Kuharice/zidnjaci /Kitchen wall hangings

Nije mi bio plan pisati na ovu temu, ali kako smo ju večeras načeli, moram ispuniti obećanje čitateljicama stvaram foruma. Prekrasna priča o nečem vrlo tradionalnom, pomalo zaboravljenom. Slične sam stvari vidjela u Austriji i Njemačkoj, no interesantno je vidjeti kako je sa drugim zemljama. Dakle – kuharice ili zidnjaci.

Kuhinje su krajem 19 i početkom 20-tog stoljeća bile velike prostorije u kojima su vesele domaćice u uštirkanim pregačama pripremale hranu. Kuhinjski je namještaj bio ukrašen raznolikim ručno rađenim i ćipkanim radovima, dok su kuhinjski i kućni zidovi bili ukrašeni kuharicama/zidnjacima. Bogatije bi seoske žene kupovale drukane predloške na placu i provodile večeri našivavajući poruke koje su podučavale mlade kuharice kako se ponašati u braku, učile ih kuhanju, stropljivosti, poniznosti, zdravlju i higijeni. Brojni su zidnjaci korišteni kao spremišta a četke, češljeve i šibice, dok su drugi našivani ljubavnim porukama i scenama ili puni smiješnih izreka. Zidnjaci su se radili sve do kraja 50-tih godina kad su ih zamijenili gotovo našiveni zidnjaci (tada još ne iz Kine). Unatrag nekoliko mjeseci sam pronašla drukane zidnjake za našivavanje u dućanu sa šivaćim i pletaćim priborom u Križevcima.

Dakle, razlog zbog kojeg sam počela ovu priču je što sam prije nekoliko mjeseci posjetila divnu staricu od preko 80 godina koja pažljivo čuva zidnjake koje je sama radila. Dosta ih je plod njezine mašte jer je njezina rudarska obitelj često oskudijevala s novcem, i nisu si mogli priuštiti drukane zidnjake, nego bi ih ona sama crtala na komadima platna i našivavala u bojama koje je kod kuće imala i tako provodila duge zimske dane. Evo vam nekoliko slika i najtradicionalnijih poruka koje su bile šivane na zidnjake.

Nekoliko natpisa sa starinskih zidnjaka:

Kuharice skuhaj ručak fino
Pa ćeš dobiti novaca za kino.

Kad ručak skuham bolje
Muž je bolje volje.

Voće kad je zrelo, najbolje je jelo.

Dobra djeca, dobra hrana
To nam kuha vrijedna mama.

Tvoja ljubav i naš dom najdraži su srcu mom.

Od ljubavi nismo siti
Treba dobro jesti i piti.

It was not my plan to write a post on this subject but since I was reminded about it tonight, and as this is a lovely story of something rather traditional in old day Croatia, I would like to share it with all of you. I have seen similar things in Germany and Austria, but would be curious whether you have it in your countries.

Well, my first problem is to find the accurate translation. It is the hanging kitchen cloth, but not an ordinary kitchen cloth of today. At the end of the 19^th and early 20^th century the kitchens were rather big and spacious places where the women were preparing tasty good. The kitchen furniture was decorated with various hand-made items, while the kitchen walls were often decorated with so-called Kuharice or Zidnjaci (wall hanging), which the wealthier peasant women were buying pre-printed on the markets and spending the evenings sewing them in various colours to create interesting wall-hangings with numerous messages. The messages were educating younger girls how to behave in a marriage, learning how to cook and behave well, take care of health and hygiene. Some of the clothes were used as a storage place for combs, matches and brushes, while the others spoke of love or gave some funny and sarcastic sayings. They were very popular until late 50-ties in Croatia, and some of the older women would still have them stored in their wardrobes. The reason I am writing this story is that I have visited a lovely old lady who has an interesting collection of kitchen hangings with funniest of messages. Many of them were creation of her imagination, as they often did not have enough money to afford the pre-printed ones, so she made her own drawings, combined various thread colours and spent long and cold winter days sewing them on the cotton cloths. Here are some of the pictures of those hand made works.