At the address Trg oslobođenja in Derventa, within the premises of the "Branko Radičević" Public Library, several women gather every Monday to diligently work on preserving the traditions of their region.
With
smiles, jokes, sweets, and intriguing stories from the past, they reminisce
about how their mothers and grandmothers used to live and create items adorned
with motifs of Derventa embroidery. Each of them has her reasons for being
there, but their common ground is their love for tradition and their homeland.
Their
motivation for embroidery arose after visiting and interacting with women from
the Banja Luka association "Duga" ("Rainbow"). They were
impressed by the handicrafts of its members, particularly the Zmijanje
embroidery. Inspired by what they saw, they decided to give it a try
themselves.
"We
were impressed by their handicrafts, especially the Zmijanje embroidery. After
the visit, we decided to start similar work ourselves, so we first tried
Zmijanje embroidery. Then we did some weaving, engaged in various handicrafts,
had numerous creative workshops including decoupage, painting, and more,"
says Jovanka Popović, president of the Association.
The Association was founded in 2005 at the initiative of a group of women involved in humanitarian work.
They decided to register the association and become a
non-governmental organization. They currently have around 100 active members,
each village having its representative who organizes activities. Their mission
includes gender equality, equal opportunities between men and women, and the
prevention and fight against human trafficking. They are actively involved in
the RING network fighting human trafficking. They focus on violence prevention,
economic empowerment of women, and have conducted numerous humanitarian
actions. They receive support from the city of Derventa and the Ecumenical
Initiative.
After
realizing their talent for embroidery, they decided to focus on creating items
with motifs of Derventa embroidery. Unlike Zmijanje embroidery, Derventa
embroidery is rich in colors, playful, cheerful, and colorful. It features red,
yellow, blue, and black colors with vegetal motifs, floral patterns, branches,
and roses. Due to its vibrancy, many find it appealing and desire items such as
bags or blouses with motifs of this embroidery. These motifs can be used for
blouses, shirts, dresses, traditional costumes, bags, and pouches.
"Library
director Mirjana Plisnić helped us collaborate on Derventa embroidery. There
was already an exhibition of folk costumes in our museum, so we chose motifs to
work on souvenirs, paintings, and clothing items. We selected interesting
fabrics typical of Derventa, aprons, and folk costumes. Since December, we have
been actively involved in creating motifs of Derventa embroidery, which are
diverse, with beautiful colors and can be used on pillowcases, paintings, and
bags," explains Jovanka.
Their goal is for it not to be just traditional attire that no one wears but to become a tradition that young people will also embrace.
"Thanks
to our members, we managed to create an exhibition in the museum that some have
already visited and been amazed by. We won't stop here. We plan to meet with
the directors of elementary and high schools to hold workshops, to motivate and
interest young people, and perhaps have them join us someday," says our
interviewee optimistically.
Derventa
embroidery workshops began in December and will last through March, maybe even
April, until they complete what they started.
For
Kata Stupar, embroidery is much more than just a workshop. While working, she
recalls her childhood, youth, and words of her parents, especially her mother
from whom she learned handicrafts. She worked in education for forty years, but
teaching never bored her. At workshops, she continued to teach interested
individuals and pass on her knowledge.
She
mentions that she still has various items she made when she was young, and she
is glad to have the opportunity to show them to others or work on them. With a
smile and a special cheerfulness on her face, she talks about her youth and
what was considered important for a girl awaiting marriage.
"In
my time, girls got married based on their skills in crafts, how much they knew
to make patterns, who wove more, who had more embroidered towels, blankets,
sheets, and tablecloths. I started knitting when I was five years old, and
handicrafts are not difficult for me. Women are interested and work; I am very
satisfied with how they manage. Each one embroiders as if she has been doing it
for several years. Some of them also know how to crochet, and everything can be
learned if there is a will. No one is born learned, but you learn over time
through workshops. Sometimes I don't know something, so I ask someone to help
and explain it," Kata candidly shares.
She
points out that there are many complex motifs that are difficult to work on
because they need to be drawn on paper with squares first to facilitate work.
Those who had previous experience adapt more easily and quickly, but others do
not lag behind. They emphasize that diligent hands, desire, and motivation are
essential for successful work.
They would like to see more young people willing to learn from them. They are happy to share their knowledge and help young girls continue their path.
"We
are getting old, and our wish is to pass on our knowledge to girls. Everyone
wants to preserve their tradition, and so do we. We are pleased that we can
show young people how things were done in the past, and we will make some items
to leave to the library and their museum," she said for eTrafika.
In addition to their love for preserving tradition, Association members also gather for socialization. Most of them are retired and spend their free time enjoying each other's company. Embroidery relaxes them, and they often continue their work at home to pass the time more quickly.
"Handicrafts
calm me down; I always work because I am alone at home, and if I didn't have
that, I don't know what I would do. It's hard for me when it's a holiday or
Sunday. Then I have to read newspapers or solve crosswords because I don't know
what to do out of boredom. It's strange when retired women say they are bored
because the day is short for everything I would like to do," Kata says
sincerely as the other members nod in agreement, understanding what she means.
Finally,
as they pack their unfinished work, they admit that they don't like giving
interviews and that Kata always says everything they would say. They leave the
library, but they note that they will continue their work at home to finish
everything on time.
Source:
eTrafika
Text
and photo: Snježana Aničić Petković