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UAE women try to keep their ancient traditions alive
posted on 05/11/2006: 114 views
Halimah Obaid sits immersed in her work as dozens of people, mostly tourists, mill about, some stopping to watch. Her trained fingers working nimbly with the red and silver threads, Obaid does not look up as cameras flash around her, slightly conscious but apparently proud to display her talents.
The mother-of-two is making the teli – an example of Arab embroidery used to adorn women's clothes. At a neighbouring stall, her friends are also engrossed in making other traditional crafts – weaving sado from cotton threads and khous from palm fronds.
These dextrous Emiratis are spearheading an initiative by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach), which recently opened an outlet for traditional Emirati crafts at the capital's Cultural Foundation.
Bearing the slogan "100% Emirati, 100% handmade”, the outlet is aimed at preserving and promoting traditional handicrafts and safeguarding their survival in the rapidly modernising UAE.
"We need to refresh our traditions and our heritage,” says Saeed Hamad Ali Al Ka'abi, a senior production officer for Adach. "If we do not do it, no one will do it for us.” Al Kaabi says the Emirati crafts initiative, which started as a small project earlier this year, has had a positive start.
"Our visitors' feedback has been very encouraging,” he says. "We are now planning to expand our activities to different areas.” Adach is laying the groundwork for the development of traditional crafts, says Al Kaabi. The body will soon join hands with a museum in Al Ain and aims to host workshops to encourage people to learn the time-tested skills.
"We are also looking at creating a department that will exclusively handle handicrafts and push for introducing such art at the school level,” says the official.
"We constantly ask ourselves how we can make the new generation interested.” At her stall, textile wizard Obaid says she has resigned herself to the fact that traditional handicrafts are dying. "Long ago, we were struggling just to survive, now we are struggling to maintain our traditions,” she says. The teli embroiderer believes she is 50 years old, but admits she does not have a good head for dates.
Her friend Lazza Hussein Saleh, a sado weaver, is more optimistic. "My daughter is very interested to learn,” she says. "It's a family thing and I don't want to lose it.” Her teenage child Jamielah says it takes a lot of patience to master the art of weaving, performed with blocks of wood and rolls of thread. "Many of my friends quickly lose interest because it's not easy,” says the 14-year-old. "Especially in between school, there is hardly any time.” At her khous stall, Mariam Ali Obaid is putting the finishing touches on a palm fibre basket. With nimble movements, she interlocks fronds of different colours. As her handiwork takes shape, she pauses as photographs are taken.
"After coming here, I realised that a lot of people are interested in these kind of things,” says the 40-year-old. "Participating in this initiative has helped me understand how important it is to preserve our traditional crafts.” Noreen Akhtar is in charge of the crafts outlet, translating for the women and answering questions. "There are still a lot of people who do such things at home,” she says. "But people working at home hardly earn any money because they don't have many outlets to sell their wares. This programme gives them the opportunity to show people their craft and encourages them to continue it.”
Visitors to the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi can buy the handmade goods or have them custom-made. But Halimah Obaid says she only makes her teli for herself or sometimes for friends. "I learned the craft from a very young age,” she says. "Those days, we had to learn because it was a necessity.” But Obaid does not regret the way modern lifestyles are threatening some of the traditions she mastered as a girl.
"This is what we wanted isn't it?” she asks, pausing a while to answer her mobile phone. "So it's a good thing. But all these crafts are also a good thing and I will keep doing it. Anyone is free to learn from us.” According to Adach's production officer, that is what the organisation is hoping to achieve – to keep the traditions alive despite the country's fast-paced growth. "There is already so much of our heritage that we don't know about,” says the 35year-old Al Kaabi. "It is our responsibility to preserve it.” "I love our past,” adds Obaid, her telephone ringing again. "But we are proud of the present too.” (Emirates Today)
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