tagades

Tagades is a traditional decorative and storytelling practice found in several communities on the southern archipelago of Lyris. It involves applying repeated geometric and floral motifs to textiles, banners, and public surfaces to encode history, status, and communal memory. The etymology is uncertain; scholars link tagade to Tagada language roots meaning "mark" and "design."

Techniques include embroidery, appliqué, resist dyeing, and mural painting. Common materials are cotton and silk with natural dyes. Motifs range from tessellations and rosettes to waves; colors carry symbolic meaning, with red signaling courage, blue fidelity, and green fertility. Motif units are designed to be modular for flexible storytelling.

Historically, tagades arose in rural harvest rites and rites of passage. Apprentices train under master tagade artisans, forming guild-like networks. The practice reinforces kinship, records lineage, and transmits oral histories; in markets and squares, tagade identifiers signal guild membership and reputation.

In contemporary contexts, tagades appear in festival costumes, textile art, and public commissions. Museums preserve vintage works, while communities seek to sustain living traditions and adapt motifs for new media. Some regions designate tagades as intangible cultural heritage and oversee pattern registries.

Regional variants include coastal tagades with flowing motifs, highland tagades with geometric tessellations, and urban tagades that blend traditional forms with modern symbols.