It is known that weaving is one of the oldest craft forms in the Middle East, but nomadic lifestyles and cultural interactions of the past, disregard political borders and political agreements, making it very difficult to accurately attribute material culture to specific tribes and places of origin. Long before Islam, these migratory cultures from the vast region of the Arabian Gulf had been influencing one another, sharing weaving techniques and common functions, creative ideas and terminologies.
It is known that weaving is one of the oldest craft forms in the Middle East, but nomadic lifestyles and cultural interactions of the past, disregard political borders and political agreements, making it very difficult to accurately attribute material culture to specific tribes and places of origin. Long before Islam, these migratory cultures from the vast region of the Arabian Gulf had been influencing one another, sharing weaving techniques and common functions, creative ideas and terminologies.
Woven geometric and figurative patterns and symbols, as visual narratives, message the traditional tribal lifestyle, the desert environment and the weavers'the creative self-expression. The textiles and weaving practice can be linked to the extension of the weaver’s hand, and the graceful moving pace of the camel.
Women wove narrow bands of textiles, which were stitched together to form larger textiles for the traditional Bedouin tent or beit al Sha’ar. The master-weavers wove the decorated side wall panels and furnishings within the tent, including camel bags, storage bags, rugs, cushions and tent dividers or curtains. The tent itself was woven in plain weave using coarse goat hair, while the interior textiles were decorated with repeating patterns and symbols for aesthetic appreciation, and were woven from sheep fleece, camel hair and cotton.
The tent divider or curtain (gata), was the most impressive and magnificence achievement of the weavers. These large patterned textiles protruded out from the traditional Bedouin tent, to segregate the men and the women’s quarters. The tent divider was recognised by the tribe as highly important and was the most decorated textile; loaded with symbolic cultural meaning, including camel and camel trapping symbols within the decorative shajarah section.
The nomadic Bedouin tribes survived in harsh desert conditions and were extremely resourceful. They depended upon camels for survival. Traditionally Bedouins required camels for food and transportation during times of migration, when large decorative woven camel bags (khurj), and camel trappings (hawdaj) were used to carry their possessions, and were adorned with shajarah patterns, and tassels (danadish) of varying sizes and colours.
Complete reading: http://www.soas.ac.uk/camelconference2011/file84330.pdf
Know more about bedouins:
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento