The feat of Shirak Leave a comment

Myth and legends

Somewhere there near the sea Wurukarta, now Aral Sea is laying a land of massagets. Two rivers Arankha (Amu Darya) and Yaksart (Sirdarya) fall into the sea. The rivers break into hundreds branches and form the swamps. There is a dessert “Black sands” to the South of Arankha. To the East is a dessert “Red sands”. In desserts, mountains, islands live people who call themselves “Massagets”- “Great gets”. They divided into seven tribes: saki-khaumavarka,  derbiki,  khorezms, apasaki, yaksarts, tokhars and avangals. Each tribe divide itself into two brotherhoods. And each brotherhood into four families.

Somedays the Massagets were a part of Khorezm kingdom. But after the first camping of Persian and conquest of Khorezm the massagets scattered throughout the earth.

From the times of camping of Kir I the unbowed tribes give no truce to the Persians. So one day Dariy I, the son of Gistap decided to start a camping and to conquer huge lands of massagets and to revenge to the head of their ancestor Kir, which was drown in the blood by the queen Tamiris.

In order to insure already huge and strong army the Persian find that one rotten apple, the traitor in the face of the family of deer.    

The deer to the coming of their new lords decide to eradicate some other families.  And they start their heinous plot from the eagle`s family. The leader of the eagle`s family was warrior Sokhrab, fighting his youth side by side with queen Tamiris. The son of Sokhrab was a brave warrior Shirak what means a lion.  The tribe of eagles was small and lived in dessert.

One night the traitors-deer attack the eagles.   They severely kill their sleeping tribesmen.   In cruel battle they kill the brave Sanobar the wife of Sokhrab and mother of Shirak. Sokhrab and Shirak with the last thirty warriors ask for the asylum the family of turtles in swamps, where the leader is wise Kunkhaz.

But in order to be accepted by the turtles Shirak is going to pass a challenge.  The turtles put up a deft shooter who kills a flying skylark in the night. But Shirak copes with more complicated task.  Choosing in the flock the biggest ox whose size scaring ten strong men, he kills him with his hands. His courage and pure soul win the heart of young and beautiful Farogat the daughter of Kunkhaz.

In face of Farogat Shirak finds the source of spirit forces and hopes. But the happiness was destined to last a few days. The Persians with traitors-deer attack the fort of turtles. With deception as their tribesmen yaksarts who came them to the aid the enemies take over the fort and kill the most people and also Farogat.

But defeat can`t oppress the spirit of massagets.  They summon all the tribes of massagets together.  To clarion call come four thousand yaksarts, four thousand apasaks, three thousand avgals, five hundred nomadic khorezms and thousand sarmats. These tribes formed the army of twenty thousand warriors. But what still can this army against perfect equipped eighty thousand army of Persians? 

Sokhrab proposes to win them with a trick. This trick supposed that of the massagets has to desert to the enemy and bring them to the desserts. And when the Persians will be weakened by the hunger and thirst the massagets will finish with Dariy. Everyone raised his hand to go to the enemy`s area knowing that it would be irrevocable campaign. Sokhrab chooses his son brokenhearted Shirak. Could he to choose a someone other and to send a someone else’s child and to save his own? He was a man of other mind. He took of the most precious that he had for the freedom of people. Shirak with joy accepts his mission hoping to the soon meeting with lovely Farogat.

Shirak comes to Gobria  the general counsel of Dariy with bloody face and convinced him that the leader of the tribe Sokhrab took away his wife and  cut into pieces his face.  So he is hunger for the revenge and ready to show the way them to the Sokhrab`s camp. Shirak successfully passes the tests of Gorbia and in a day all Persian army move in and out with their new guide. Shirak promises that only four from twelve days will take the way through the dessert and then they will have a food, water and their aim. The route of anger that is was the name of the way that Shirak lead regiment of Dariy.

The dessert! The sun makes burning the copper clothes of the hired warriors melting their skin. The people drink water nonstop. The purveyance of water taken only for four days vanished into the air. The night brings intolerable gold.  The people chattering the teeth dream the midday heat.  Surviving the hurricane on the second day the army lost 500 hired warriors Greeks. Every day the people, camels, horses, mules drawn in the mist of the hot sands. The hot breath of the hurricane dries up the bellows for saving the water. The guard kept an eye on Shirak days and nights. When the nights come and no one can see his face he is smiling.  On the fourth day exhausted with thirst the elephants broke the chains and treaded hundreds of warriors. Every hour takes away hundreds of lives, perished with thirst and bites of the elusive insects, spiders and snakes. The army that passed many severe ways now were dying only because they did not have more water in the bottles, the water that is so much in the world, which they used only yesterday washing their bodies and bloody hands.

On the sixth day the people saw the lake. Everybody rushed in it except Shirak. Only dessert and he knew that the water in this lake was so much salted that only one sip eroded the lips as a poison.  And the whole dessert flinched of the cry of those doomed. Dariy realized betrayal. He promised the illimitable wealth to Shirak if he will show the way to the water. But Shirak already counted the seconds before the reunion with Farogat.  

At that night Dariy with the small group of warriors left his army dying in the dessert. The massagets finish with the enemy`s army, being at the back of the scared Dariy. Nevertheless, Dariy managed to survive.

The remains of Shirak severed by a poleax carried through the all tribes of massagets.  The people cut their faces as it did Shirak leaving to the enemy.   They tore their lips as Shirak`s lips were cracked from the thirst. The drums beat at every city.  Everyone mourned Shirak as the son, brother, father and husband.

The day comes and the people`s  memory will forget about the feat of Shirak, but every grain of sand saves it forever.   

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CERAMIC
The process of production of the pottery or porcelain products bases on three main stages: forming, painting and roasting. All stages suppose hand labor. Therefore repeated work saving main features will include slight distinctions from original sample in shades, weight, form and painting as a result of hand labor.

Piala–  small bowl without handles widening to the top. Piala is traditional kind of cup for the tea in the East.

Lagan –big plate with low borders traditionally used in Uzbekistan for serving hot meals.

Point technique is one of the laborious of contemporary techniques in pottery painting. The difficulty of the technique is that every point of the pattern should be put by the craftsman separately. Every point is a part of colorful and diverse pattern.

Pomegranate is traditional symbol in art of Uzbekistan, which symbolizes fertility, welfare and love in the family.

Islimi– kind of herbal pattern. The distinctive feature of “islimi” style in wood carving is disposition of pattern above the background that looks like lace covering the thing.

Girikh-kind of the pattern in east art represented as geometric forms with crossing lines, knots and points

Abrband- manual technique of making  tissues in Uzbekistan. This technique is well known in the world under Indonesian word “ikat”. This technology includes about 40 stages. The uniqueness of abrband  technique doesn`t allow to create two identical fabrics.

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Pargori–kind of relief carving . Pargori is based on the thin carving of the geometric net with circles, squares and triangles.

Abru bakhor– technique originated in Bukhara and translated as “spring clouds”. The essence is that drawing creating through mixing of different colors. As the result it is reached marble shades with smooth and at the same time unpredictable transitions from one color to another. The sources tell that the backgrounds in abru bakhor technique were used as a base for the decrees of the emir of Bukhara and for the book covers. Over time abru bakhor was adopted by India, Iran and Turkey and became very popular to XV-XVII centuries. An important role in saving and improving of the technique have played the artists of Uzbekistan and Turkey.

Chizma or chikma –pottery drawing technique supposed a formation of the pattern on the wet clay. The difficulty of the process is in the skills of the craftsman  to create a pattern with mathematic   thoughtful in short gap of the  time while the clay is wet. 

Kandakori – kind of hand stamping with the deep relief. The depth of the pattern is usually about 0,5 mm to 3 mm.

METAL STAMPING 

The ordered sample can have differences with original in shades of metal and slight distinctions in sizes and forms of the elements of the pattern. In case  if the work added with hand painting saving main features the product will include some distinctions in details of painting.

Adras– hand weaved fabric consisted 50% from silk and 50% from cotton. Adras gives cool in summer and warmth in cold weather.

Abrband–  manual  technique of making  tissues in Uzbekistan. This technique is well known in the world under Indonesian word “ikat”. This technology includes about 40 stages. The uniqueness of abrband  technique doesn`t allow to create two identical fabrics.

THE FABRICS IN ABRBAND TECHNIQUE AND EDGINGS MATERIALS

As there are no two people with similar fingerprint so the handmade fabrics in “abrband” technique impossible to repeat.  In this regard please take into account that in description of the product with using “abrband” fabrics is noted the dominant color of the product. In preparing of repeated sample will be used the dominant color of original product.  Construction of the pattern, secondary colors and shades could differ from original product.

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Due to the hand coloring of the threads for the carpets the ordered sample saving the main features allows differences from original in shades and details of the pattern.

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Batik

The products made in batik technique suppose hand drawing. Due to this aspect the ordered sample saving the main features allows differences from original in shades, details and forms of the pattern as a result of hand labor and uniqueness of each order.

Simurg – fantastic bird in mythology of the people of Central Asia and Iran. Simurg is a symbol of justice and happiness. The image of Simurg is associated with the good patronage.

Kosa– deep bowl without handles. Traditionally it serves for hot light plats.

Text

Afrosiab–  an ancient name of the north part of Samarkand, also well known as Marakanda.

Tumor – an ancient shape of guarding amulet. As usual a pray sewed into the tumor.

Suzani– hand embroidered textile. Suzani is one of the most ancient crafts in Uzbekistan.

Miniature- special kind of fine art presenting illustrations of historical war battles, hunting and feasts.In old days in the East the books and manuscripts as a rule illustrated by the miniatures. The plots of miniatures are eloquent. The only one illustration can tell the whole story. The father of Uzbek school of miniature is Kamoloddin Bekhzad.

Iroki– technique of hand embroidery made by cross or half-cross stich with twisted thread. which makes the surface grainy.Composition in iroki technique fills with the pattern all working area not leaving even a piece of free tissue. Every stich so flawless what creates impression of the  print on the cloth.  Predominantly iroky is used by the masters of Shakhrizabs.

HAND EMBROIDERY-SUZANI

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