Cultural heritage of Kurdish women: Kras dress

Kurdish women keep their cultural Kras dress, their traditional clothes, alive. The interest in Kras dress worn by almost all women in the daily life is quite intense.

Kras dress worn by women is one of the oldest historical cultural heritages of Kurdistan geography. Women living in Van, Hakkari and Şırnak provinces stand up for this culture by wearing kras dresses in the daily life. The fabrics of colorful kras dresses are brought from Southern Kurdistan. Kras dresses preferred by women of all ages become ready for wearing after the patterns designed on them. Kras dresses are demanded by women particularly in spring.

Seyran Erçin, who sew dresses for years, stated that the Kurdish people have a deep-rooted culture and that Kras dresses means the color of life for the Kurdish women; “Our mothers have dressed up with Kras dresses for centuries. Kras dresses are so important for women in Kurdistan, particularly in Hakkari. The kras dresses worn in Hakkari are different from the dresses worn in Şırnak and Cizir. The kras dresses worn in Şırnak are made with one piece of fabric but they are made with two pieces of fabric in Hakkari. Every people are known for their own culture. Our women keep their culture alive by wearing Kras dresses.”

Saying that they sew many models of Kras dresses, Seyran stated that they have received many orders from cities like Mersin and Istanbul; “As women, we stand up for our culture and history. In Hakkari, women wear Kras dresses and men wear şal u şepik (traditional clothes for men) during the wedding parties. We don’t want our culture to be disappeared.”