Palestinian Embroidery

Palestinian Cultural Heritage

Palestinian Embroidery

Palestinian embroidery is a powerful form of art that captures the rich historical significance of the Middle Eastern culture. Located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Palestine costumes have come to embody the sacredness of its role as gatekeepers of all that is prized in each civilization. Today, traditional clothing is primarily worn by the older generation of Palestinian mothers, and by the younger generations during celebrations and festivals. The Palestinian costumes have been widely cherished as a symbol of Palestinian resiliency throughout its history.

The A shape style of the dress can be traced back to 1200 B.C during the days of the Canaanites. The square chest piece and lower back panel are visible symbols adapted from Roman tunics of the seventh century. It does not take a lot to imagine the pride the Palestinian people have for their costumes for them to remain a living part of their heritage from antiquity until today. These cultural characteristics from past predecessors occupy a place in the Palestinian costume as the integration of cultures create the most beautiful masterpieces.

Designs of the Palestinian costumes tell their own narratives of Palestinian identity. The S pattern or the leach pattern indicates the importance of leaches in medicine for treating the ill, historically. The cup shape character on Palestinian costumes is often associated to Jericho, symbolizes the prosperity and wealth in years past. Costumes adorned with the interlacing patterns to represent Jesus and the four evangelists are indicative of the people of Bethlehem. 

In recent years Palestinian women have relied on embroidery as a source of livelihood. Incomes that have drastically decreased to the high unemployment rates of today, high percentage of men imprisoned in Israeli jails and high costs of living have pushed Palestinian women to supplement their incomes by working in embroidery. These women work from their homes for heritage and cultural organizations that then sell the costumes to the public. It is a replica of the British cottage industry of the nineteenth century that allows women to maintain a strong presence in maintaining family values and norms around the home while earning a financial living.

More insight into the cultural importance of  Palestinian costumes influencing medieval dress is found in this lecture given by Hanan K. Munayyer. http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5704

Images of Palestinian costumes are located within the website of the Palestine Heritage Foundation. 1. http://palestineheritage.org/gallery.htm
2.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boEzq37Y64U
3.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJXC046hzXQ

Visit these stores to empower Palestinian women by buying their handmade products.
1. http://shopinpalestine.com/index.php?cPath=9&osCsid=943372e28b077e54bbaa61de7741cb2c
2. http://www.sunbula.org
3.http://www.sunbula.org/sunbulashop/einside.php?id=95&linkid=95

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