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summer academy
currently on
workshops
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Sept.
- Oct.
,2001
Traditional
Costumes from Jordan and Palestine
"
The
Private Collection of Widad Kawar
KawarÕs collection, some of which date
back to the 1850s, are divided into four sections, according
to their origin and use. "After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war,
hand-woven textiles were replaced by machine-made synthetic
fabrics" Kawar said in a previous interview with The Jordan
Times.
WomanÕs costumes of Palestine and Jordan have a long history.
It was not until the 1967 Arab-Israeli war that these traditions
began to lose their importance as many villagers became homeless
after the war.
The colour of the dress and the stitch patterns not only revealed
a womanÕs place of origin, but also reflected her status:
Whether she was married or widowed. Women used to sell their
dresses to help their families make ends meet. "I started
to collect costumes wherever I found them. Mostly from their
owners, in order to document them." Said Kawar. "Through my
interviews with owners of traditional garb, I got to know
more about the costumes and started to see the beauty of the
simple daily wear and its function.
" Kawar worked hard to preserve the costumes and their accessories.
"At first, I collected whatever was beautiful, but later on
I began to collect in a more organized and scientific way.
I started collecting according to areas and periods of time,"
she said. In the Palestinian section there is the Hammam (public
bath) costume and accessories. On "bath day" a woman would
put her embroidered towel, silk "Wazra" (a wrap-around), soap
and all her beauty requirements in an embroidered "Bukja"
(a bag made of silk or velvet.) Kawar explained. "Wazras on
display at the exhibition are from Aleppo and Baghdad, while
the "Bukjes" are from Damascus and Jerusalem." Said Kawar.
Jordanian costumes are spectacular and unique. Initially,
Kawar had great difficulty obtaining them. However she soon
realized the only way to do so was by learning more about
them before they disappeared as a result of modernization.
In the Jordanian section, there is a voluminous dress from
Salt, made of 12 yards of black cotton imported from Egypt.
The seams are covered with bright coloured silk embroidery
and the dress is trimmed with bands of hand-woven indigo blue
cotton. The women wove their own belts "Shweheya" from homespun
wool. However, during the 1950s, the varied costumes of Palestine
and Jordan began to lose their distinctive character and became
similar.
The Jewelry on display was fashionable around the turn of
the last century. "The style changed with influences from
neighboring countries" said Kawar.
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