Since the Arab Revolt of the 1930s, the black-and-white of the Palestinian keffiyeh has long become synonymous with the Palestinian struggle for liberation. Still, the history of Palestinian crafts is a tradition that spans hundreds of years and goes far beyond textiles, including disciplines like pottery-making, carvings of olive wood and mother-of-pearl, and many more.
Insofar as the origins of these crafts are inextricable from the Palestinian identity, they are also inextricable from the land. For instance, Beit Sahour, the capital of Palestine’s olive wood carving industry, used to host over a hundred wood carving workshops. On top of sales from the carvings, the olive-wood carving industry was the cornerstone of the small town’s economy, as it also drew tourists, especially around Christmas.
In recent years, Israel’s colonisation of the West Bank has decimated the industry and this art form. Since 1967, over 800,000 olive trees have been uprooted and destroyed. Olive wood carvers seeking to continue producing this handicraft have had to buy their wood from other parts of the West Bank, but supplies have been difficult to acquire due to the construction of Israeli separation walls and settlements.
At its peak, the olive wood carving trade was a generational practice, as the trade was carefully cultivated and passed down through family members. Originating in the 4th century, it was said to have been pioneered by monks, and the modern practitioners of this craft are often descendants of the original olive carving families. While modern innovation has produced laser cutters and drills, its most traditional artisans still perform a majority of the chiselling by hand, and can train for up to seven years before they are considered qualified.
Perhaps the most recognisable of Palestinian textiles is tatreez, a needlework practice that means ‘embroidery’ in Arabic. It was used to embellish the thobe (or thawb), which was an ankle-length Palestinian robe made and worn by women as far back as the 11th century. Since then, this iconic embroidery has been stitched on shawls, pouches, and other day-to-day objects in an effort to keep this tradition alive in other, small ways.
These traditional crafts have become a common way for members of the Palestinian diaspora to represent their heritage, as well as to raise funds for victims of the ongoing occupation of Gaza. In Edinburgh, we have Hadeel, a Palestinian craft, book, and food shop which is run by Palcrafts UK, and opened at its current George Street storefront in 2013.
Everything sold at Hadeel is handmade in Palestine, and stocks products from Gaza, the West Bank, and other occupied territories. They are also part of various fair trade organisations, which means that ethical operations are central to their ethos as a business.
From ornaments to clothes, jewellery, and even dates and biscuits, every purchase at Hadeel comes with a card to inform the consumer of the people or projects behind the creation of that good. Yasmina Ferrigan, the business manager at Hadeel, notes that this allows consumers to make a conscious choice in making ethical and meaningful purchases.
As Hadeel is a nonprofit, all proceeds from the shop go directly to the producers, and when they can, the charity also sends grant funding to those who are displaced. She also espouses the importance of the Palcrafts project. “We provide non-essential aid, which is an area that’s always overlooked. But this ends up being their main source of income.”
Above all, the proliferation of Palestinian crafts and culture into an international market serves as a way of preserving the continuity of a distinct Palestinian culture, heritage, and identity. As Tripp tells us in The Power and the People, art has a ‘powerful way of signalling presence’. Beyond traditional crafts and snacks, Hadeel also champions education about the Palestinian narrative, including books about the history of the region, and pamphlets narrating the technicalities of each craft.
Ferrigan emphasises that Hadeel has historically worked closely with the student body of the University of Edinburgh, including with the Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS), and is happy to supply Palestinian crafts for fundraising projects or sales.
Students looking to collaborate with or volunteer at Hadeel can contact the store at in**@****el.org.
Images via Teioh Nuan Ning
