A traditional Turkmen woman’s attire is incomplete without silver jewelry. The jewelry was sewn onto the costume and worn over it, covering the headgear, neck, and hands. Turkmen women adorned themselves from early childhood into old age.
The first adornments for young children, both girls and boys, were amulets in the form of bells, which were sewn onto their clothes. Differences in jewelry for each sex appeared after the age of five. From the ages of nine to twelve, girls were considered brides and wore a lot of jewelry. Around this time, and sometimes even from birth, parents began preparing a dowry consisting of a complete wedding set of jewelry, which could weigh up to ten kilograms.
Many years ago, Turkmen women would braid their hair. Before marriage, girls would weave four braids: two in the front and two in the back.
These braids were woven with the uplitkas, which were long white or black cotton threads adorned with colored beads, small silver dome beads, and bells at the ends.
In many cultures, a wedding is considered a significant event in a woman’s life. Many festive rituals were performed during traditional Turkmen weddings. One important ritual for the young bride involved replacing her headgear for girls with a woman’s headgear decorated with silver. Four braids of the young woman were braided into two. A relative of the groom hung silver pendants in pairs on each braid and connected the ends with a heart-shaped piece of jewelry called an “asyk” (“hanging”).
Like most Turkmen jewelry, “asyk” pendants for the braids were amulets rather than decorative adornments. They were believed to have special properties that could protect women from disease, especially before and during pregnancy.
According to tradition, the groom’s relatives gave the bride a precious “asyk” pendant to symbolize harmony and love. This tradition continues in many families today. On the wedding day, an old “asyk” pendant, which is stored in the house, is attached to bride’s hair.
Traditionally, the middle-aged women wore paired wrist bracelets called “bilezik.” A typical “bilezik” pattern is a linear, stylized ornament formed by engraving a thin line or cutting the metal against a gilded background. The ornament was inlaid with carnelian. Stamped tines resembling snake heads (“yilan bash”) were soldered to the ends of the bracelet.
Bracelet (End of the 19th century, Beginning of the 20th century) by UnknownNational Museum of the History of Ukraine
These pieces vividly exemplify the original jewelry art of the Teke tribe and provide insight into Turkmen traditions.
This story was prepared as part of “The Treasury of the National Minorities” project, which is supported by the European Union under the House of Europe programme.
Author: Tetiana Savchenko
Technical implementation: Oleg Mitiukhin, Oksana Mitiukhina, Liudmila Klymuk
Translation: Mariia Prokopenko
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