PATTERNS THAT PERSIST

The first exhibition on Central Asian textile art in the Greater China region highlights the enduring nature of textiles and ornaments as carriers of stories and legacies

By Aaina Bhargava

There’s a Central Asian tradition pre-dating the spread of Islam to the region which entails filling a triangular fabric pouch with soil from a child’s birthplace, and leaving it with the child for protection until they become an adult. The custom was born when Tengriism, a polytheistic Turkic mythological belief system characterised by an adherence to shamanism and animism, was prevalent. “After the Islamic Khanate established rule in the region in the 10th century, the tradition became to enclose protective Quranic verses in the pouch instead. It’s called a tumar,” says 26-year-old Kazakh artist Daria Nurtaza, who goes by Kokonja. At the Centre for Heritage and Textile Arts (Chat) at The Mills, Hong Kong, Nurtaza wore a leather variation of the traditional amulet that she has had since childhood. She…

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Tatler Hong Kong (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2023

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