Gorgeous video of Afghanistan

One of the most beautiful tributes to Afghanistan and its people that I have seen to date:

Afghanistan – touch down in flight from Augustin Pictures on Vimeo.

The background info:

As each of us has his own impression of Afghanistan that is predominantly marked with pictures of foreign forces, explosions and terror, we were privileged to have access to capture daily life and portrait some people of Afghanistan.  We hope the pictures you know will merge with the pictures you see and will enrich your view on the country in the Hindu Kush.

locations:
Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif
We wanted to go to other places as well but there were several incidents and security was too bad. Just one day after shooting at the blue mosque in Mazar-e Sharif a mob started from the very same place storming the UN building.

I have lived from 2006-2008 in Kabul doing my civil service for a humanitarian aid organization. This March I had the chance to go back with my fiancée to show her the place I love and to capture the beauty of this country with our cameras.

At the same time I made this as a tribute to a dear friend, who was shot in the streets of Kabul. Gayle inspired me in her love and dedication for the Afghans.

Lisa-Maria Puy who composed the music for us was wonderful to work with. We met her on Zanzibar island and back in Germany she composed this wonderful soundtrack within just 3 days (and nights). She studied music at HfM Detmold in Germany and is a very talented artist and we hope to work with her again.
You can contact her on: puy-music[at]gmx.de

I hope you enjoy and we are happy for your honest feedback.
Lukas and Salome Augustin


website: lukasaugustin.de
more information and production photos:
facebook.com/pages/Augustin-Pictures/161244407238332
Twitter: twitter.com/LukasAugustin

© by Lukas and Salome Augustin
All rights reserved
Feel free to watch it on Vimeo, to share on Facebook, Twitter etc. but please ask for embed permission and please don't upload the video on Youtube or any other site. Thank you!

Happy New Year or Naway Kal De Mubarak

Listen to the Tune of Peace in 2011

Naway Kal De Mubarak is how we welcome the New Year in Afghanistan, literally meaning "Have a blessed New Year."

The two string instruments at the right in the photo above are rubabs (or rababs), Afghanistan's oldest instrument.  Enjoy the video below by one of our late masters (cd available on the Smithsonian label).  We have three rubabs at our gallery, ranging around $300-$500. 

 

New Central Asian Textiles on Etsy!

Turkmen Ceremonial Vest for a Child

Afghan Tribal Arts has had an Etsy shop for awhile now, but only recently have we started to seriously stock it.  We're up to about 70 items now, working through a bin of textiles and beads.  It takes time to get things up there: photographing, editing the photos, writing up descriptions, but as the selection increases, the shop truly emerges as a place of beauty.  There is now a nice selection of beads and vintage tribal jewelry like the necklace below:

 Kuchi Necklace from Afghanistan

And, we have some nice textiles up and more to list.  For those of you who like to sew, you might be interested in the dress inserts like this one:

Salvaged nomadic dress yoke from Afghanistan.

Several tribes in Afghanistan share a basic dress pattern:  an ornamental yoke like the one above, with flowing bell sleeves and pleated skirt.  Matching "genie" pants finish the outfit.  The cuffs of both sleeves and pants are normally heavily embroidered to match the yoke.  As the cotton fabric wears out of the dress and pants, these embroidered pieces are salvaged and incorporated into new outfits, sometimes lasting through several generations.  These salvaged pieces have obvious interest in the textile community as they are often wonderful samples of intricate needlework.  The piece above, for example, is heavily embroidered with metallic thread.

We are friends with the people at Folkwear, a pattern company in Asheville, North Carolina.  They have a pattern for an Afghan dress that would work well with these yokes:

Folkwear Pattern for Afghan Dress

If you make one, make sure to send us a picture of you in it and we will post it on our blog!

Then, there are some beautiful beaded pieces that can also be incorporated into clothing or pillows or framed or.......  You will know what to do with them!

 Beaded Kuchi Accessory

The triangle is considered to be a powerful talisman against the evil eye all over Central Asia.  This beaded piece would be worn on a garment or even attached to animal trappings.  It is made of woven glass seed beads and then finished with twisted cotton threads.

Oh, there are many other beautiful things there and coming soon!  Do visit our shop and check back as we keep on listing more things in the upcoming weeks!  And, if you are familiar with what Afghan Tribal Arts and Sturee Tribal Village carry, feel free to leave comments with requests.  If we have it in stock, we will do our best to get it listed!

General Mask Photos

$129

Lovers of tribal art often accent their spaces with masks from around the world.  There is something about a mask that calls to our own spirits, perhaps a genetic imprint from way back when our ancestors may have also used masks in their lives.  Or, they appeal to our sense of fantasy, of other worlds.  Whatever the reason, masks are still made in many cultures and we love them!

Sturee Tribal Village has a nice collection of older African masks.  The spoons in the photo below are from Afghanistan, but don't they just look perfect with the masks and Kuba cloths?

The brightly colored masks below are from Indonesia, newer masks that support living carving traditions.

General Carpet Photos

Sturee Tribal Village has a huge collection of handmade carpets from Afghanistan and other regions in Central Asia.  Afghan Tribal Arts has specialized in collecting carpets that were produced in small workshops, villages or by nomads. 

What a mess!  Digging through them is a wonderful experience!