Impressive phenomenon of Belarusian culture

Straw weaving of Belarus is included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List

Straw weaving is an original element of traditional folk art, a bearer of a unique cultural code and a national treasure of the Belarusians. Recently, it was decided to include the Belarusian nomination ‘The Straw Weaving of Belarus: art, craft, skills’ into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO at a regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO in Morocco.

Fancy patterns, aerial amulets, outlandish birds and even mighty bison — Belarusian craftsmen do everything from straw! Since ancient times, this craft has helped to create durable and comfortable products for everyday life and everyday household chores. But filled with light and warmth, the sunny yellow straw became an inspiration for creativity. Skillful hands created real masterpieces for beauty and joy, while filling them with deep folk symbolism. Nowadays, art products and souvenirs made of straw are taken away by guests as a heartfelt gift to their loved ones and a reminder of the blue-eyed Belarus. Such products have no analogues in the world, because this is one of the distinguishing features of the artistic traditions of the Belarusian people, their original spiritual culture. The definition of ‘Belarusian straw’ has acquired the meaning of a national brand.


Art products and souvenirs made of straw are unmistakably associated with Belarus, they testify to the creative abilities and diligence of Belarusians.In Belarus straw weaving has been practiced for a long time. This craft lived through many thousand years. The beginning of the use of straw by the Eastern Slavs as a material for weaving dates back to the period of expansion of agriculture at the turn of the 2nd-1st millennium BC. e. This craft has its origins in ancient rituals associated with the cult of bread and fertility. The ancestors of the Belarusians considered the straw, which absorbed the warmth of the summer sun, an analogue of gold, so it was often used in the design of church decoration, for example, the main gates of the iconostasis in an Orthodox church. At the end of the 18th — the first third of the 19th century a local art school was formed to create straw iconostases for Orthodox churches in the Belarusian Polesie (Drogichin and Kobrin Districts of the Brest Region). There are two examples of iconostasis thatched gates of the early 19th century in the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus and one in the Grodno State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve. Direct analogues of these works of art have not been identified. The royal gates from the iconostases of Polesian churches are unique examples of Belarusian straw weaving of high complexity, which have become the pinnacle of the skill of straw weavers.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, straw weaving has gained popularity throughout the country. In the 1960s and 1980s, the straw seemed to have experienced a rebirth, which is associated with the development of technology at art craft factories for the production of souvenirs and decorative items, as well as the expansion of the techniques of this craft. Moreover, the genre of decorative animalistic sculpture appeared in the works of such folk artists as Vera Gavrilyuk, Taisia Agafonenko, Larisa Los, Lydia Glavatskaya, Tamara Pavlovskaya…The royal gates in the Grodno State Historical and Archaeological Museum

Nowadays, straw weaving is practiced in different regions of the country, and more than 200 craftsmen are carriers of this craft, 20 of which have been awarded the title of People’s Master of Belarus. To popularise straw weaving in Belarus, training courses, master classes from professionals, numerous exhibitions, festivals of crafts and folk art are held.
For their purposes, craftsmen use exclusively natural material, which is extracted by traditional methods. Long stalks of rye or wheat are cut by hand with a sickle to preserve their quality and elasticity, as well as color features.
There are four main types of artistic processing of straw: spiral weaving (for the manufacture of clothes, beehives, furniture), weaving of straight and three-dimensional braids (these two types are used for the manufacture of straw hats, baskets, boxes, decorative items), straw plastic (appliqué), design from straws (‘spiders’).


Women predominate among the masters. Men mainly practice the creation of traditional products using the technique of spiral weaving: large containers, men’s hats, ritual Christmas masks, straw plastics, and so on. The living tradition of straw weaving is continuously enriched. The country has established a system of teaching the craft, transferring knowledge about the technology of processing material, the continuity of its artistic traditions.
Throughout the country there is a network of educational and cultural institutions for children and adults who teach straw weaving. Exhibitions and festivals of crafts and folk art, training courses and master classes from professionals are held.
Straw weaving is studied at the Belarusian State University of Culture and Art, Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank, and other educational institutions of the country.
The most significant collections of straw products can be seen in the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus, the Museum of Ancient Belarusian Culture, large regional museums.
By the way, the Belarusian straw became the fifth national element in the lists of the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage — along with the Carol Tsars Christmas rite in the village of Semezhevo, the celebration in honor of the veneration of the Budslav Icon of the Mother of God in Budslav, the Myadel District of the Minsk Region, the Yuriev Round Dance spring rite in the village of Pogost in the Gomel Region and the culture of forest beekeeping in Belarus on the example of the Lelchitsy District of the Gomel Region.

Based on materials of sb.by
Photos by BELTA