What kind of embroidery does Ozara create and what is the story behind that?
We create suzani embroidery for the local market in Tajikistan and it has been expanding internationally. Now we work with the Ethical Fashion Initiative and hope to show and share more of our craft and traditions with the world.
Suzanis are deeply engrained in our heritage, and traditionally when a woman gets married, she receives a large one. The embroidered piece of cloth is made by the mother or grandmother of the bride and every element and symbol, personifies a wish that they have for the marriage. The bride walks into the house of her husband for the first time covered in this suzani, filled with wishes for the future. Without a suzani, a girl can’t get married.
Every region in Tajikistan has their own symbols and colour combinations. You can always recognise where the marriage has taken place based upon certain elements and colours in the suzani. In the south part of Tajikistan you can find big flowers and various Zoroastrian symbols. These include, but are not limited to, earth, wind, fire, water and the four sides of the world like east, west, north and south. Certain flowers and circles mean sun. Every element of life is translated into fabric.
In the Penjakent Valley, suzanis mostly use traditional ornaments. The embroidery is done on white fabric with black thread. The philosophy behind this region’s suzanis is that life and death always walk hand in hand. The small red flowers you can find (dancing) in between the white and black are the moments of happiness we experience. In our region (northern region, Khujand) we mostly use the symbols of pomegranate and pepper. The pomegranate is a symbol of fertility and the pepper is a protection for the evil eye, in the form of male fertility.