiring our textiles, we have taken great care to try to document their history,
frequently identifying the name, village, and clan of the maker and the date and circumstances of
their production. Such information has been invaluable in furthering our understanding of changing
Karakalpak fashions over the years.
Sue brought along a woman‘s quilted shapan (chapan in Uzbek), made from polished cotton
alasha and with over-sleeves known as jengse, decorated with cross- and chain-stitch embroidery.
It probably dates from the 1910‘s or early 1920‘s. It illustrates how the Karakalpaks adopted
the Khorezmian Uzbek craft of alacha making, which archaeologists have traced back to the 13 th
century. This particular shapan was once owned by a wealthy bey from Qazaxdar‘ya named Tleumuratov
who belonged to the Qoldawlı clan, part of the Qonı‘rat (Kungrad) division. He had three
wives, each of whom had her own yurt.
In 1929 Stalin unveiled his revolutionary policy of collectivization. Progressively during
the early 1930‘s, the land, livestock and other possessions of private landowners and farmers
throughout Karakalpakia were confiscated, and those who resisted – like Tleumuratov - were exiled
and sometimes murdered. News that soviet officials were coming to arrest her husband
reached Tleumuratov‘s youngest wife Gulbazar in 1933 when she was only 23-years old. She took
the shapan, wrapped her newly born son in it, and fled south to Shımbay, escaping the officials
and preserving the shapan for posterity. Meanwhile her husband was imprisoned and all of his
property confiscated. Turdymurat Tleumuratov, the infant who had been wrapped in the shapan