TROUSSEAU / ÇEYiZ

English text is in blue font

Hayal gucunun, umudun, tatli bir heyecanin, en onemlisi de emegin ortaya cikardigi bir sanat eseridir ceyiz...

Bin bir cicegin, desenin, rengin bulustugu bir cennet bahcesi gibidir eski ceyizler. Orada cicekler, meyveler, kuslar, arilar, kelebekler ve tum renkler olumsuzlesir. Dogaya ve onun yaratici gucune, gizemine tutkundur Anadolu kadini. El sanatlarinda sanki doga ile yarisir. O nedenle en guzel el islemeleri, oyalari 'ceyiz sergisi'nde gorulurdu.

Work of art and product of imagination, hope and excitement, most important of all it is a labor of love... the trousseau!

Trousseaus of old were virtual gardens of paradise, juxtapositions of thousands of colors, designs and flowers in which fruit, flowers, butterflies, birds and bees, and all the colors of the rainbow were immortalized. Passionate admirers of nature and its creative power and mystery, the women of Anatolia seem to vie with nature in their handicrafts. Their most exquisite embroidery and crocheting can be observed in the 'trousseau display'.

KIZ BESiKTE, CEYIZ SANDIKTA

Eski geleneksel yasamda sandik ceyizi, kiz bebesinin dogmasiyla baslar ve genc kizin evlenmesine dek surerdi. Bunun icin de "Kiz besikte, ceyiz sandikta" denirdi.

Sandiga ince bir don konurdu; kiz "donansin" diye. Bu inancin nedeni, ceyizi az olan kiza "Sen bize donsuz geldin" denmesidir. Bu sozleri hicbir kadin duymak istemez. O nedenle kiz bebesi dogar dogmaz sandiga don konmasinin nedeni budur.

Ayak bileklerine kadar inen donun pacalari nakisla bezenir. Donun lastik yerine gecen uckurun da iki ucu ayni sekilde bezenik olur. Don giyildiginde uckurun isli iki ucu karin uzerine duser. Iste bu uckurlar uzerine sembolize edilerek nakisla resmedilen desenler, dogurganligi, bereketi, aski, gucu, saglikli olma istegini dile getirir. Anadolu'nun bereket tanricasi Kybele gibi... Resimlerin bir kisminda goruldugu gibi; renkler, bitkiler, cicekler, dallar, budaklar, yapraklar, hayat agacini temsil eden ornekler, bazi meyveler, arilar, kuslar, yilanlar, akan sular, Osmanlica yazili dualar yasamla ilgili bircok konuyu dile getirir.

THE GIRL'S IN THE CRADLE, THE TROUSSEAU'S IN THE CHEST

In the traditional life of olden times, the hope chest was started with the birth of a girl and continued right up to her wedding day. Hence the expression, "the girl is in the cradle, the trousseau is in the chest". The first thing to go into the chest was a pair of bloomers that the girl might be properly decked out.

Owing to this belief, a girl with a small trousseau was said by her in-laws to have come "without bloomers". No woman wants to hear such words. Consequently, a pair of bloomers goes into the hope chest as soon as a baby girl is born. Ankle-length, these undergarments are decorated with embroidery as are the two ends of the drawstring that dangle over the belly when the bloomers are worn. Like the Anatolian mother goddess, Cybele, the embroidered patterns symbolize the desire for fertility, plenty, love, power and health. As you will see in some of the pictures, the colors, plants, flowers, branches, leaves and representations of the tree of life, as well as various fruits, bees, birds, snakes, flowing streams and prayers in Ottoman script give expression to many aspects of life.

EL iSi GÖZ NURU

Iste böyle çesitli inanislarla geleneksel çeyizler, ev içi üretimiyle ve kadin el sanatlarinin yaratici gücüyle olusturulurdu... Böyle bir çeyiz hazirlanirken, dokuma tezgâhlari, çikriklar, mekikler, gergefler, tiglar, sisler çalisir; iplikler, teller, pullar igne ucundan geçer, göz nuru dökülürdü.

Geleneksel olan bu isleme türlerinden "hesap isi", "tel kirma", "sarma" gümüs, altin simle veya ipekle yapilir; "cigerdelen", "ajur", "siyirtma", "zincirisi", "dolgu", hepsi gergefte islenir. "Hesap isi"nde bez, gergefe veya kasnaga gerilir. Renk renk ipekten çekilmis iplikler igneye geçirilir. Bezin telleri sayilarak belirlenen örnek ilmek ilmek islenir.

"Tel kirma" isi ise ince, renkli bez gergefe gerilir. Metal, gümüs rengi tel kumasa üstten ve alttan kirilarak geçer, yüzü tersi esit olarak sekil alir. Islenen tel kumasa yerlesmesi için tasla vurulur. Tel kirma, piriltili ve gösterisli oldugu için daha çok gelin duvaklarinda kullanilir.

SKILL OF THE HAND, LIGHT OF THE EYE

As the outcome of such diverse beliefs, traditional trousseaus were produced in the home through the creative power of women's handicrafts. Spinning wheels, looms, shuttles, embroidery hoops, crochet hooks and needles all contributed to the preparation of such trousseaus, as colored silk and gold and silver wires were threaded through the eyes of needles and the light of the maker's eye fell over the whole.

Among the traditional types of embroidery, some such as satin stitch and "broken wire" are done with fine gold or silver wire. All of them, including petit point, cutwork, drawn work, chain stitching and the French knot, are done on an embroidery hoop. Another form of embroidery, also done by stretching the fabric over an embroidery frame or hoop, involves threading the needle with strands of colorful silk and knotting them around the counted threads of the fabric.

Still another type of embroidery, "tel kirma" or "broken wire", is done by stretching a piece of gauze-like colored fabric over a frame and weaving thin silver or gold wires over and under it to form a pattern which is the same on both sides. The embroidered pattern is then pounded into the cloth with a stone. Eye-catching and sumptuous, this embroidery is used frequently for bridal veils.

‘Cigerdelen’, kasnaga gerilen beze bir noktadan geçen igne çevresinde renkli bir daire olusturur. Igne ve iplik ayni noktadan geçtigi icin ortada gözle görülen bir delik olusur. Kadinin hayal gücü, güzeli arayip bulma istegi, gizemli iç dünyasi, inanilmaz fanteziler yaratirdi... Sanki kadinin gönül bahçesinin mutluluk çiçekleri renk renk çeyiz esyasi üzerinde açardi. Donuna, uckuruna, ic ve dis giyimine, yazmasina, gelin duvagina, peskirlere, yagliklara, desen desen naksederdi... Iste boyle yillar icinde hazirlanan "el emegi goz nuru" ceyiz sonunda gorkemli bir sergiyle topluma sunulurdu.

40 GUNLUK SERGI

Bugun de onem verilen bu toplumsal ve sosyal gelenek; kadina el sanatlarinin tum dallarini 5-6 yasindayken ogretmeye baslardi. Egitmenleri anneleri ve cevreleriydi. Boylece el becerileri gelistikce, yaslari buyudukce kizlar arasinda ornek, desen, renk, cesitli oya turleri uretme yarisi baslardi. Boylece gencler ceyiz sergilerinde yeni buluslarini topluma sunarlardi. Bu buluslar islemelerde sonsuz bir desen zenginligine neden olurdu. Ve bu ceyiz 40 gun gezmeye acik tutulurdu. Boylece kadinlar, kizlar arasi kultur alisverisi saglanirdi. Aynen bugunun sanat galerileri gibi topluma hizmet verilirdi. Bazi ceyizler toplum uzerinde oyle iz birakirdi ki, yillarca unutulmaz ve oradan kopya edilen islemeler surer giderdi.

In "petit point", a circle of color is created around every spot where the needle pierces the fabric, which is stretched on an embroidery frame, to produce a perceptible aperture. A woman's power of imagination, search for beauty, and mysterious inner world could spin incredible fantasies, as if the flowers of happiness in the garden of her heart had bloomed in color on her trousseau collection. Undergarments, outer garments, bridal veils, towels, napkins and handkerchiefs-she adorned them all with embroidery. And so the trousseau, "skill of the hand, light of the eye", that has been years in the making is finally presented to the public in a magnificent display.

A 40-DAY EXHIBITION

Starting at age five or six, girls were instructed in all the branches of women's handicrafts, a social tradition still valued today. Their teachers were their mothers or other women in the household and community.

As the girls matured and their skills developed, they began to compete with each other to produce new colors, designs and stitches, inventions which were then presented to the public in their trousseau displays. Their inventions resulted in an infinite richness of design in Turkish embroidery. Such exhibitions, which were open to visitors for 40 days, fostered a cultural exchange among women and girls, performing a social function similar to that of art galleries today. Some trousseaus made such an impression that they were remembered for years and the embroideries seen there copied over and over again by successive generations.

BAHSISSIZ ÇEYIZ VERILMEZ

Özenle hazirlanan çeyiz özel bir törenle alinirdi. Eskiden at arabalari, atlar, develer yörelere göre hazirlanir ve hepsine çanlar baglanirdi. Bu özel müzikal sesi duyan “çeyiz gidiyor” derdi. Simdi motorlu vasitalar süsleniyor; çan yerine korna çaliniyor. Çeyizi almak için erkek tarafi, kadinli erkekli sabah kusluk vakti kiz evine gelir ve çeyizi getirdikleri vasitaya yüklerler. O sirada çeyiz sandiginin üzerinde oturan gelinin kardesi bahsis almadan sandigi vermez. Sonunda her sey tatliya baslanir.

Sandikla birlikte kizin yakin akraba kadinlari da çeyiz sermeye oglan evine kafileyle birlikte giderler. Çeyizi kiz evinden gelen kadinlar sergiler. Gelin odasinin duvarlari silmece el islemeleri giysiler, oyali yazmalarla süslenir. Çeyiz sermek de ayrica büyük ustalik isidir. Çevrede her zaman iyi çeyiz seren bilgili, usta kadinlar bulunur. Sergileme bitince ‘çeyiz alti’ eglencesi baslar. Yenilir içilir, oyunlar oynanir. Bu tören yeni kurulan yuvanin bolluk içinde mutlu bir yasam sürmesi dilegiyle son bulur.

NO TROUSSEAU WITHOUT A TIP!

The trousseau assembled with such pains is transported in a special ceremony. In the old days, camels, horses and horse-drawn carts were decked out according to local custom, always with bells attached. Whoever heard their unmistakable tinkle knew that ‘a trousseau was on the way’. Nowadays motor vehicles are decorated, and honking horns have replaced the bells. In mid-morning a mixed group of men and women from the groom’s side arrive at the bride’s house to fetch the trousseau, which they load onto the vehicle they have brought for the purpose. When they arrive, the bride’s younger brother or sister is perched atop the hope chest and will not give it up without first being given a tip.

In the end everything is settled amicably and, together with the chest, the bride’s close female relatives set off in a procession to the groom’s house to lay out the trousseau, a task which is always given to the women from the bride’s side. The walls of the bridal chamber are hung with the hand-embroidered garments and embroidered inscriptions. Displaying the trousseau demands expertise, and there are always women in the community who possess the requisite skill and knowledge. When the exhibition is ready, the ‘trousseau party’ begins with consumption of food and beverages and the playing of games. This ceremony concludes with wishes for a long and happy life lived amidst plenty in the newly set-up household.

Bir hafta sonra gelin gelince dogruca çeyiz odasina alinir. Damatla gelinin beraberlikleri bu odada baslar. Sonraki günlerde isteyen gelir çeyizi gezer.

Geleneksel bir çeyiz sergisini gezerken, kadinin dünyasinin ne kadar ince, sanatkâr, renkli, piriltili, zarif, yaratici, süsleyici, günes gibi, ay gibi, yildizlar gibi ruhlari aydinlatici oldugunu düsünürsünüz. Bu duygular içindeki kadin el becerisiyle, gönül zenginligiyle nasil bir cennet yaratmistir gerdege girecegi odasinda ve yataginda, yoku var ederek...
Kadin yaratir, dogurur toprak gibi...

When the bride arrives one week later, she is immediately ushered into the trousseau chamber, where the new couple?s life together commences. Anyone who wishes may come to see the trousseau in the days that follow.
When viewing a traditional trousseau display, you realize how refined, artistic, colorful, scintillating, elegant, creative and decorative the world of woman is, illuminating the soul like the sun, moon and stars. Suffused with such emotions, women have created a virtual paradise in their bridal chambers and beds with their manual dexterity and rich imagination, creating something out of nothing. Woman creates and gives birth, like the earth itself...

Source: SkyMagazine