Badma Amulakova, Deesn: Traditional Ropes
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Traditionally, ropes are made from sheep or camel wool. Sheep are shorn twice a year, in mid-spring and autumn. Autumn wool, called mochr, is short and suitable for making felt and felt products such as covers. Spring wool, by contrast, is long and suitable for making ropes and belts. Afterwards, Badma explains the traditional methods of making ropes. Thin ropes are made by twisting by hand. Thick ropes are made by adding horse’s tail or mane that gives extra strength. Beside domestic use, such ropes have a protective quality as well. Herders who happen to spend the night out in the countryside make a loop with this rope and sleep inside it, as the horse smell from the rope keeps spiders, snakes and other insects away. There are many beliefs connected with ropes. For example, pregnant women are not supposed to touch a rope due to a fear that their umbilical cord may get twisted. It is also possible to predict a girl’s future by looking at how she makes ropes or threads. If she makes a long rope, people say that she will be married to a man who lives far away.