Dis ‘n kwessie van kultuur

Die Chinese meisies wat van kleindag af met opgebinde (of is dit afgebinde?) voetjies moes loop, het my nog altyd gefassineer. Dit moet darem bitterlik seer en ongemaklik wees. Tot die seer en ongemak verby is. Daarna is dit “bewonderenswaardig”.

Of is dit?

Foot binding was the custom of applying tight binding to the feet of young girls to modify the shape of their feet. Foot binding became popular as a means of displaying status (women from wealthy families, who did not need their feet to work, could afford to have them bound) and was correspondingly adopted as a symbol of beauty in Chinese culture. Foot binding limited the mobility of women, resulting in them walking in a swaying unsteady gait, although some women with bound feet working outdoors have also been reported. Feet altered by binding were called lotus feet.

Genadiglik is dit ‘n praktyk wat na ‘n eeu uitgesterf het. Erg genoeg om skoene te moet dra wat druk – en te weet mens kan dit uittrek as die pyn te ondraaglik is!

So beskou ek onlangs die “Kokedama String Garden” by ‘n kwekery. Dit laat my toe dink aan daai opgebinde voetjies in die Ooste.

Kokedama is a Japanese gardening method where a plant’s roots are wrapped in moss, bound by string and suspended. The name comes from the Japanese koke, meaning “moss” and dama meaning “ball.” Although this art form is centuries old, it now takes on a more modern and minimalist form.

Ek wonder of die plantjies hou van so toegebind wees? Maar dis ‘n mooi effek wat verkry word. En dit “bring die buite na binne” en is ‘n maklike manier om ‘n klein vertrek bietjie “groen” te maak, want die besigheidjie hang mos uit die dak uit en neem dus nie kosbare spasie op nie. En dis ‘n heerlike selfdoen-projek vir dié wat alles kan.

Ook maar dankbaar die Kokedama kultuur het Weste se kant toe gekom en nie die Lotus Feet nie!