Serbian rug seeks global cultural heritage status

DW (English)

Only five women in Serbia make the striking, colorful, hand-woven "kilim of Pirot" rugs. They believe that their craft will soon be given intangible cultural heritage status by UNESCO.

Transcript

00:00It can't be speeded up with anything, because it's all handcrafted,

00:04because there are no helpers, and because it's just fingers,

00:08and eyes, the ones that are actually weaving, and the zoom is done.

00:15Rugs that bear the name Kilim of Pirot can be found in the highest institutions of the land

00:20and the homes of public figures across Serbia.

00:24This traditional hand-woven rug from the town of Pirot in the southeast of the country

00:29could soon be added to one of UNESCO's Lists of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

00:37The Pirot Kilim is recognizable for its vertical pattern,

00:43for its wool, sheep from the Pirot region,

00:48for its two identical faces,

00:51for each kilim being made from one piece,

00:55and for its width, which is one square meter.

01:02Today, there are only five women who can produce these rugs.

01:06They are the only ones who have mastered this traditional handicraft

01:09and all work at the Ladies' Heart Cooperative.

01:12This makes it all the more important that this handicraft is kept alive

01:16and is recognized as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

01:20A woman should be able to learn some basic things,

01:24such as the shape of the rug,

01:26and to make small kilims, which are now called souvenirs.

01:34In order for a woman to get the title of weaving,

01:40she has to work for at least five years, every day,

01:43to make a large kilim, which is 1.40 meters by 2 meters,

01:48and if she succeeds, she can be called a weaver.

01:52Making kilim rugs takes a lot of hard work and patience.

01:57The rugs' typical patterns are everywhere in the region,

02:00on the walls of public buildings,

02:02and even on the clothes of civil servants officiating at weddings.

02:08These dresses are the brainchild of fashion designer and journalist

02:12Zuzana Tošić.

02:14Her creations, which have been shown on the catwalks of Belgrade,

02:17Paris and Turin, carry deep meaning for her.

02:20For me, the Pirot kilim has a great emotional value,

02:25and then, let's say, some kind of a promotional value lately,

02:29because my grandmother Dušanka was a kilim maker,

02:34because I grew up between kilims,

02:36and Tupica, and Razboj, and Kanure were my first toys.

02:42So I think it's a legacy that my grandmother left me,

02:46so that I can promote and spread the story of the Pirot kilim in a different, more modern way.

02:55To carry the designation kilim of Pirot,

02:57a rug has to be made in Pirot using local materials

03:01and woven according to a strict set of rules.

03:04The cooperative of Pirot kilim weavers was founded over 120 years ago,

03:09but the kilim weaving tradition in the town dates back to the 9th century.

03:14Pirot is also the only place where people can be trained to weave these rugs.

03:24There are 95 balls in the laboratory,

03:27and 122 smaller details are protected.

03:31They look like they were painted by a painter.

03:35It takes about 8 months to weave a rug measuring 2 by 3 meters.

03:40The packaging is also very important,

03:42especially when the rug is to be presented to an institution or a high-ranking public figure.

03:48The five weavers in Pirot continue to weave day in, day out.

03:53After all, one condition for UNESCO recognition of a handicraft as intangible cultural heritage

03:59is that it is kept alive.

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