Sunday 24 February 2008

The Oya Collection

Turkish women are ‘handmade’ champions. A handmade trousseau is a must and a way to measure the suitability of the bride to be. Incredibly beautiful stuff (and some very ugly) is made by hand for that trousseau.


One of the cornerstones is the ‘oya’, that being the generic name for all the finishing’s of the traditional headscarf, worn by the Turkish woman. This oya patterns have countless variations, depending of the region, but also of the marital status of the woman. Special (wider) oya’s are used for praying shawls, used at the mosque or religious celebrations, but also while reading the Koran at home.


It is of no importance if the girl usually covers her head or not, in her trousseau a large amount of oya’s is compulsive, again depending of the region, up till three hundred (!!). There are places where the female wedding guests get one as a remembering, but more often than not all those beautiful oya’s get buried in a chest for ever. The old ones, made with silk thread, are a very sought after collectors item.


These oya’s can be made in a diversity of techniques: crocheting, tatting, needle lace, among others, in every case including, or not, seed beads. The variations are endless and the resulting lace trimmings are often breathtaking.

Less known is the use of those oya’s by men as part of the outfit of the efe’s, (efeler in Turkish). Today these efe’s are mostly folkloric dance groups, but they have their roots in the 16th century, when groups of partisans, or outlaws, fitted out like that, rebelled against the lords of that time. ‘Efe’ is still a synonym for brave hearted, what, wearing a crown of flowers and diaper style pants, is not a small fait. And…hell…they have the best oya’s on their head, with huge needle lace flowers.


It has been a real pleasure to incorporate these beautiful oya’s in our jewelry. They make gorgeous, feather light earrings, and different kinds of necklaces…with a taste of the east!



11 comments:

  1. I am thoroughly jealous of your easy access to all these goodies ;-D

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  2. very interesting to read, and true, the men have the most beautiful oya!

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  3. Wow Star, I can imagine endless idea come from this great traditional handmade!

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  4. Agree with Karlita, I can imagine myself wearing one of those male oyas! I love crochet and tatting work, so these for me are really great.

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  5. Very interesting to read and gorgeous oyas!

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  6. Woww!! Those oyas are amazing!! And I love your earrings with the white lace!

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  7. Your pictures are amazing. Thanks again for sharing your way of life!

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  8. This was a wonderful article! I had no idea of this custom. I had thought your Oya pieces were beautiful to begin with (not knowing the history of these items); knowing the tradition makes these pieces so much more special! Linda

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  9. Excellent works! Congratulations...
    Nice to find your blog here :)
    Best wishes to Marmaris from Ankara ;)

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  10. This is very fine work ! Beautiful ! Love to stroll around one of these places where they sell al this nice crocheting work.

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