Despite its popular image associated with conflict and
poverty, Palestine has a rich and beautiful cultural
heritage that has developed throughout its millennia-long
history. Sunbula’s partner organizations produce a wide
array of traditional handicrafts, using the artisan skills
that have been passed on through generations. By providing
the market for these crafts, Sunbula helps Palestinian
artisans to be economically empowered, and supports the
preservation of the cultural heritage.
Once a traditional craft practiced by village women,
Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery has become an important
symbol of Palestinian culture. Embroidered pieces can be
found in the homes of most Palestinian families in the West
Bank, Gaza Strip, Israel and the Diaspora beyond, adorning
the walls of houses in Jerusalem, villas in the Gulf,
suburban homes in the United States, and cement block houses
in refugee camps. In addition, cross-stitch embroidery is
given as gifts and worn by Palestinians worldwide on festive
occasions.
The popularity of embroidery springs from both its beauty
and its association with the Palestine of the past. Common
patterns reflect the millennia-long history of the land. The
designs are derived from sources as diverse as ancient
mythology and foreign occupations and date as far back as
the Canaanites, who lived in the area over three thousand
years ago.
The handicraft also symbolizes the traditional rural
lifestyle of Palestine, much of which was lost after the
1948 creation of the state of Israel. Embroidery was the
principal decoration of rural women’s clothing. It was part
of a village women’s daily routine and a means of showing
off her personal skills and social identity. The patterns,
colors and quality of the dress reflected a woman’s social
standing, marital status and wealth.
Although the Palestinian cultural landscape has changed
dramatically in the last fifty years, cross-stitch
embroidery has remained a vibrant handicraft because, for
many Palestinians, it is a familiar reminder of Palestine in
the days of their grandparents or great grandparents.
[Excerpts from “Embroidering A Life: Palestinian Women and
Embroidery” by
Elizabeth Price]
"The main technique of Bethlehem embroidery is couching with
silver, gold and silk cord. This is twisted into elaborate
floral and curvilinear patterns, attached to the fabric with
tiny stitches, and framed and filled with herringbone and
satin-stitches in vividly colored silks." [Excerpts from
“Palestinian Costume” by S. Weir]
Tahriri was used to make the front panels of wedding dresses
and also the side panels of the skirts and the cuffs of the
long traditional dresses. The technique may have been
inspired by ornate church ornaments, liturgical clothing or
the braid and couching ornamentation on the uniforms of
Ottoman and British officers. Sunbula sells dress front
panels, evening bags, cushion covers, runners, belts and
many other beautiful items in the Tahriri stitch.
Originated from the Palestinian village of Al-Majdal
(Israeli city of Ashkelon today), the Majdalawi fabric is a
traditional Palestinian cloth woven by a male weaver on
single treadle looms, using black and indigo cotton threads
combined with silk threads in fuchsia and turquoise. Today,
the fabric is woven at the Atfaluna Crafts, and the Arts and
Crafts Village in Gaza City as a part of cultural
preservation project.
The Bedouins are a nomadic people who, historically, have
lived across the Middle East and North Africa, inhabiting
arid areas and moving their base with turning of the
seasons. Traditionally women’s work, the Bedouin weaving was
developed in their unique culture, creating household items
suited for the life in the desert. Sheep wool from one’s own
herd is spun into thread, colored with natural dye and woven
into a fabric using a ground loom. The particularly tight
and strong fabric is used for tents, rugs, pillows, and
other domestic items.
Olivewood is a local material found throughout Palestine,
and the wood carving can be traced back to the 16th and 17th
centuries. Travelers' accounts and historical documents
describe the beauty of olive wood rosaries and crucifixes
and their popularity among pilgrims.
Wood carvings are made from the branches of olive trees
which are pruned at the completion of the olive picking
season. It takes a six-step-process and 45 days for a piece
of wood to turn into a beautiful piece of art. It is a
skilled trade that requires 6-7 years of training for one to
become a professional craftsperson. In addition to the
handmade quality of the item, the grain of the wood gives
each piece a special character.
Mother-of-Pearl carving is a tradition dating back to the
early 17th century. It evolved as an art form along with
olive wood carving when Franciscan monks came to the Holy
Land. The monks trained the local Christian population in
the carving of olive wood and mother-of-pearl rosaries,
crucifixes and reproductions of the Cave of the Nativity and
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Today, mother-of-pearl is
imported from Saudi Arabia.
Palestinians are as particular about their choice of olive
oil as the French or Italians are about their wines. The oil
from Ramallah is light and a little bitter, while oil from
Beit Jala is heavier and bitter like freshly pickled olives.
Most oils in the area are the result of the first cold
pressing.
The Palestinian town of Nablus has long been known
throughout the Middle East for its large-scale production of
olive oil soap. In homes older women are traditionally in
charge of making olive oil soap. Today, many Palestinian
families still use their grandmother’s handmade soap, made
with leftover oil from pervious years after a new harvest
brings freshly pressed olive oil to the family kitchen.
Although ceramics in Palestine date far back to the Neolithic period,
evidenced in the archeological sites in Jericho,
it was the Armenian artisans in Jerusalem that popularized
the art of pottery-making during the turn of the century.
Loved by both tourists and locals,
the Palestinian pottery is renowned for vivid colors and arabesque motifs,
which are influenced by Armenian, Ottoman, Persian, and Syrian arts.
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