Diana Roșca writes about a community in Moldova that come together to keep alive their ancient embroidery tradition
(A message to the reader in English.)
(A message to the reader in Romanian.)
The “Ciocârlia” (skylark) community was founded in 2020, in the village of Costești, Ialoveni District, with the desire to revive and perpetuate the art of traditional costume in this locality. Our community is dedicated to safeguarding the traditional costume, especially the embroidered shirt. Our ladies get inspiration from museums and trousseau chests, old costume pieces, and contribute to its reconstruction. Cultural expression is the core of our identity, our beginnings, where we started, and the thread connecting us to our ancestors. These are the foundations that underlie the deep desire to recover and promote our treasure. Promotion is an extremely important and necessary part of showing the whole world who you are through the journey of your ancestors to the present day.”
Probably the most memorable moment for us was our active participation in the preparation of the file for the inscription of “The Art of the Blouse with Altiță – an Element of Cultural Identity in Romania and the Republic of Moldova” on the UNESCO Representative List. Our community played a crucial role in this process, contributing as creators of blouses with altiță (delicate embroidery on the shoulders of the blouse). It was a profound feeling, as if we were writing history, but at the same time, we fully felt the responsibility of passing on this valuable craft. Since the beginning of the founding of the “Ciocârlia” community, we have set out to do more than sew quietly among ourselves. We wanted to attract the attention of the community and bring the art of traditional embroidery out of the shadows. With this aim, in 2022 we realized the project “We return to our origins”, supported by the Eco Răzeni Association and the Ialoveni District Council. Within this project, we focused on training young people and children in authentic and endangered Romanian sewing techniques.
The first edition of this project was completed with an exhibition of embroidery in looms, where the young people combined 3-4 sewing techniques to recreate the embroidered designs as they were done in the old days. In the second edition of the project, young people who fell in love with this art got involved and had the opportunity to learn, step by step, how to create a traditional shirt. At the end of the project, each participant left with an authentic shirt embroidered by him.
This year, on May 18 2024, we organized in the village of Costești an event called “Ancestral shirt – identity garment”, carried out within the project of the same name. About 15 shirts sewn by the girls from the “Ciocârlia” community were exhibited at the event. A mini-seminar was also held for the guests at the event which helped them to educate themselves about the authentic traditional costume.
Our meetings are the place and time where every shirt creator can realise her dream. We meet weekly, alternating locations between Costești and Ialoveni. Our meetings are usually held on Monday evenings at 5:00pm and last approximately two hours.
In these meetings, ladies come with questions collected during the week, ask for opinions, share experiences and seek inspiration. Discussions are free and easy, giving each participant the opportunity to express themselves, without fear of making mistakes. The open and friendly atmosphere allows us to support each other, share knowledge and develop our skills.
Our reunions are not only a creative space but also a place of connection, where the passion for the traditional shirt brings us together and motivates us to continue this beautiful tradition.
People, especially women, join our community out of a deep desire to learn more about the traditional blouse and, in general, about the ancestral costume. Usually, the first meeting is driven by curiosity, but as they learn more, they come to want such a blouse for themselves. This blouse is more than just a garment; it is a temple of our nation, filled with magical symbols. All members of this community, both old and new, are here because they understand the profound cultural value carried by the hand-embroidered blouse, integrated into the traditional costume.
Additionally, members of traditional artistic ensembles join our community to gain more information about traditional costumes, ensuring they appear on stage dressed correctly and authentically. These artists, through their presence, become role models for the general public, faithfully promoting and preserving the cultural values of our nation.
We always strive to attract new members to our community. To achieve this, we organize various events such as exhibitions, Traditional Dress Day, and public seminars where we communicate to the public about the beauty of the traditional blouse and the importance of its creation and promotion. Additionally, we participate in television shows and the press, making the community visible and appealing to people.
A very important aspect for us is attracting young people, as they are the future ambassadors of the traditional costume. To engage the youth, we organize various projects that involve them actively: creative workshops where they learn traditional embroidery techniques, and we teach them how to integrate the traditional blouse into their contemporary attire, at school, and at their events. This way, we ensure that our traditions are passed down and appreciated by future generations.
In the future, I envision the Ciocârlia community as a central hub for authentic traditional costumes, where people from various fields will come: some to learn sewing, others to seek advice on authentic blouses. We aim to become a training hub, organizing numerous seminars, workshops, and roundtable discussions, as well as publishing specialized books on traditional costumes. Through these initiatives, we aim to promote and preserve traditional crafts, encouraging continuous learning and knowledge exchange among experts, artisans, and enthusiasts. At the heart of our activities will be the education and inspiration of future generations regarding the beauty and significance of Romanian traditional costumes.
About Diana Roșca
I am Diana Roșca. I was born in the village of Hulboaca, Orhei district. I studied at the local gymnasium, then attended the College of Informatics. Later, I graduated from the Faculty of Information Technologies at the Technical University. Currently, I am pursuing my master’s studies at the State University, Faculty of History and Philosophy, specializing in Cultural Heritage Management. Since 2011, I have been working in the field of graphic design. I have always been passionate about traditional costumes, especially shirts with embroidery, and this passion, as an adult, made me want to learn more about this art. I have been sewing shirts since 2018, founded the community “Șezătoarea Ciocârlia,” and this year, I have delved deeper into researching the symbolism of the traditional peasant costume. In the future, I hope to consolidate my knowledge into written works that will be useful to the communities that perpetuate the art of traditional costumes.
