A republican seminar on the topic of historical and cultural heritage will be held in Horadok
"The theme of identifying, preserving, and developing elements of the intangible cultural heritage of Belarusians will run like a red thread through the entire event," noted Svetlana Mozzharova.
Representatives of Gorodok will talk about traditional folk crafts characteristic of the district, which, thanks to the efforts of cultural institution employees, have been restored and classified as intangible cultural heritage. "Openwork weaving, spiral weaving from straw, willow, and pine roots, insite art, and Belarusian straw weaving practices are the topics we will raise at the seminar. We have gathered rich material in the villages of the Gorodok district. Moreover, we managed to conduct master classes by folk craftsmen on straw weaving. This is very valuable for us. A visual example of using a particular technique allows for the precise preservation and transmission of an original folk skill to future generations," said Marina Gushcho, Head of the Gorodok House of Crafts and Folklore.
She noted that the listed types of folk crafts were widespread in different regions of the Vitebsk region, but each locality had its own characteristic features. Openwork weaving, which residents of the Gorodok district called "kiseya," also had its regional traits. Here, they wove rushnyks with net fabric, and almost every home has preserved at least one such item. The district local history museum exhibits a rich collection of similar rushnyks.
The technique of spiral weaving from straw and vine or pine root is also interesting. It was used to make all sorts of household items – chests, sieves, baskets. Pine root was taken thin, pulled from the ground with special rakes. Its advantage was in length: vine rods were relatively short, and the roots of coniferous trees surpassed them in size by half. Thicker roots were split into ribbons and woven together with straw into products amazing in beauty and durability.
Participants of the seminar-practicum will talk about these and other interesting features of the traditional crafts of their regions, and will raise issues of preserving cultural heritage. Guests of the event will be met not only with reports and discussions of important topics, but also with excursions, visits to exhibitions, as well as the Snegurochka's residence in the tract Vorobyovy Gory.