The Traditional Kıstı Jewelry of Kastamonu-Tosya District

Abstract

As long as the jewelry first appeared, either disappeared or have been mechanized by modern technology, wearing jewelry has remained virtually unchanged. Despite all the meanings attributed to it and different production techniques, the jewelry has survived to the present day.Today, jewelry culture is used as a means of decoration, investment, signs of economic condition and traditions. Traditional jewelry carry the social and cultural meanings that past civilizations have left to their descendants. For this reason, it is very important to protect traditional jewelry and to transfer it to future generations. The Kıstı jewelry, which is unique to the Kastamonu - Tosya district culture, is among these traditional jewelry. The Kıstı jewelry is among the handicrafts that have been lost which is produced on order by limited number of masters. In this study, the Kıstı jewelry was introduced and documented in the light of the information obtained in the fieldwork, the importance of Kıstı jewelry is mentioned in the tradition of Kastamonu city and suggestions for solutions were presented by addressing the problems that were experienced.