July 13, 2018 — A unique take on traditional rope weaving from a stalwart Iž resident earns a "Croatian Island Product" designation.
What does it take to keep a Dalmatian tradition alive?
Maja Sučić needed memories of two pedantic grandfathers, a bit of her own determination and, eventually, an approval from the Croatian government.
And a bit of rope.
The Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds released its 2018 list of official “Croatian Island Products,” an EU-backed designation for goods made exclusively on the 47 inhabited islands dotting the coast.
This year’s 57 designees included Sučić, who registered intricate rope souvenirs which use standard fishing lines instead of thread to weave together items such as baskets and trivets.
The trained agronomist is known on Iž, off the coast of Zadar, for her artichokes. She propagates the vegetable en masse on a plot of land on the uninhabited side of the island. (She plans on registering those as an authentic island product as well.)
Sučić remembered the rope-work of both her paternal and maternal grandfathers, she told agroklub.com. The two, Vjeko and Branko, were sailors and fishermen who devoted an outsized amount of energy to mending fishing nets and weaving ropes around “damižane,” which held wine. Their large sewing needles had a sacred spot in the home, Sučić said.
Fearing their knowledge would depart with them, she asked one of her grandfathers how to weave the ropes together. Later, she tried to tie that knowledge with a newfound interest in decorative knots.
“Initially, it was quite unsuccessful because it looks so much easier until you take the rope in your hands and have to start,” she said, adding she’d developed the technique in fits and starts.
Those early attempts blossomed to create the intricate works which received a designation.
“Anyone who doesn’t have desire and patience shouldn’t even try,” Sučić said.
Her next move? Getting her artichokes designated, finally.
