Crafts and making
Weaving, pottery, carving and other handed-down skills.
Crafts and making are the skills of hand and eye that are handed down in families and workshops: weaving, pottery, carving, metalwork, embroidery, dyeing, basketry, paper, leather and wood. A craft tradition is also a tradition of knowledge, about plants, clays, tools and patterns, and of values such as patience and care. Here they are listed by country, with notes on where the craft is practised and how makers keep it alive.
Skill passed on
Most crafts are learnt by watching a parent or master for years. A weaver in Bonwire, a potter in Oaxaca, a lacquer worker in Kyoto and a carpenter in Norway all learn by doing. Some crafts are kept within a family or a caste, others are open to anyone willing to learn. The tools are often simple and the techniques ancient, though the best makers experiment within the tradition.
Craft in a changing world
Mass production and cheap imports have put many crafts under pressure, but there is also a revival, with designers, schools, cooperatives and fair trade shops supporting makers. UNESCO and national bodies list living treasures and protect skills. Buyers can help by choosing handmade pieces and asking who made them. A craft survives when someone still wants the object and someone still wants to learn to make it.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Crafts and making (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇮🇷 Isfahan, Iran and 3 morePersian gardenباغ ایرانی
An ancient tradition of creating walled, geometric sanctuaries of shade and flowing waterCraft
🇵🇾 Asunción, ParaguayÑandutí
Paraguayan needle lace named for a spider's web, worked in thread and cut freeCraft
🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamNón lá𥶄蘿
A pointed leaf and bamboo hat worn across Vietnam for shelter, work and celebrationDress
🇵🇦 Panama City, PanamaMola
Layered cloth panels hand-sewn by Guna women using reverse appliquéCraft
🇵🇬 Maprik, Papua New GuineaHaus Tambaran
A sacred house of the Sepik peoples, used for ancestor worship and male initiationSpiritual
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan and 1 moreTush kyizтуш кийиз
An embroidered wall hanging made for a child's wedding in Kyrgyz and Kazakh homesCraft
🇮🇳 IndiaWarli painting
Sacred white rice paste murals made on red clay walls in western IndiaCraft
🇮🇳 Lucknow, IndiaChikankariچِکن کاری / चिकन की कढ़ाई / चिकनकारी
Delicate hand embroidery from Lucknow, India, featuring white-on-white floral patterns and intricate shadow-work stitcheCraft
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spiritual vessels and figures crafted to channel ancestral power, healing and justiceSpiritual
🇮🇪 Galway, Ireland and 1 moreBrigid's crossCros Bhríde
A cross of woven rushes or straw, made for Saint Brigid's Day on the first of FebruaryCraft
🇵🇰 Karachi, Pakistan and 2 moreSouth Asian truck art
The craft of painting and adorning cargo trucks and buses across India and Pakistan.Craft
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDreamcatcherᐊᓴᐱᑫᔒᓐᐦ (asabikeshiinh)
A hand-woven hoop from Anishinaabe tradition, hung above a cradle to protect a childCraft
🇨🇳 China and 1 morePrayer wheelའཁོར་ལོ།
A cylindrical wheel spun in Tibetan Buddhist practice to accumulate merit and wisdomSpiritual
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 1 moreBonsai盆栽
A Japanese craft of keeping small trees in shallow pots, shaped for contemplationCraft
🇮🇳 Kolhapur, IndiaKolhapuri chappal
Handcrafted braided leather slip-on sandals from western IndiaCraft
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineBanduraБандура
A Ukrainian plucked string instrument played to accompany epic songs and folk balladsPerformance
🇮🇷 IranGabbehگبه
A thick, boldly simple wool rug, hand-woven by women in Iran's Zagros MountainsCraft
🇰🇷 South KoreaHanji한지
The Korean craft of making durable paper from mulberry fiber and root mucilage.Craft
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese knotting中國結 (Zhōngguó jié)
A folk craft of cord tied into lucky shapes, made in China and given as charmsCraft
🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany and 5 moreChristmas marketWeihnachtsmarkt
A seasonal street market held during Advent in German-speaking regions and beyond, featuring stalls, food, and crafts.Festival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇦🇹 Vienna, Austria and 4 moreLipizzanerLipicanec
A gray riding horse breed and centuries-old tradition of classical dressage kept by the Spanish Riding School.Performance
🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 7 morePysankaписанка
A wax-resist egg decorating tradition kept by Slavic communities for Easter and spring renewal.Festival
🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandKraków szopkaszopka krakowska
Elaborate Christmas cribs modelled on historic Polish architecture in KrakówCraft
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYeondeunghoe연등회
A Korean lantern festival celebrating the Buddha's birthday with glowing lotus lightsSpiritual
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, GeorgiaChichilakiჩიჩილაკი
A shaved hazelnut branch crafted as a Georgian Christmas tree and burned at EpiphanyFestival
🇸🇦 Jenadriyah, Saudi ArabiaJenadriyahمهرجان الجنادرية
A two-week Saudi cultural festival of camel racing, folk dance, poetry, and craftsFestival
🇰🇷 South KoreaNorigae노리개
A Korean pendant of knots and tassels, worn with hanbok and kept for luckDress
🇲🇽 Oaxaca, Mexico and 1 moreGuelaguetza
An annual Oaxacan festival of indigenous dance, music, costumes and communal sharingFestival
🇹🇴 Tonga and 1 moreTaʻovala
A waist mat worn in Tonga for weddings, funerals and formal daysDress
🇲🇽 Acolman, Mexico and 1 morePiñata
A festive decorated container broken open with a stick to scatter treats and fruitFestival
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreChulloch'ullu
An earflapped Andean hat in alpaca or llama wool, worn against the coldDress
🇲🇽 Oaxaca, MexicoNight of the RadishesNoche de Rábanos
An annual festival of intricate sculptures carved from oversized radishes in OaxacaCraft
🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaKofar Mata Dye Pits
Hand-dyed indigo cloth from centuries-old earthen pits in the heart of KanoCraft
🇮🇷 Tabriz, IranPersian carpetفرش ایرانی
Hand-woven knotted rugs and flat textiles crafted across the towns and tribes of IranCraft
🇭🇷 CroatiaLacemaking in CroatiaČipkarstvo u Hrvatskoj
Hand-worked lace in three styles, kept in Croatian towns from the coast to the northCraft
🇬🇪 Georgia and 2 moreKvevriქვევრი
A buried clay jar, and the Georgian way of making wine inside itCraft
🇳🇱 Noordwijk, Netherlands and 1 moreBloemencorso
Annual parades of flower-covered floats and boats in the Netherlands and BelgiumFestival
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreDutarدوتار
A long-necked lute crafted from wood and played across Iran and Central AsiaPerformance
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreJamdaniজামদানি
A fine handwoven cotton cloth of Bengal, patterned with motifs worked in by handCraft
🇳🇱 NetherlandsBloemencorso Bollenstreek
An annual mid-April parade of flower-covered floats across the Dutch bulb regionFestival
🇯🇵 Takayama, JapanTakayama Festival高山祭
Twin seasonal shrine festivals in Japan famed for elaborate lantern-lit floatsFestival
🇮🇷 Tabriz, Iran and 3 morePersian miniatureنگارگری ایرانی
A tradition of small, brightly coloured paintings created for books and albums.Craft
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreZardoziزردوزی (zarduzi)
Heavy gold and silver embroidery on silk or velvet, worked in Iran, India and beyondCraft
🇸🇾 Aleppo, SyriaAleppo soapصابون غَار (ṣābūn ghar)
A hard olive-oil and laurel soap, hand-made in Aleppo and aged for monthsCraft
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreKitenge
A printed cloth tied at the waist or chest, worn as a wrap, head cover or baby slingDress
🇱🇹 Vilnius, Lithuania and 3 moreSaint Casimir's FairKaziuko mugė
A spring craft market and folk celebration across the historic streets of VilniusCraft
🇺🇿 Tashkent, Uzbekistan and 1 moreDoppaدوپپا (Uyghur); doʻppi / дўппи / دوپا (Uzbek)
An embroidered cap, square or round, that Uyghurs and Uzbeks wear across Central AsiaDress
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bandura: Julianhayda, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jamdani: Salim_Khandoker, CC0, source
- Kvevri: Levan Totosashvili, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lacemaking in Croatia: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 hr, source
- Taʻovala: James Foster, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Pysanka: Lubap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Doppa: Jasper Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zardozi: Zarood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kraków szopka: user:cancre, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Yeondeunghoe: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Haus Tambaran: Sylt-Tinto, CC0, source
- Chichilaki: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jenadriyah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dreamcatcher: Jorge Barrios, Public domain, source
- Bonsai: Ragesoss, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese knotting: Ucla90024, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Casimir's Fair: Sirex at Lithuanian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Persian miniature: 13th century CE painter, Public domain, source
- Takayama Festival: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bloemencorso Bollenstreek: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ñandutí: Trey Jones, Public domain, source
- Dutar: Yuet Man Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bloemencorso: Dekraaie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tush kyiz: Photo User:Zenwort, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Persian carpet: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Kofar Mata Dye Pits: Solasly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Night of the Radishes: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Piñata: No machine-readable author provided. JEDIKNIGHT1970 assumed (based on, Public domain, source
- South Asian truck art: Alexandros.Papadopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Guelaguetza: A01321718, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kolhapuri chappal: Daderot, CC0, source
- Hanji: Arghun, Public domain, source
- Norigae: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Prayer wheel: David Abián, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Warli painting: Omrmankar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nón lá: Ratmanhme282020, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mola: Johantheghost, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Persian garden: dynamosquito, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kitenge: Fanny Schertzer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Aleppo soap: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chullo: El archivo fue elegido de manera aleatoria sin uso necesario de su lic, Public domain, source
- Chikankari: Joey Berzowska, CC BY 2.0, source
- Christmas market: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lipizzaner: Srdjan Živulovič, Attribution, source