Swift modernization and the forces of globalization are hijacking nomadic lifestyles throughout the Arab world. Joy Totah Hilden's Bedouin Weaving of Saudi Arabia and Its Neighbours is a book that celebrates nomadic women's textile worlds. It is also a requiem to generations-deep traditions of arts and crafts, weaving ornaments to beautify the everyday and decorate rituals of family, kin, and tribe. Hilden presents her compassionate text and spectacular photographs with the great spirit of cross-cultural humanism. Her life-long field and archival research are diligent and rigorous. This invaluable book provides a rich and detailed portrait of Bedouin weaving as it rapidly disappears. Old weavers die; the axis of young women’s life is modernity. The earthy natural fibers are being replaced with imported synthetic yarn. Hilden presents the liberating power of weaving that allows women to master a world of their own through the production of aesthetic objects. Aside from describing the weavers’ lives with dignity, spirit, and nuance, the book provides excellent hands-on instructions for cooking natural dyes and forming traditional patterns.
Professor Smadar Lavie, Ph.D.
Author of The Poetics of Military Occupation
September 22, 2010
Interviews
Sept 15, 2010, "My Country", video conversation with Joy Totah Hilden, hosted by Howard Vicini. To see the video on Vimeo, click here.
August 4, 7:00 pm, KPFA interview on the program, "Voices of the Middle East and North Africa." To subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, click here. View or listen to the program's archived podcasts. Visit the web site at KPFA.
August 4, 7:00 pm, KPFA interview on the program, "Voices of the Middle East and North Africa." To subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, click here. View or listen to the program's archived podcasts. Visit the web site at KPFA.
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