16 Fascinating Traditions That Survived Centuries | Still Standing Marathon

Business Insider・2 minutes read

Cement tiles, Feni liquor, custom hat shaping, bone carving, traditional perfume making, shuttlecock production, pottery, bagpipe crafting, snare drum making, cacao drinking, and wood carving are all traditional crafts facing challenges or prospering in different regions worldwide. These crafts embody cultural heritage and skilled craftsmanship, often passed down through generations, emphasizing quality and tradition amidst changing economic and social landscapes.

Insights

  • Syed Hussein maintains a traditional process of crafting cement tiles in Egypt since the 1800s, using white cement, pigments, and stencils to create intricate designs, producing up to 150 tiles daily.
  • The bone carving tradition in India, shifting from ivory to camel or buffalo bones due to bans, faces challenges like material scarcity and legal restrictions, with artisans like Jalaluddin crafting intricate lampshades through a painstaking process involving boiling, filing, gluing, drilling, and polishing bone pieces.

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Recent questions

  • How are cement tiles made?

    Cement tiles are crafted by sifting white cement, adding pigments for color, and using stencils for intricate designs. The mixture of sand, cement, and limestone is crucial to solidify the pattern within seconds, allowing Syed Hussein's team to produce up to 150 tiles daily. These tiles are then sold for 500 Egyptian pounds per square meter.

  • What is Feni and how is it made?

    Feni is a rare liquor made from cashew fruit, a centuries-old tradition in Goa, India, upheld by the Gankar family. The family handpicks ripe cashew fruits daily, extracting the juice through traditional methods. The juice ferments for two to three days before being distilled into Feni with 40 to 45% alcohol content. The Gankar family sells around 175 liters of Feni per season, earning approximately 50,000 Indian rupees.

  • How do bone carvers create lampshades?

    Bone carvers in Lucknow, India, like Jalaluddin, source bones from butchers due to material scarcity and legal restrictions. Jalaluddin cuts bones into smaller pieces, shaves them with an electric sander, boils them with baking soda, files down edges, and glues them together to form lampshades. He drills tiny holes in the bones, submerges them in hydrogen peroxide, and polishes them with a buffing machine, assembling them into various lamp shapes.

  • What is the process of making traditional perfume in Kanoge, India?

    In Kanoge, India, workers distill roses to create traditional perfume called attar through a time-consuming process with no industrial machinery. The distillation involves sealing containers with clay and cotton, using an earthen oven to boil water and flowers for hours to extract fragrant water. Workers meticulously align feathers with glue, bind them together with thread, apply epoxy for security, and weigh each shuttlecock before packaging for sale.

  • How are bagpipes handcrafted at Kilberry Bagpipes?

    At Kilberry Bagpipes in Edinburgh, crafting a bagpipe involves four days of intricate handwork, shaping, decoration, and tuning. Dave Wardle, the craftsman, uses African black wood for its tonal quality and durability. The bagpipes are meticulously tested for tuning, quality, and playability before being shipped worldwide, specializing in the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe.

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Summary

00:00

Crafting Tradition: Cement, Feni, and Hats

  • Cement tiles have been crafted in Egypt since the 1800s, with Syed Hussein maintaining the tradition despite changing market trends.
  • Syed's process involves sifting white cement, adding pigments for color, and using stencils for intricate designs.
  • The mixture of sand, cement, and limestone is crucial to solidify the pattern within seconds.
  • Syed's team can produce up to 150 tiles daily, selling a square meter for 500 Egyptian pounds.
  • Feni, a rare liquor made from cashew fruit, is a centuries-old tradition in Goa, India, upheld by the Gankar family.
  • The family handpicks ripe cashew fruits daily, extracting the juice through traditional methods.
  • The juice ferments for two to three days before being distilled into Feni with 40 to 45% alcohol content.
  • The Gankar family sells 175 liters of Feni per season, earning around 50,000 Indian rupees.
  • Lock & Co. Hatters in London, established in 1676, offers custom hat shaping using a 150-year-old conformator.
  • The shop has designed iconic headwear for British royalty and celebrities, adapting to challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining traditional craftsmanship.

23:05

Bone Carvers Overcome Challenges in India

  • Bone carvers in Lucknow, India, face material scarcity and legal restrictions, sourcing bones from butchers for their craft.
  • Jalaluddin, a bone carver, cuts bones into smaller pieces in his workshop, learning the craft from his uncle in 1980.
  • He shaves bone pieces with an electric sander, a luxury due to expensive and unreliable electricity in the region.
  • Jalaluddin boils bone pieces with baking soda, files down edges, and glues them together to form lampshades.
  • He drills tiny holes in the bones, submerges them in hydrogen peroxide, and polishes them with a buffing machine.
  • The bone pieces are assembled into lamp shapes, with some designs requiring hand-carving and specialized tools.
  • The bone carving tradition in India shifted from ivory to camel or buffalo bones due to ivory trade bans in the 1990s.
  • The Akhtar family's bone carving business faced challenges due to government restrictions on slaughterhouses, affecting raw material supply.
  • In Kanoge, India, workers distill roses to create traditional perfume called attar, a time-consuming process with no industrial machinery.
  • The distillation process involves sealing containers with clay and cotton, using an earthen oven to boil water and flowers for hours to extract fragrant water.

51:23

Handcrafted shuttlecocks and pottery face challenges

  • Workers align feathers with glue, ensuring they overlap and are even.
  • Feathers are bound together with thread, creating two rings around each shaft.
  • Epoxy is applied for extra security, along with a label indicating shuttle speed.
  • Each shuttlecock is weighed before packaging, with 10 tubes stacked for sale at 70 grams each.
  • Production of a shuttlecock takes 30 minutes, limiting output compared to machine-made products.
  • Rise in synthetic shuttlecocks poses a threat to traditional feathered ones.
  • Pottery factory in Gaza faces challenges due to conflict, surviving through generations.
  • Clay for pottery is sourced from Gaza, dried for two days before molding into pots.
  • Traditional ceramic ware struggles against cheaper alternatives due to political and economic factors.
  • Handcrafted shotguns in Kashmir face restrictions due to stringent gun laws and political unrest.

01:20:09

Global Weavers Adapt, Bagpipes Crafted with Precision

  • 400 weavers in Guatemala sell their products online globally, allowing them to set their prices.
  • Sales have been low due to the pandemic, hindering purchases from Cristina's group until current stock is sold.
  • Cristina, a weaver, has resorted to working as a housekeeper to make ends meet.
  • Crafting a bagpipe requires steady hands, sharp tools, and attention to detail.
  • Bagpipes have a rich history spanning three millennia, with roots in early civilizations and a significant part of Scottish heritage for over 600 years.
  • Kilberry Bagpipes in Edinburgh takes about four days to handcraft a single bagpipe, specializing in the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe.
  • Dave Wardle, the craftsman, uses African black wood for its tonal quality and durability.
  • Traditional bagpipe making involves intricate handwork, including shaping, decoration, and tuning.
  • Bagpipes are tested for tuning, quality, and playability before being shipped worldwide.
  • Noble and Cooley, the oldest drum factory in the US, crafts snare drums from a single piece of wood, emphasizing quality and unique sound.

01:37:43

"Drum-making legacy of Noble and Cooley"

  • Silas Noble started making toy drums as Christmas gifts in his kitchen in 1853.
  • Noble and Cooley began producing drums in 1853 after deciding it would be a good business.
  • During the Civil War, Noble and Cooley made drums for the Union Army to communicate orders.
  • Noble and Cooley's production increased rapidly, reaching 80,000 drums a year by 1873.
  • Noble and Cooley primarily focused on producing musical toys throughout their history.
  • Noble and Cooley's business remained on the same land since 1889 despite facing two fires.
  • The Great Depression was a busy time for Noble and Cooley due to the popularity of toy drums.
  • The pandemic boosted Noble and Cooley's business as people sought to expand their drum kits.
  • Noble and Cooley prioritize quality over competing with larger drum industry players.
  • Isaias Mendoza in Guatemala is reviving the ancient tradition of drinking pure cacao for spiritual purposes.

01:58:17

Cultural burial traditions and intricate wood carving

  • Mayan culture involved adorning corpses with jewelry or burying them under homes, believing in the soul's existence in another realm after death.
  • Families clean tombs throughout October to prepare for Dia de los Muertos, when souls are believed to visit.
  • Don Pichu assists in cleaning tombs, with some families hiring others for the task; he also builds and maintains graves.
  • In Pakistan, Swat wood carving, influenced by Buddhist and Greco-Roman styles, requires intricate craftsmanship and up to 25 days to complete, facing challenges due to Taliban control and limited artisans.
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