Suzani embroidery is a unique traditional art

a craft still being practiced by women

from Central Asia.

It is a wonderful celebration that this unique craft has been widely brought to life and practiced again since the early 1990's

During Soviet rule the traditional making of Suzani was for a long period state controlled and largely suppressed, and many of her age old secrets and techniques were lost.

The very root of Suzani creations is believed to be in the Fergana Valley and spread across Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, from the mists of time. The term "Suzani" is derived from the Persian and is the word for needle and needlework "Suzanikari". 

During the centuries before the region fell under Soviet rule, Suzani told the enduring story of a mother's love for her daughter and the art of embroidery that they shared that endured the ages. The mother and women of a family taught little girls from an early age to embroider beautiful handcrafted dowry pieces for their wedding day that would bring wellbeing and happiness into their future married life. Daughters would have been taught the art and secrets of the embroidery of her family and region and then their own dowry pieces would one day be presented to the groom and his family on the wedding day. Their Suzanis would tell her new family much about a bride’s personality and embroidery skills. Her dreams for her life ahead was lovingly captured in these magical cloths as she grew up. Various dowry pieces in cotton “karboz'“ embroidered in silk would form part of the future wedding ceremony as canopies and head dresses, before they became important adornments in the wedding chamber and afterwards in the new home. 

The most special Suzanis were only displayed during celebration times and would then be carefully folded away again and stored. The home was always decorated with a wide range of embroidered works such as wall hangings, shelf covers, room dividers, door surround decorations, baby cot covers, mirror covers, kitchen tea storing bags, money bags, the options were endless. Embroidery also stretched as far as the family’s horse’s saddle bags and adornment.

Beautiful embroidery work was highly esteemed, and could earn women great respect in her new husband's family and in their community. Embroidery and weaving, cloth making was then the noble art of women as it had been through the centuries. Women could earn fame with their needles as men could with their swords !

“This was one of the few areas of life where women could express their imagination and their creative capabilities…..imaginative patterns would be used to create an atmosphere of eternal beauty, a garden, paradise on earth “ In the vast Central Asian arid desert heavenly Gardens of Eden were embroidered into these Suzani dowry pieces.

The important role of Suzani through the ages was connected to the belief that magic forces were embroidered into the patterns and motifs. They carried talismanic, protective and well wishing embroidered messages during the woman’s life. It was believed that newly weds needed extra protection from the evil eye during the first 40 days of their new married life together. Each Suzani motif used brought joy, fertility, long life, prosperity, fruitfulness, good health, hospitality into the home, but also at the same time kept the evil eye at bay and warded off all evil from the home.

 The work, energy, creativity and time that goes into the creating of a Suzani embroidery make them a truly "Living Art" and a "Herstory" in history. 

Each Suzani drawing came to represent the image of an ideal universe, where balance and harmony and the unity of magic and beauty in everlasting beautiful nature, were the most important features. The magnificent floral designs are symbols and motifs from the ancient Persian concept of the Garden of Eden with the depiction and of a walled garden, with its Tree of Life and Water features, as found in so many Persian silk carpets. These design elements can be seen in the garden of the famous Taj Mahal. A perfect example and a model for very many Suzanis. 

 In every authentic Suzani, you will find a small deliberate fault or unfinished area, as a reminder that man is not without mistakes, and also expresses the dream of the mother that her daughter will be inspired to want to “finish” creating the Suzani and thus continue the art of Suzani embroidery.

Traditionally grandmothers passed on her family's embroidery secrets and own designs to a younger woman in her family before she died. She would be the one to draw the guidelines on the backing cloth for the young bride to be to embroider. It was believed she would share her magical talents to the younger women in a dream if she died too suddenly.

Special rituals and festivals were regularly held in honour of past revered embroiderers.

Each region have their own local very distinctive design features, but many of these have become intermingled and merged between areas. This can often make it quite difficult to identify the exact origin of some Suzanis.

Often the meanings of the more ancient inherited symbols may have been lost and forgotten, but are still being used as decorative elements in contemporary Suzani designs. They carry a powerful message to those who still understand them .

Astral and solar symbols predominate in Tashkent and in Samarkand Suzanis, and have their roots in the ancient way of life of the nomadic and settled cultures of this area. The artisans believed that using these astral patterns in their designs provided the heaven's protection, and are connected with Zoroastrianism, the Sun cult and an ancient Fertility cult.  Important symbols in their pattern language were star medallions and the Sun, and the flowers and animals of the desert such as goats and snakes and wild Tulips.

Antique rural embroideries are related to the art of the nomads and carpet designs from the Ancient Steppe art.

As old cults and religions were replaced by new ones, astral symbols transformed into vegetative and floral patterns, as seen in Surkhandarya Suzanis. Often Bukhara, Nurata and Shakhrisyabz Suzanis were influenced by the professional royal court carpet and mosaic tile -designers of the Emirs and Muslim rulers. They created intricate compositions with palmettes and meandering branches and leaves, blossoming with stylised flowers and Phoenixes.

 This Ancient Craft very nearly became extinct with the advance of the Industrial Revolution with its machine made textiles and Suzanis. More so during Soviet rule when Suzanis were expected to reflect Soviet symbols instead of the centuries old ethnic patterns, with the result of tragically losing much of their magical charm and power.

But since Uzbekistan's independence in the 90's, Suzani is making a very proud comeback and young girls are being taught again to embroider as in days of old. The women that learned the revived art of embroidery again during the 90’s are the true artists of embroidery today and the creators of Suzani Art. Suzanis are now being created as works of art instead of dowry pieces for traditional Uzbek brides, and earns the artist her own pride and private income.

But there are huge threats to its survival because machine made synthetic copies of Suzani are being produced and are sold at cheap prices to tourists. This makes true hand embroidered pieces seem too "expensive" and this could result in them becoming a rarity again soon. There will no longer be the one woman embroiderer artist working and meditating over her Suzani for months and years. It will become group ventures and machine made embroideries to create “quick” results to be sold to tourists and online shops. The ever rising cost of raw silk and cotton also has a huge impact on the survival of this noble craft.

Since 2013 I have given many talks to local groups in South Africa about my journey and my own research into the world of Suzani. After many years I am absolutely no less passionate, and try to contribute all I can to help in a small way keep this Art alive and thriving.

Women in Bukhara practicing again the art of Traditional Suzani embroidery as they have been through the ages.

I have been collecting images wherever I could find them over the years, on the internet, from my travels, simply everywhere, of women embroidering in Uzbekistan.

Artistry crosses cultures and continents; it thrives in the tiniest villages that don’t even appear on a map.

Quote from “Marasim” that I love.

My information is a compilation taken from all the sources I have found on the internet and in available books on this topic.

Interesting links : https://voicesoncentralasia.org/the-love-and-beauty-of-wedding-suzani-from-the-collection-of-the-russian-state-museum-of-oriental-art/