What's in a Name?

 

sash

skirt fabric, sash, head dress

skirt fabric, right and wrong side (colours were much darker in real life - my camera simply could not capture the intensity!)

One of the things I've done is weave fabric for the local Ukrainian dance troupe.

All of their dances are done in the traditional dress of the region/village the dances are associated with so they have various outfits suitable for the regional dances they present.

As I dug into the 'proper' textiles for each, I found that the clothing for these various dances are not 'uniform'.  As in they are not identical from person to person.

They have a similarity in appearance from a distance, but each maker can make small changes that make their clothing 'unique' to them.

It was a very interesting revelation for someone who wanted to make sure what I was weaving was 'correct'.  Once again, textiles were far more complex and nuanced than anticipated.

Over the years I have worked to break down my reality bubble and one of the things I have tried to address are my 'settler' assumptions.

I am a person of various European ethnic backgrounds, living on Turtle Island.  As such my 'norm' is that I wear whatever is available when I need to purchase something.  With a mixed ethnic background, I have no 'traditional' dress.  

If I wear a Ukrainian dance outfit, or a Swedish outfit from, say, Leksand, I am 'borrowing' from another culture.

If I were to wear a jingle dress and attend a pow-wow or potlatch, I would be 'borrowing' from another culture.

Over the years I have come to understand how my 'borrowing' of such traditional garb is rife with issues.

When a First Nations person wears their traditional garments to a pow-wow, or their regalia to a significant ceremony, they are NOT wearing a costume.  They are expressing their culture.  Their traditional garb is significant to them, carries meaning that I, as a person of European extraction, has no understanding about.

It is only recently that academia in Canada has been 'allowing' First Nations students to wear their regalia to accept their degrees, finally understanding that the garments they choose to wear signify a deep culture and value set at least as old as academic robes in European culture do.  Perhaps, even, longer, given the age of some of the academic institutions in Canada.

I celebrate the original peoples of this land and their search for their cultural roots and heritage.  I share examples of lovely robes that are being made now, understanding that, just like the Ukrainian dance garb, the significance of the symbols may be expressed with some individual expression, while staying 'true' to the overall cultural norms and expectations.

And I do not call them 'costumes'. Not the European cultural dress, nor the First Nations cultural dress.

I endeavour to give as much respect to the traditional garb of ALL cultures on this planet as I do to the ones that are tied to Europe.

Because frankly?  I do not have traditional dress, historical dress, in the same way that others do.  So I show respect to all of them, as much as possible.

As a weaver, I can deeply appreciate the skill involved in all of the traditional clothing that may be seen in my community at cultural events.  With the coming of the university, our ethnic mix has expanded far beyond what was available when I was growing up here. We have a much broader mix of different cultures, both in food, and in music.  Canada Day has become to mean a 'food court' in the park and different cultural groups taking centre stage for an expression of their music and dance.  

The more we 'see' each other in our complete context, the better able we are to 'see' each other as 'human'.  So I study textiles from other cultures.  Marvel at the level of talent and expertise on display.  Celebrate when people learn how these textiles are made and share their knowledge.

So, no, I'm not Ukrainian by 'birth', but I was happy to contribute to the local dance troupe by making textiles for them to continue to keep their traditional dance alive and well and celebrate with them by honouring their ancestry.