A group of embroidered textiles from mountain villages of Daghestan in the Caucasus display a variety of bold designs executed in glowing silks on modest cotton ground cloths. Believed to be made during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by women of the multi-ethnic, Kaitag group, now absorbed by the Dargins, the cloths were used for ritual purposes in Muslim ceremonies connected with birth, marriage and death. This study proposes a classification of a selected group of Kaitag embroideries into different design groups on the basis of their symbolic content and ritual purposes. It also suggests that the textiles contain symbols that are the artistic residue of the many civilizations and cultures that have flourished in the region throughout its long history. As well, the symbols may be seen as a form of text or mythology in a culture without a tradition of manuscripts and literature, and the traditional use of the embroidered panels in communal life assisted in establishing an understanding of group lineage and cultural identity.
","abstract_html":"<p>A group of embroidered textiles from mountain villages of Daghestan in the Caucasus display a variety of bold designs executed in glowing silks on modest cotton ground cloths. Believed to be made during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by women of the multi-ethnic, <em>Kaitag</em> group, now absorbed by the <em>Dargins</em>, the cloths were used for ritual purposes in Muslim ceremonies connected with birth, marriage and death. This study proposes a classification of a selected group of <em>Kaitag</em> embroideries into different design groups on the basis of their symbolic content and ritual purposes. It also suggests that the textiles contain symbols that are the artistic residue of the many civilizations and cultures that have flourished in the region throughout its long history. As well, the symbols may be seen as a form of text or mythology in a culture without a tradition of manuscripts and literature, and the traditional use of the embroidered panels in communal life assisted in establishing an understanding of group lineage and cultural identity.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Scollay, Susan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"Humanities","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Leslie Ross, PhD","Philip Novak, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2003,"date_issued":"2003-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2003-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:05:51Z","subjects":["Humanities","Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/236","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Leslie Ross, PhD","Philip Novak, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Scollay, Susan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Humanities","Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/236"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A group of embroidered textiles from mountain villages of Daghestan in the Caucasus display a variety of bold designs executed in glowing silks on modest cotton ground cloths. Believed to be made during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by women of the multi-ethnic, Kaitag group, now absorbed by the Dargins, the cloths were used for ritual purposes in Muslim ceremonies connected with birth, marriage and death. This study proposes a classification of a selected group of Kaitag embroideries into different design groups on the basis of their symbolic content and ritual purposes. It also suggests that the textiles contain symbols that are the artistic residue of the many civilizations and cultures that have flourished in the region throughout its long history. As well, the symbols may be seen as a form of text or mythology in a culture without a tradition of manuscripts and literature, and the traditional use of the embroidered panels in communal life assisted in establishing an understanding of group lineage and cultural identity.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Gardens of the Spirit: Earthly and Spiritual Aspects of Kitag Embroideries from Daghestan"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Leslie Ross, PhD","Philip Novak, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Scollay, Susan"],"dc:description.abstract":["A group of embroidered textiles from mountain villages of Daghestan in the Caucasus display a variety of bold designs executed in glowing silks on modest cotton ground cloths. Believed to be made during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by women of the multi-ethnic, Kaitag group, now absorbed by the Dargins, the cloths were used for ritual purposes in Muslim ceremonies connected with birth, marriage and death. This study proposes a classification of a selected group of Kaitag embroideries into different design groups on the basis of their symbolic content and ritual purposes. It also suggests that the textiles contain symbols that are the artistic residue of the many civilizations and cultures that have flourished in the region throughout its long history. As well, the symbols may be seen as a form of text or mythology in a culture without a tradition of manuscripts and literature, and the traditional use of the embroidered panels in communal life assisted in establishing an understanding of group lineage and cultural identity.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/236"],"dc:subject":["Humanities","Arts and Humanities"],"dc:title":["Gardens of the Spirit: Earthly and Spiritual Aspects of Kitag Embroideries from Daghestan"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Humanities"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:05:51Z"}