Most of Russia's population in the nineteenth century lived in villages. People themselves were engaged in the manufacture of tools and household items. What they could not make themselves, acquired or exchanged at fairs. Birch bark products, including tueski, were very popular. Read about them in the article.
History reference
Man always strives for originality. So are craftsmen who have found attractive material for themselves - birch bark. They used to make it from before, and now they are doing tueski. What is tuesk? It is a cylindrical vessel for storing drink and food. The craft successfully developed, the secrets of skill passed from mouth to mouth.
But here began the migration of people to cities. Many peasants are forcibly relocated to larger villages. This leads to a change in many aspects of human life, and this is not only a worldview. The habitual habitat has changed.
What happens to birch bark utensils? What is tuesk, for example? Products from the once popular material began to be made much less. The fact is that for the occupation of craft certain conditions are needed that were not in the city. Another reason is the availability and low cost of household items made from more modern materials. But centuries-old traditions in the manufacture of birch bark products were inherited by people, preserving them to this day.
Birch bark processing
This process became famous in the eighteenth century. Although it can be assumed that this refers to the time when a person made an ax and began to use it. So what is tuesk and what is needed for this? With a stone tool, it was possible to chop down the desired tree, then chop it into pieces and remove the billet, which is called the tues or the knuckle - the birch bark cylinder. Remove it from the birch tree carefully so as not to tear and damage the bark of the tree itself.
Harvesting of birch bark begins in late May. At this time, the birch is oversaturated with juice, as a result of which birch bark easily lags behind the bark, and the tree does not suffer. Processing is best done immediately after harvesting. This is necessary in order to remove moisture in a timely manner, otherwise birch bark may become moldy.
Then the collected raw materials are prepared for storage. Any excess is removed from each layer, the surface must be perfectly smooth, otherwise deformation may occur. For storage, the sheets are stacked in pairs, with the white side to each other. A load is placed on top. After a few days, the stack is shifted again. If there is no mold, then birch bark can be stored for years.
What is tuesk?
The definition is given in the dictionary: it is a birch bark box, usually round. In appearance, the sandwich resembles a cylindrical container with a lid made without glue with a birch bark or a wooden handle. The bottom is inserted very tightly so that liquid does not leak out.
In the manufacture of the tuezka, the knuckle is turned outward, so belts are formed at the bottom and top. A pine root is inserted under them to give durability to the tuesca. To fasten the outer layer, castles made of birch bark or pine root are used. When the shoe is fully assembled, a drawing is applied. This is done manually using special tools - coinage.
The proportions of tuesca are unchanged over the centuries. This can be explained as follows: after all, at all times, every master for his work chooses a birch with a certain thickness, durability of birch bark, height, diameter of the arbor.
So, if the knuckle is thin, its diameter is large, but the height is small, durable, high-quality tuesk cannot be made. And vice versa, if the knuckle is thick, strong, but its diameter is small and its height is large, nothing will work either. Apparently, there is no escape from the standards of nature.
Application
What is a tueshok whose photo you see is known to all. But for what it is needed, not everyone understands. Let's figure it out. Since the inside of the tuez is solid, without seams and locks, liquid does not leak in it. It can store honey, fruit drink or some other drink.
What is tuesk? This is a small box in which salt, sugar, cereals, dried herbs, tea, bay leaves and much more have long been stored. So, for example, milk, sour cream, cottage cheese were stored for a long time, did not turn sour or bitter. Our contemporaries, if they have tueski in their households, do the same. Products made of birch bark are easy to process; rinse with water well enough.
What is tuesk? You can collect a lot of berries in it and not a single one on the way home. If the ripe berry starts up juice, it's okay, it will not leak out. Mushrooms go to the forest with tuesk, and then they are also salted in it.