Browsing by Subject "esiliina"

This qualitative research is about craft cultures of two different areas in Karelia. The aim of this research is to find out what have been the main influences on craft cultures. Areas that will be studied in this research are Raja-Karjala and the island of Seiskari in the Gulf of Finland. For the actual research footage, I will be using two aprons from the collection of Finnish Heritage Agency and The National Museum. Aprons are originally from Raja-Karjala and Seiskari. As a research method I will be using the product essence analysis developed by Marketta Luutonen in her doctoral dissertation Rustic product as a conveyor of meaning: a study of Finnish pullovers. Method includes three phases. In the first phase I wrote my first impressions from the two aprons in Finnish Heritage Agency’s Collections and Conservation Centre. My other research question is finding out the differences in these two aprons. The habitat and area’s other culture have been the biggest influences in Raja-Karjala’s and Seiskari’s craft cultures. Majority of the Raja-Karjala’s population were members of the Orthodox church which impacted life in every sector. Ritual towel käspaikka was the most characteristic craft in Raja-Karjala with its symbols and meanings in different situations. Seiskari’s isolated location in the middle of the sea and living collected from the ocean were significant factors in island’s culture. Fishing was a big part of life in Seiskari whether it was the main or side income or to feed the family. Due to fishing, weaving and fixing fishnets were in the very center of craft culture in Seiskari. Two studied aprons had differences in material, embroidery, and colors. Apron has been used for protecting clothes in different situations, but it contains many symbolic meanings of woman’s status in society throughout history. In Seiskari apron has been used mainly to protect, for example when collecting fish from nets. In Raja-Karjala and its agriculture one needed apron for protecting clothing, but apron’s symbolic meaning was perhaps more highlighted in Raja-Karjala than in Seiskari.