Felting felt (Felting and related customs) Proposed for consideration by UNESCO in 2026.
Felting is a traditional Kazakh art of making felt. It is based on the property of wool fibers to bind together. The processes of modern sewing, sewing, felt (felt with a hat) are the same as the traditional felting technology. Felting and making felt products date back to ancient times. From the famous Pazyryk mound and other burials belonging to the EarlyIron Age (9th– 4th -3rd centuries BC.) among the objects found during archaeological excavations, there are felt products.
It is mentioned in the writings of medieval travelers such as Marco Polo (1230), Plano Carpini (1246), Clavijo (1403).
Felting work reached its peak long before the Middle Ages. In 1253-1255, a Flemish traveler, monk, headed a diplomatic embassy sent by Louis IX and traveled to Mongolia, V. Rubruk, passing through the Kangly-Kipchak steppes, wrote describing that they cover their houses only with white felt and to make the felt turn white and shine, sprinkle it with lime, white soil or burnt bone powder, as well as the image of birds and plants carved on the surface of felt products attracts the eye. The ancient methods of felting, described by early travelers, were preserved in the Kazakh, Kyrgyz and other peoples until the 20th century. According to historical data, all tribes of Turkic origin were engaged in felting.
In the traditional Kazakh environment, both the main organizers and performers of felting were women. Every Kazakh woman is well versed in the long-established technology of felting. After all, as M. Krasovsky, one of those who studied Kazakh life in the 19th century, said: “. Kazakhs teach girls from a young age to sew, weave, felting, etc. and as they grow up, they demand everything from them”.
Since the girls were taught manual work from a young age, when they grew up, their felting skills were very high. There is a lot of information about it in Russian historiography related to the Kazakh region before the October Revolution. For example, about the quality of felt and Kazakh felt, I.Ya. Slovtsov said: “Kazakhs are very professional in felting. In this regard, the Russian felters cannot compete with them”.
