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The
Museum of Sokolka Land is
situated in the historic 18th
century building of Lithuanian podskarbi (the official
managing the treasure of the ruler)- Antoni Tyzenhauz.
Formerly
workshops were in that building. Carriages, silks, dresses and
different kinds of decorations were hand-produced here.
Since
1974 keepsakes have been collected in the museum. At present
they represent unique exhibits connected with
the history of the region, the folk art and the religion
of the Polish Tartars. Both the historic and ethnographic
sections tell about the
beginning and development of Sokolka. They describe the products
of folk culture tradition. Two other rooms are designed for
Tartar’s display. They tell us a few words about the
history, the culture and the rituals of Islam believers who
inhabit in large numbers the Bialystok region.
The
historic section gathered a plenty of personal keepsakes of
people who struggled
for independence of that land during the second world war. The
documents and commemorative photographs exemplify
evidences of Soviet and German occupation.
While
visiting the Sokolka’s museum you can better understand
the cultural mixture of that region. The styles of the Catholic,
Orthodox, Muslim and Jewish cultures have been reflected in the
folk art for ages. The ethnographic section is the evidence of
our roots. It gathers many exhibits which tell in a
colourful
way about the former life. The examples are:
agricultural machines, household equipment, folk clothing,
weaving, flax treatment or tools of such craftsmanship as
smithing and carpentry.
Those
who are visiting the Tartar section in the Museum of Sokolka
Land have a chance
to familiarize with details concerning
Polish Muslim believers. One can see here photographs of
mosques inside and outside, muhiry (reproductions and
originals), family coats of arms- tamgi, the original Koran and its translations into Polish, the
cards with prayers – chamiły,
headgears putting on while entering the temple, the
chart with geometrical shapes and Arabic comments made in the
Polish Tartars community at the end of the 19th century. Moreover, the
keepsakes of Dżanet Dżabaga-Skibniewska’s, Aleksander
Jeliaszewicz’s and
other Polish Tartars whose names
were written on the history sheets
are among the museum’s collection.
Numerous
prints – reproductions of paintings made by famous
painters (Juliusz Kossak’s
among others) are the interesting
artistic point of the museum. These works show Tartars in
different situations which are characteristic of their customs.
While
visiting the museum one can be familiarized with variety of
customs of Polish people resulted from the religion
mixture of cultures. YOU
ARE WELCOME!
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