Behind the fingers that weave

Today’s lecture left me with interesting questions. What is the relevance of region who produces the cloth, the culture, materials they have access to, who they’re making it for. How does a cloth or particular ornamentation become distinct to a place? 

Some cloth can be produced for many things like ceremonial rituals, trade and commission work.  Cloth, from producers big or small, acts as a source of style, identity markers, and culture-markers. The problem now is that our culture doesn’t recognize the weaver as a part of the society.

We were divided into groups of four and given one cloth from some part of Africa. My group got a cloth from Yemen.

From individual assessment I procured that it was some sort of cotton, roughish to touch and quite soft, and with the help of a senior discovered it was a 2 warp 1 weft threaded cloth.

Before the arrival of the sewing machine, styles were almost universally “ghamis”styled garments made from local indigo dyed cotton cloth - or made from the famous Yemeni striped cloth which is no longer made. After the introduction of the sewing machine, about 60 years ago, regional variations appeared, a wider range of cloth became available and the hand guided embroidery machine facilitated new regional patterns and designs to be developed.

Small groups continued the tradition with Imam Yahya supporting his private factory which was hand weaving the famous old striped cloth for use by the royal family. This production was still producing a limited supply of the traditional textile into the early 1980’s.

An interesting factor is the message the clothes convey.  Whereas men's clothing used to reflect Yemen's stratified social hierarchy, women’s clothing never had that function.  Their social standing is determined by their husband or father, and the distinction in clothing only signifies their geographical origin.

These regional styles are determined by climate, the type of work that people engage in and finally the availability of certain materials and fabrics. For example, in the coastal area along the Rea Sea, where it is hot and humid most of the year, women wear light clothes and protect themselves from the heat with straw hats. The local indigo industry in Zabid is at the origin of a peculiar type of dark blue and shiny dress (Zenna) that is worn rather tight but with a wide neck opening both to allow better breathing and to make dressing easier.