Syria’s Bedouin: a craft and culture under threat
This incredible photo of a Bedouin woman was taken in Syria in 1893.
Syria’s Bedouin have had a huge influence on the embroidery and handcrafts of the entire region, and of course on Oshana’s own designs. Here we pay homage to an ancient and creative culture under threat.
The Bedouin are, historically, the Middle East’s nomadic sheep, goat and camel herders; their name means literally ‘desert dweller’ in Arabic. They are found from the Gulf to north Africa, but here of course we want to focus on the Syrian Bedouin, and especially their amazing embroidery and craft.
Syria is about 80% arid land. For centuries, Bedouin tribes ranged across these areas searching for food and water for their animals. Their lifestyle was ecologically sustainable and their culture rich.
Everything they made was perfectly adapted to the harsh environment in which they lived. Their incredible weaving, embroidery and beading was used to create the tents, rugs, blankets, robes and headdresses that sheltered them from the scorching heat and icy cold of the desert. The motifs they chose reflected what was culturally important - the tree of life, flowers signifying growth and plenty, and the camel representing patience and strength. Dresses in particular were heavily embroidered, often on both front and back.
Embroidered Bedouin thawb (dress) circa 1935
It was mostly women who did this weaving and embroidery, and techniques would be passed down from one generation to the next. While many pieces were undeniably the work of one talented maker, others were a group effort, with one woman picking up the shuttle, or needle, when another left off. Weaving and embroidery became social events as much as functional necessities (just as for the Oshana artisans, for whom getting together to knit and embroider is as much about the community as the income).
Over the past hundred years, a series of colonial and state policies have pressured the Bedouin to give up their nomadic lifestyle and settle in towns and villages. As a result, although about 12 to 15% of Syrians still identify as Bedouin, only perhaps 2% are still nomadic pastoralists.
These people, already representing a culture under threat, have had their entire way of life endangered by the war. Finding themselves unable to move around to support their herds, caught in the middle of bombing and battles, vast numbers have been forced to give up their animals and lifestyle and become internally displaced or refugees.
Our embroidery designs are inspired by the patterns of Syria and the wider Middle East, including Bedouin culture. Our very name, Oshana, means palm tree in Aramaic (the precursor to Arabic), an embroidery motif that symbolises life, because it was the only tree that grew in the desert.
The Bedouin have received startlingly little attention in the coverage of the war. We must do more to protect this rich inheritance, and protect both people and culture.
Our tatriz cushion draws on Bedouin designs - keeping them alive for the next generation
