The title translates to "Fabric 'Besh Keshte'."
Sample of patterned fabric 'besh keshté'. Nookat District.
The most vibrant and colorful of all types of patterned fabrics among the southern Kyrgyz is 'besh keshté' (The words 'besh keshté' mean 'a lot of embroidery' ('besh' — a lot, 'keshté' — from 'kashida' — the work of hand embroidery).
Its background is light — white or slightly creamy. The pattern on it seems to be embroidered with bright blue, red, yellow, and occasionally green woolen threads. The base of 'besh keshté' is made of double tightly spun white thread. The weft is single and softer. This type of fabric is dense, with a plain weave, resembling 'piaz' fabric. The Kyrgyz made it not only from wool but also from cotton threads. It should be noted that we have not encountered 'besh keshté' fabric that is already 8—10 cm. This distinguishes it from other patterned fabrics we have described and is explained by the fact that 'besh keshté' strips were not used to fasten the wooden parts of the yurt.
The pattern is created by the artisan during the fabric production process. She lays it out with parallel stitches using additional weft made of colored, softly spun double threads. The colored weft threads are laid only on the front side of the product.
Among the Kyrgyz, there are two methods of producing 'besh keshté' fabric, associated with different techniques of passing the colored weft:
1) The weft returns from the edge of the created pattern to continue it in the next row. The stitches and knots are noticeable on the reverse side. As a result, the fabric gives the impression of hand embroidery;
2) The weft is tightly stretched, passing from one edge of the strip of fabric to the other, revealing itself only in the pattern.
The ornament on 'besh keshté' fabric has a geometric character. These are simple and complex zigzags, diamonds, and hook-shaped angular projections.
Alongside the commonly accepted ornaments among the Kyrgyz, there are patterns used only in 'besh keshté' fabrics. For example, there is a pattern called 'chuurtma', 'panjara', consisting of sharp angles that fit into one another, and parallel lines; a net-like pattern — 'tor keshté', zigzag — 'iyrek', square — 'tegerek', and others. Alongside this, there are many patterns characteristic of other Kyrgyz fabrics. Among them, the diamond and hook-shaped curls take the first place, having their own peculiarities related to the technique of execution.
In the arrangement of patterns, there is also some uniqueness. Let us note the main techniques:
1) The center of the fabric is occupied by strips that form diamonds. Each of them contains a pattern;
2) The strip of fabric is filled with a pattern of one or different shapes. The patterns or groups of them follow in rhythmic alternation.
The production of 'besh keshté' fabric in southern Kyrgyzstan is predominantly spread among the Kyrgyz of the 'ichkilik' group. Among the groups of 'adigine', 'mungush', 'mongoldor' artisans familiar with the art of weaving 'besh keshté', we did not find any. However, in the northern part of the Osh region and partially in the Talas Valley, this fabric is produced. Among the peoples of Central Asia, semi-nomadic Uzbeks, Karakalpaks, as well as Kazakhs and Turkmen engage in the production of 'besh keshté'-type fabric. In this case, there is much in common in the ornamentation and composition. It should be considered that 'besh keshté' fabric, like 'kadjary' fabric, was borrowed. Over time, as it was mastered by the Kyrgyz, their own features developed, expressed in a bright color palette of the embroidery weft and an invariably white background, while among Kazakhs and Uzbeks, dark backgrounds and different colors of embroidery weft are also found.
