Page 41 - Județul Sălaj - prezentare

The craft of straw hats (ro:cloparit) has a
29
long tradition in the history of Sălaj county.
It was perfected by masters who used as
raw material either poplar wood processed
by a special technique or a particular spe-
cies of higher and less productive wheat,
but peasants sowed it for the precise pur-
pose of obtaining straw for “clopuri” (hats).
Wheat straws are hand-knotted: more pre-
cisely, the straw is cut between the knots,
tied in bundles and soaked in water to
maintain its elasticity, then interlaced in
three, four or five yarns to produce long
strips, of which future hats will be made. Wood carving, Sălaj

Wood carving has an old tradition and, like other forms of art,
31
apart from the tools, materials and techniques used, creativity
and passion are needed to give rise to such valuable creations.
With simple tools such as saucer, saw, knife, chisel, compass, di-
fferent shapes and figures have been created over time. The crafts-
men from Sălaj have always felt the need to embellish the objects
they produced (the most notable being the wooden gates found
in Fildu de Jos), of wood of different essences: oak, cherry, walnut,
lime, fir, ash, alder, maple.

Weaving and sewing, Sălaj

Crafting straw hats, Sălaj

The Craft of Weaving and Sewing is old
30
since the Romanian existed, and the mys-
teries of this old occupation were trans-
mitted from generation to generation.
Women were the ones who cultivated,
on small surfaces of earth, flax and hemp,
which were then ready for use in weaving
or sewing. On the other hand, the wool
was cut from the sheep, it was poured
and then colored until it reached the good
thread for work in the loom. The threads
were used either in their natural or paint-
ed colors. Alder and nettle buds were used
to black out fabrics, brown walnut peels,
green plum jar for red, dark cow shark,
cherry and lobster peel, yellow celan-
dine, and onion sheets brown. The natural
colors of these fabrics do not discolour in
time, neither from the sun nor through the
washing process.

14
29,30,31 www.salajshop.salajplus.ro