Uzbekistan Local Customs

  one dollar photo of poor Misha
by josephescu
 
  • one dollar photo of poor Misha
      one dollar photo of poor Misha
    by josephescu
  • 3 weddings on the main street
      3 weddings on the main street
    by josephescu
  • the dance of joy
      the dance of joy
    by josephescu
  • Misha & the caretaker
      Misha & the caretaker
    by josephescu
  • now 4.....
      now 4.....
    by josephescu
 
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Hats to see and hats to collect

by TheWanderingCamel

You can buy doppis, wedding hats and some others worn as everyday dress at markets. Hats worn for weddings, by both bride and groom, are particularly elaborate. The bride has a white embroidered and beaded square hat with a long beaded fringe that hangs down her back and she will wear this for some time after the wedding when she is dressed up and going out. The groom's hat is usually a golden turban, which he isn't expected to wear it anywhere but the wedding. The market ones are factory made or, at best, mass-producedIf you're looking for something more special, you'll find Bukhara probably has the best selection spread over a number of traders in different places.If you're just looking, there are wonderful examples of old hats to be seen in museums around the country - Tashkent's Applied Art Museum and Fine Art Museum both have excellent collections but there are museum quality pieces...

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Wild and woolly

by TheWanderingCamel

The huge sheepskin hats that are seen for sale in Uzbekistan are telpek , the traditional head gear of the Turkmen of western Central Asia. Looking at them, you can't help but wonder how they could wear such a hat year-round - in the depth of winter, yes - but on a baking summer's day ? In fact, it's claimed that these hats create their own micro-climate for the head, warm in winter and cool in summer. They also say they're light to wear and that they improve the posture and encourage a slow and graceful demeanor. They also indicate status and demonstrate the wearer's pride in himself. Young men wear white telpeks while older men wear black or dark brown telpeks.

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Everyday hats

by TheWanderingCamel

More than any other item of clothing, it is the vast array of little skull caps that are the most recognizable thing about Uzbek dress. Virtually all men over the age of 35 or 40 wear the square black, brown, grey or blue doppi or tyubiteika trimmed with white embroidery - satin or velvet for best, cloth, leather or even printed card for everyday. Wearing the the doppi could be taking on a new meaning also - recently a law was passed forbidding the sale of white skull caps - the government considers them alien, an undesirable manifestation of Arabic-influenced Islam, anathema to this determinedly secular state. Although not exclusive to Uzbekistan, wearing a doppi signals an allegiance to Central Asian traditions.Many of the very old men still wear a loosely wound turban, particularly in the countryside. Married women mostly wear a head scarf tied at the nape of their neck these days...

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...this is now

by TheWanderingCamel

Although many women wear standard western dress these days, others choose a charming mix of the traditional and the modern. For high days and holidays, the wonderfully colourful Ikat silks that the country is famous for are greatly favoured, whilst everyday wear often features a synthetic version of the same patterns. A long tunic ( kuljak) over trousers (ishton)is the norm, the fit and flare of the kuljak depending greatly on the figure beneath, and the owner of that figure's self-confidence or modesty - some choose an extremely figure-flattering style whilst others opt for something more concealing. Whatever the shape of what's on top, the trousers beneath sometimes reveal the ankle and are trimmed with a little tassle on the inside seam. It's a lovely touch, and more than a little flirtatious.2009 update Autumn was coming when we visited Uzbekistan this year, and most women had...

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That was then ...

by TheWanderingCamel

This is what the well-dressed Uzbek woman used to wear when she went out. A heavy velvet cloak with long, impossibly narrow sleeves that served only for ornament known as a chevtan and a thick face-covering veil made of woven horsehair ,paranji, turned her into a stiff cut-out shape that bore absolutely no resemblance to the human form. Whilst looking out through the veil was no different from looking through fly-wire mesh, the cloak was incredibly restricting and in the intense heat of an Uzbek summer it must have been suffocating.Photos 1 and 2 show the chevtan and paranji as worn by wealthy women.Photo 3 dates from the late 19th century whilst photo 4 dates from the 1920s and shows how ordinary women worn the paranji but not the chevtan. It was taken in Tashkent by photographer Max Penson and is reproduced here under the conditions imposed by the website www.maxpenson.com. The website...

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Making silk on the Silk Road

by TheWanderingCamel

Within 6 weeks of taking charge of their precious stock of silkworms, the (by now exhausted) farmers are ready to sell the cocoons back to the factory that supplied them. That initial 20 grams or so of worms yields about 100 kilos of cocoon, which will earn the farmer about $200, a large sum in Uzbekistan and one that makes all the effort of the past weeks worthwhile.After the cocoons have been steamed to kill the nascent butterfly before it can hatch and eat its way through the precious filaments, the cocoons are carefully unwound prior to spinning. Each cocoon gives about 1 kilometre of filament, several of which are spun together to form a thread strong enough to be woven into cloth.The story of Uzbekistan's silk is told in two travelogues on my Fergana page.

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Rock-a-bye baby

by TheWanderingCamel

Nappies (diapers) and nappy rash are unknown to babies who sleep in a traditional Uzbek cradle known as a beshik. An ingenious arrangement of a hole in the base, a little wooden device (one for girls, a different one for boys - and don't ask me how it works - there are some things even the most eloquent hand gestures can't really explain), firm swaddling and a bowl on the floor beneath the cradle makes nappies redundant. Placing a new baby into its cradle for the first time is accompanied by a ritual known as beshiki toyi - in effect an Uzbek baby shower. This takes place when the baby is six weeks old - it sleeps with its mother until then. The family bring the cradle along with baby essentials, toys and food to the new mother's house. Whilst the younger guests party on the oldest women in the family wrap the baby in its swaddling bands and place it in the cradle. Only then is it shown...

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An insatiable appetite

by TheWanderingCamel

Drive down practically any country road or highway in Uzbekistan and you will be struck by the miles and miles of mulberry trees that line the roadsides and fields. They are an essential part of the country's silk industry. For a short six weeks in spring everybody who can possibly be spared from other work will be harvesting the leaves to feed the family's stock of precious silkworms. A normal stock (taken from a central supplier) weighs only about 20 grams, but so prodigious is their growth, this little bundle has grown to enormous proportions by the time they are ready to form their cocoons by spinning out the mile or so of the prized filament. By the time this happens their guardians are working night and day to keep up with the demand for leaves - up to 300kilos a day need to be cut. No wonder the trees are reduced to little more than a bare trunk!Mulberries are capable of their own...

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Uzbek Wedding!

by piotrbog

We came to Uzbekistan, just after Ramadan. In a consequence, we have seen even 15 weddings per day! In particular, Shahrisabz is a place where can you see plenty of couples in front of a huge monument of Timur.We have been even invited to participate in one wedding. Women on the left, men on the right and the elders in the middle. Guests are sitting long before the couple arrives. And then celebration begins!

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Marriage in Uzbekistan

by Matt001

If you as a foreigner want to marry an Uzbek citizen in Uzbekistan, please let me know if you need any help concerning what documetns you need there. I married there, so I have some experiences with authorities there.

Local traditions and culture in Uzbekistan

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Local Customs: Cities in Uzbekistan
  1. Tashkent Local Customs
  2. Samarkand Local Customs
  3. Bukhara Local Customs
  4. Tashkent Local Customs
  5. Khiva Local Customs
  6. Fergana Local Customs
  7. Shahrisabz Local Customs
  8. Marghilon Local Customs
  9. Qo'qon Local Customs
  10. Farg'ona Local Customs
  11. Qarshi Local Customs

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Q:  Myself and my wife are considering combining Uzbekistan and Kyrgystan in a two week plus trip in the summer of 2012. We are well... 

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A: It would help if you had more info, as opposed to none, in your profile, so that we would know your country of residence. However, I hazard a guess that it is Canada? ... 

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