Since the time when man was created, he had to cover his body. For cold protection, nudity and so on. The most suitable and most accessible to man was the leather and the fur from wild animals. Later, when a man crossed from a tribe into another community, he increased and changed his needs. With the evolution, besides covering the body, man also needed foot protection. He decided again to use leather to protect his feet. This is how the history of opinci begins.
More recently, the appearance of machines and factories has almost replaced the human hand. Begins the process of making opinci from rubber. At the beginning, making opinci was first a craft that was highly represented, and today it almost doesn't exist.
There are many types of opinci: Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, Turkish, Bulgarian and Greek. They all have their own distinctive character and are made differently. But the common thing among these types of opinci is the basis: the leather.
The lower part should be from a cow's leather, a pig, a donkey, and it's best to be from roe deer because it is the most resistant. And the upper part of the shoes is made from the leather of a goat or lamb, and the most suitable is from a dog because it is the most elastic one, while the leather from the sheep is snapping easily.
The process of making Macedonian opinci lasts for several days (depending on the season).
First, is cut a piece of calf or cow leather that is already tanned. Then, it is put in water to become wet. The time of how long the skin will stay in water depends on the thickness of the leather itself, which, in turn, depends on the tanning.
"If the leather is thicker and harder then it must be watered for an extended period of time. And that depends on the tanning."
One pair of opinci can't be imagined if they don't go through that process of watering.
To produce a pair of opinci, the leather and the water are necessary.
When the process of watering is completed, the size of the shoes will be determined and during all the time, the shoe is on a mold. With the help of this mold, the shape is determined. When the shape is determined, one piece of leather is sewn on the back, one strap in the middle and two more straps on the front. When the sewing process is completed, the opinci are carried on drying and don't depart from the mold fort two to three days depending on the daytime temperature.
"If it's winter then it's cooler and the drying process lasts longer. But when it comes to summer time then this same process can end in less than twenty-four hours. Because drying must be natural without any aids."
Until 50 years ago, opinci were usually worn in rural areas of the Balkan countries. Nowadays, they are only used in folk costume, for folkloric dance ensembles, festivals, feast days or other cultural events.
More recently, the appearance of machines and factories has almost replaced the human hand. Begins the process of making opinci from rubber. At the beginning, making opinci was first a craft that was highly represented, and today it almost doesn't exist.
There are many types of opinci: Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian, Turkish, Bulgarian and Greek. They all have their own distinctive character and are made differently. But the common thing among these types of opinci is the basis: the leather.
The lower part should be from a cow's leather, a pig, a donkey, and it's best to be from roe deer because it is the most resistant. And the upper part of the shoes is made from the leather of a goat or lamb, and the most suitable is from a dog because it is the most elastic one, while the leather from the sheep is snapping easily.
The process of making Macedonian opinci lasts for several days (depending on the season).
First, is cut a piece of calf or cow leather that is already tanned. Then, it is put in water to become wet. The time of how long the skin will stay in water depends on the thickness of the leather itself, which, in turn, depends on the tanning.
"If the leather is thicker and harder then it must be watered for an extended period of time. And that depends on the tanning."
One pair of opinci can't be imagined if they don't go through that process of watering.
To produce a pair of opinci, the leather and the water are necessary.
When the process of watering is completed, the size of the shoes will be determined and during all the time, the shoe is on a mold. With the help of this mold, the shape is determined. When the shape is determined, one piece of leather is sewn on the back, one strap in the middle and two more straps on the front. When the sewing process is completed, the opinci are carried on drying and don't depart from the mold fort two to three days depending on the daytime temperature.
"If it's winter then it's cooler and the drying process lasts longer. But when it comes to summer time then this same process can end in less than twenty-four hours. Because drying must be natural without any aids."
Until 50 years ago, opinci were usually worn in rural areas of the Balkan countries. Nowadays, they are only used in folk costume, for folkloric dance ensembles, festivals, feast days or other cultural events.
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