As we witness the poignant realities in Gaza and Palestine, ‘Embroidering Identities: A Century of Palestinian Clothing’ offers a vital snapshot, capturing the rich diversity of traditional Palestinian dress across various regions. This blog ventures into the pages of this volume, originally published as a companion to an exhibit at The Oriental Institute in Chicago. Join us as we examine how each garment intricately sewn and detailed in the book is not just a piece of fabric but a fragment of the broader cultural story, resonating with profound relevance in today’s climate.
Foreword by Geoff Emberling
This volume accompanied the exhibit ‘Embroidering Identities: A Century of Palestinian Clothing.’ This collaborative exhibition between the Oriental Institute and the Palestinian Heritage Center in Bethlehem offers a rich evocation of Palestinian culture through hand-embroidered garments. It focuses on the period between the late Ottoman Empire and the British Protectorate, showcasing the creative embroidery of working-class women in Palestinian villages from 1880 to 1948. These women developed distinctive styles passed down through generations, becoming symbols of Palestinian history and identity.
Preface by Iman Saca
Iman Saca reflects on the struggle of Palestinian youths to connect with their heritage. Recognising the risk of losing rich cultural traditions, Iman’s mother embarked on a mission to document and preserve Palestinian folklore, including stories, traditional items, and the art of embroidery. This effort led to the establishment of the Palestinian Heritage Center in Bethlehem, which has become a crucial institution for preserving and promoting Palestinian heritage.
Introduction
The introduction outlines the context of Palestinian embroideries, such as Palestine’s diverse geographical zones, including the coastal regions, central highlands, Jordan River Valley, and semi-desert areas. It discusses the influence of foreign cultures, especially during the Ottoman Empire and British Mandate eras, on Palestinian dress. The chapter highlights how townspeople were more receptive to foreign clothing styles and materials, while villagers and Bedouins maintained more distinct, regional dress designs and embroidery styles. Despite these foreign influences, regional distinctions in village and Bedouin dress design and embroidery remained strong, providing clues to a woman’s age, marital status, and wealth.
Dress Terminology
This part of the volume explains the various components of traditional Palestinian dresses and their significance:
- Chest Panel (Qabbah): The most elaborately embroidered and essential part, indicating the wearer’s village of origin.
- Sleeves (Irdan and Kum): Two main types, with Irdan being long, pointed triangular sleeves, often unembroidered at the ends, and Kum being narrow sleeves with vertical embroidery bands.
- Shoulder Piece or Yoke (Radah): Made of various materials like atlas silk, satin, or velvet, and embroidered with geometric motifs, reflecting personal taste or village identity.
- Skirt Side Panels (Banayek): Triangular pieces that widen the dress for comfort. In Bethlehem, bridal dresses, are adorned with gold and silver threads.
- Front Skirt of the Dress (Hijjer) and Back Lower Panel (Shinyar): Both heavily embroidered in many regions, showcasing the needlepoint skills of the creator.
- Hem (Diyal): The embroidery here can vary in width, protecting the dress’s bottom edge.
Fabrics and Dyes
Palestinian dresses were made primarily from linen, cotton, wool, and silk, woven in prominent centres like Mejdel, Bethlehem, Nablus, and Ramallah. The chapter discusses how local and imported fabrics and natural dyes were crucial in dressmaking. Notably, linen with a high silk percentage called “malak” was used for Bethlehem bridal dresses, while the indigo-dyed cotton fabric was prominent in dresses from the coastal region. The chapter also touches upon the traditional colours of fabrics, like un-dyed linen and indigo blue, and the introduction of synthetic dyes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Embroidery Patterns and Motifs
Each pattern and motif intricately sewn into Palestinian garments is a whisper of identity, a testament to the skilful hands that brought them to life. These designs narrate stories of individuality and cultural pride from the villages to the bustling towns. Geometric shapes and floral designs were common, with specific motifs named and given meanings. The chapter illustrates how these motifs, like the eight-pointed star of Bethlehem or food and animal representations, symbolised various aspects of rural life. Embroidery also served as a medium for women to express their hopes, desires, and social affiliations. For example, women from Beit Dajan often embroidered orange blossoms, a symbol of their village’s famous orange orchards.
Embroidery Colors
Red, symbolising happiness and life-blood, was a dominant colour in Palestinian embroidery. The chapter describes how village and Bedouin women skillfully combined shades of red with other colours like yellow, green, pink, orange, and white. The transition from silk to cotton threads in the late 1930s and the symbolism of different colours in expressing a woman’s feelings and life stage are also discussed. For instance, older women in the Hebron region preferred purple threads, while younger women and girls chose red and green.
Embroidery Stitches
The most prominent stitches in Palestinian embroidery were the cross-stitch and couching stitch. Cross-stitching was common in central, southern, and coastal regions, while couching, a technique involving laying down cords on the fabric, was notable in Bethlehem. This section explains the significance of these stitches and how they contributed to the unique aesthetics of Palestinian embroidery. Other stitches like the hem, satin, manajel, sanabel, chain, and stem stitches are also mentioned.
Chapter One: Regional Dresses of Palestine
Coastal Region (Jaffa Area-Beit Dajan)
Dresses from the Jaffa area, especially the ‘jallayeh,’ are highlighted for their heavy embroidery and unique decorative elements like amulets, arches, and cypress trees. Usually made from indigo linen, these dresses feature elaborate designs on the front skirt, lower back panel, and short, narrow sleeves. Headdresses in this region are also heavily embroidered, often with a row of coins.
Gaza
In Gaza, dresses are characterised by their distinctive cotton and silk fabric, woven in Mejdel on traditional looms. The designs, such as the Abu Mitain and Abu Rukbeh, are noted for their vibrant colours and heavy silk embroidery, with unique patterns like amulets heavily featured. The dresses from Gaza stand out for their unique construction and the use of specific fabric designs.
Central Region (Jerusalem)
Jerusalem, a major city, did not develop a characteristic embroidery style due to its exposure to foreign influences. Dresses were often made of fabrics imported from Damascus and were distinct for their vibrant colours and materials like silk. The fashion in Jerusalem was a blend of various regional styles, with influences from Bethlehem and other surrounding towns.
Ramallah
Ramallah was renowned for its handwoven white Rumi-linen embroidered thobe, usually adorned with wine-red silk cross-stitching. The chest panel and back lower panel of these dresses are elaborately embroidered with motifs such as tall palms and stars. The headdress, known as the smadeh or saffeh, is a distinct feature, heavily embroidered and adorned with coins and a silver chain.
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is famous for the ‘thobe al malak’, a bridal dress noted for using gold, silver, and silk threads. The dress features unique patterns like watches and vases, with the couching technique prevalent.
Eastern Region (Jericho)
Jericho’s traditional dress is known for its extraordinary length, often three times a woman’s height, and long, pointed sleeves. This design was both practical and a display of wealth. The dress was adaptable for work and protected from the elements.
Southern Region (Hebron Area-Beit Jebrin and Bir Sabe‘)
The Hebron area is celebrated for its diverse and distinct dresses, such as the ‘jallayeh,’ which are heavily embroidered in red. The ‘jinneh u nar‘ dress, named after the fabric used, is another notable style. In Bir Sabe‘, Bedouin women’s dresses featured bright cross-stitch embroidery with unique motifs and designs reflecting their identity and aspirations.
Chapter two: Men’s clothing
The traditional Palestinian ensemble for men included an undergarment (qamis), a coat (qumbaz), a shoulder cloak (abayah), baggy pants (sirwal), and a belt (hizam). The clothing, less elaborate than women’s, still offered insights into the wearer’s age, status, and identity. The qumbaz, often made of cotton or Syrian silk, varied in colour and design, reflecting village or group associations.
Chapter three: Palestinian jewellery
This chapter delves into the significant role of jewellery in Palestinian culture from the 19th to the mid-20th century. Women adorned themselves with various silver jewellery, including bracelets, necklaces, rings, nose rings, and chokers. These items, often crafted by local Christian and Jewish silversmiths, bore regional distinctiveness while also sharing styles across villages. The chapter discusses the symbolic and social meanings attached to these pieces, such as protection and good luck, embodied in specific designs like the “cucumber” bracelets and amulets engraved with God’s name. The chapter also touches upon the decline of traditional silver jewellery production following the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, which led to a shift towards gold jewellery and the eventual disappearance of many traditional silver pieces.
Chapter four: Clothing in Palestine post-1948
Post-1948, the creation of the state of Israel profoundly impacted Palestinian life, including the realm of clothing and embroidery. The chapter outlines the reasons for the disappearance of traditional dress and the art of embroidery, primarily due to the displacement of Palestinians and the resulting economic hardships. With reduced access to traditional materials and the influx of cheaper, imported fabrics, there was a significant shift in clothing styles. Embroidery and dress styles lost their regional distinctiveness as Palestinians in refugee camps embraced a shared identity. The emergence of new dress designs like the four-branch (arba’ agruq) or six-branch (sit agruq) dresses and the maris dress showcased a blend of traditional structures with simpler styles and decorations. The chapter also discusses how the political and economic turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s influenced these changes, leading to new fabrics and the advent of machine-made embroidery.
Chapter five: Traditional Embroidery Today
This chapter explores the revival and transformation of traditional Palestinian embroidery from the 1950s onwards. While older generations continued to wear and embroider traditional dresses, younger women initially saw them as outdated. However, efforts to revive this art form emerged, with international funding agencies supporting Palestinian women in refugee camps to produce and sell their embroidery. These initiatives led to new designs and motifs catering to Western markets, indirectly helping to preserve the art of embroidery. In the late 1980s and 1990s, Palestinian women began incorporating national symbols like the Palestinian flag and the Dome of the Rock into their embroidery, using them as personal and national expressions. More recently, there has been a renewed interest in traditional Palestinian clothing and embroidery, with initiatives by organisations like the Palestine Heritage Center to promote this heritage. The chapter concludes by highlighting how Palestinian women today embrace handmade embroidered dresses with traditional and modern motifs, viewing them as a means of expressing their identity and connecting with their cultural heritage.
As we reflect on the rich history of Palestinian embroidery, the current events of 2023 in Gaza and Palestine at large bring a sense of urgency to our discourse. Understanding and preserving Palestinian history and identity has become essential in these turbulent times. These embroidery traditions, steeped in stories and skills passed down through generations, are not just remnants of a past when Palestinians were free; they also embody resilience amidst adversity. Now more than ever, it is vital to keep these artistic and cultural forms alive to support the people who carry this heritage forward against all odds.
Our role in this endeavour extends beyond passive admiration. Whether through educational initiatives, supporting traditional crafts, or simply retelling these stories, we all have a crucial role. We are called upon to ensure that Palestinian embroidery survives and continues to flourish. This is an invitation for all of us to celebrate and safeguard these threads of history and heritage. By joining hands in this effort, we preserve a culture with remarkable resilience, ensuring its beauty and significance are recognised and remembered, even in the most challenging times.
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