Andres Rattasepp

“KASETOHUST PUNUTUD EESTI MÄRSSIDE TEHNOLOOGILISED ERIPÄRAD, VALMISTAMINE NING TÄNAPÄEVASED RAKENDAMISVÕIMALUSED” (juhendaja Priit-Kalev Parts, MA).

LÜHIÜLEVAADE: Märsid moodustavad Eesti muuseumide kogudes teiste kasetohust tarbeesemete hulgas kõige arvukama grupi, u 190 eset. Eestikeelsetest teatmeteostest saame märsi mõistele ka napi kirjelduse – niine- või kasetohusugadest punutud lakaga suletav seljakott või -paun. See määratlus on üldjoontes üsna täpne ja kehtib ka kõigi skandinaavia, soome-ugri ja vene analoogsete märsside iseloomustamiseks.

Eesti märsi valmistamisoskuse isalt pojale, meistrilt õpipoisile järjepidev kulgemine on kahjuks katkenud ja tegemist on n-ö „väljasurnud“ oskusega, mille taastamiseks tuli ette võtta põhjalik uurimistöö, mis toetus nii teoreetilistele kui ka praktilistele uurimismeetoditele.

Magistritöös „Kasetohust punutud Eesti märsside tehnoloogilised eripärad, valmistamine ning tänapäevased rakendamisvõimalused“ annan põgusa ülevaate maailma tohutööst, Eesti märsside ajaloost, kirjeldan isiklikult läbi tehtud Eesti ala kasetohusugadest punutud klapiga suletavate märsside valmistamisprotsessi materjali varumisest kuni selle valmimiseni. Kirjeldan tohu varumise, hoiustamise ja tööks ettevalmistamise viise. Pakun võimalikud lahendused tohu varumisega seotud probleemidele. Esitan Eesti märsside omavahelised konstruktsioonilised sarnasused ja erinevused. Märsi laka kinnitusviiside põhjal annan Eesti märsside tüpoloogia. Võrdleva analüüsi tulemusena toon välja Eesti märsside olulised sarnasused ja erinevused, võrreldes teiste rahvaste analoogsete märssidega. Esitan põhilised märsi valmistamise etapid. Esitlen mõned traditsioonilisest Eesti märsist inspireeritud esemed, mis paremini vastaksid tänapäeva kasutaja vajadustele.

Loodetavasti pakub käesolev magistritöö põnevat lugemist märsi, tohutöö ja esemelise pärandkultuuri huvilistele, vajalikke nippe Eesti tüüpi märsse valmistada soovivatele meistritele ning kasulikke teadmisi muuseumide varahoidjatele, kes saavad täiendada märsside kirjeldusi ning ümber hinnata nende väärtust ja tähtsust Eesti esemelises pärandkultuuris.

Andres Rattasepp
Magistritöö autor
TÜ Viljandi Kultuuriakadeemia

LÄBITUD ÕPPEKAVA: pärandtehnoloogia  magistriõppekava.

ESTER DSpace

 

SUMMARY: In this master’s thesis, entitled “Estonian Birch Bark Pouches: Particularities, Weaving Techniques and Possible Modern-Day Uses” I provide a brief survey of birch bark crafts around the world and the history of Estonian bark pouches, and describe the process of weaving birch bark strips into a pouch that can be closed with a flap, from obtaining the raw material to the finished item.

On the basis of comparative analysis with analogous experience in neighbouring countries, I confirmed Vladimir Yarish’s hypothesis regarding special techniques used in Estonian bark pouches, and I described the components of the bark pouches and identified similarities and differences compared to Estonian bark pouches. All pouches woven from birch bark strips, including ones of the same type from other countries, share the same structure, which we can conceptually call a “body,” made from birch bark strips woven in diagonal weaving technique. The pouch’s body is made up of a base, walls, opening and the flap. The bark pouches are similar in terms of the components of the body, but the overall size, shape of the flap, the width of the strip, the width and length of the base and the height of the body and other parameters may vary. The differences in bark pouches in the areas that now make up Estonia – which can be used to assign categories to bark pouches – principally lie in the way the way the flap is fastened to the pouch’s body.

I identified four types of bark pouches based on the method used to fasten the flap. The first type uses a fastening method known to be used only in Estonia, where the flap cord is tied to the base, attached to a half-loop formed from the carrying strap. The fastening method for the second type is that the flap strap is tied to a wooden, spindle-shaped peg in analogous fashion to bark pouches from neighbouring countries. Of the pouches examined, only four used the third type – here the flap strap was tied to a loop made of bast, cord or leather strap. The fourth category I reserved for categorizing all pouches that had no discernible sign of ways to fasten the flap. Presumably the flap on such pouches was not secured by tying or it was tied to a cord fastened to the base, which had gone missing over time. The last of these possibilities should be deemed unlikely, though.

The edge of the pouch on all pouches from what is now Estonia has a discernible cord or lakapael (flap strap) woven in – this is an interesting solution that is not typical of any pouches from neighbouring countries, where an additional bark strip is used in weaving the edge of the flap. This unusual idea of weaving in the flap strap could have been transposed from techniques involving plaiting of bast or birch bark in plain weaves for making sandals, where it was customary practice – especially in north-eastern and south-eastern Estonia – to weave cord into the edge.

As in other artisanal fields, material and availability is very important in birch bark weaving. Even if birch bark can be purchased in shops, birch bark craftsmen would be well-advised to be self-sufficient. In order to find good-quality birch bark in the forest, birch bark craftsmen have to know the qualities of the bark and how to recognize it. Good quality bark is elastic, does not crack along the perforation; it is yellow on the inner side and velvety soft. Such bark should be looked for in mixed forests, where aspen or alder is growing along with the birch, in lower-lying areas with moderately moist soils – in stands of forest of the meadowsweet or ground elder habitat type. Downy birches (Betula pubescens) and hybrids with silver birch (Betula pendula) should be favoured as their bark is generally better quality than that of uncrossed silver birch. Due to the fact that the best time for stocking bark (early summer) is different from the forest cutting period (autumn to spring), birch bark craftsmen are forced to strip bark from living trees, which is generally condemned by the community at large. Striping bark is not enshrined in everyman’s right, but neither is it explicitly prohibited by law as long it complies with sustainable management principles and the birch bark procurer has respect for the forest owner’s rights. Although careful removal of bark means only temporary stress for the birch and does not keep the tree from growing, the birch bark stripper (as well as the forest owner) must take into account society’s ethical and aesthetic views and general sentiment regarding stripping bark, and thus it is appropriate to remove bark only from trees slated for felling during the year.

As the older generation of craftsmen have not passed on the skills needed for making traditional bark pouches, some specific techniques and approaches may be gone forever. However, the purpose of this thesis has been fulfilled and the Estonian bark pouch making skills have mainly been restored and the technology written down.

I think that that traditional bark pouches will find adherents even today, but it should not be overlooked that the pouch had a specific place and purpose in a specific era and bark pouches made in precisely the same form and for the same purpose may not completely satisfy today’s users. Thus I determined what should be changed in the pouches to better meet the needs of modern users. As an everyday user of the traditional pouch, I found the appearance is appealing and attracts favourable attention, but the biggest shortcoming of the traditional pouch is that it lacks inner lining sections and has a narrow carrying strap. The types of articles that modern pouch users carry is more diverse and the total weight may also be much heavier than the typical contents of the pouches of old (e.g., a loaf of bread and box of herring and butter). Considering these shortcomings, I designed and made three elegant handbags inspired by traditional pouches. These were the “Mari,” and two handbags with an inner lining – “Kadri” and “Epp.” I also made a laptop case, “Etnotaibu”.

These shortcomings were resolved in my opinion with a textile lining in several sections and, in the case of the laptop bag, installation of a wider carrying strap.

I believe that this master’s degree thesis will offer intriguing reading for aficionados of birch bark crafts, bark pouches and artefactual heritage culture, necessary techniques for craftsmen who want to make Estonian-type pouches and useful knowledge for museum stewards, who can add to their descriptions of pouches and re-evaluate their value and importance in Estonia’s artefactual heritage culture.