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The Art of Hand Weaving Textiles and Crafting on Socio-Cultural Values in Ethiopian (Review)

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Abstract

Hand weaving and crafting sectors are one of the most important nonagricultural sources of income in Ethiopia. Hand weaving is a traditional technology to produce specialty fabrics as well as ordinary fabrics in the rural and semi-urban areas scattered throughout Ethiopia. Weaving is traditionally found throughout Ethiopia but there are clustered hand weaving activities in the Shiro Meda, Adisu-Gebeya, Kechene-Medhane Alem and Guellele in Addis Ababa. In the rural areas, Dorze and Konso in Southern part of Ethiopia are well known for their weaving as is Gondor,Gojjam and Wollo in Amhara. Data were collected through. Qualitative data collection tools like interview, focus group discussion and observation. Interviews were conducted to establish the cultural, social, ecological and aesthetic value. The aim of this paper is to examine the emerging development of hand weaving and crafting sectors with traditional values in Ethiopia. The paper identifies basic traditional values of hand weaving and discusses the development of a competitive textile industry in the world, by looking on the challenges and opportunities to become a new location for traditional clothes production. The paper addresses contribution of textile handicraft activity in Ethiopian socio-cultural life. The local inhabitant prefer products of indigenous weavers, they like and respect it. It viewed as holy and used in ritual celebration. Similarly the skill reveals creative ability, identity, culture and history of weavers and users. Furthermore it plays great role in perseveration of cultural heritage, employment creation, tourist attraction and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been initiating and introduced in the Ethiopian textile handicraft industry.
Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res. (2018). 5(12): 59-67
59
International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research
ISSN: 2393-8870
www.ijarm.com
DOI: 10.22192/ijamr Volume 5, Issue 12 -2018
Review Article
The Art of Hand Weaving Textiles and Crafting on
Socio-Cultural Values in Ethiopian (Review)
Alhayat Getu TEMESGEN* (PhD. Student), Ömer Fırat TURŞUCULAR (PhD. Student),
Prof. Dr. Recep EREN and Prof. Dr. Yusuf ULCAY
Bursa Uludag University, Department of Textile Engineering, Görükle Kampüsü 16059 Nilüfer/ Bursa,
TURKEY
*Corresponding Author: *mottaget@gmail.com /omerfirattursucular@gmail.com
Abstract
Hand weaving and crafting sectors are one of the most important nonagricultural sources of
income in Ethiopia. Hand weaving is a traditional technology to produce specialty fabrics as
well as ordinary fabrics in the rural and semi-urban areas scattered throughout Ethiopia.
Weaving is traditionally found throughout Ethiopia but there are clustered hand weaving
activities in the Shiro Meda, Adisu-Gebeya, Kechene-Medhane Alem and Guellele in Addis
Ababa. In the rural areas, Dorze and Konso in Southern part of Ethiopia are well known for
their weaving as is Gondor,Gojjam and Wollo in Amhara. Data were collected through.
Qualitative data collection tools like interview, focus group discussion and observation.
Interviews were conducted to establish the cultural, social, ecological and aesthetic value.
The aim of this paper is to examine the emerging development of hand weaving and crafting
sectors with traditional values in Ethiopia. The paper identifies basic traditional values of
hand weaving and discusses the development of a competitive textile industry in the world,
by looking on the challenges and opportunities to become a new location for traditional
clothes production. The paper addresses contribution of textile handicraft activity in
Ethiopian socio-cultural life. The local inhabitant prefer products of indigenous weavers,
they like and respect it. It viewed as holy and used in ritual celebration. Similarly the skill
reveals creative ability, identity, culture and history of weavers and users. Furthermore it
plays great role in perseveration of cultural heritage, employment creation, tourist attraction
and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been initiating and introduced in the
Ethiopian textile handicraft industry.
1. Introduction
Traditional textiles in Ethiopia have centered on the
country's reputation as a cradle of cotton. Cultivated
and hand spun here for thousands of years, cotton has
always occupied a central role in rural cultural life.
Ethiopian women will grow or buy unrefined cotton,
card it by hand and spin it with the so called inzirt[fig
1]. Women twist the inzirt, essentially a free standing
spindle, in one hand while pulling the cotton in the
other to make yarn. The inzirt is topped with a kesem
which acts as a bobbin to spool the thread. The thread
is then given to weavers who are traditionally male.
Ethiopian weavers use handlooms that are either raised
or suspended in a pit (called a pit loom). All weaving
is done by interlacing the warp threads with weft
threads. Weavers operate the loom by pressing pedals
with their feet alternatively up and down to interweave
Keywords
Textile Handicraft,
Traditional Clothes,
Hand Weaving
Technique,
Socio-Cultural Values
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22192/ijamr.2018.05.12.006
Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res. (2018). 5(12): 59-67
60
the threads. Most handlooms are only 70 90 cm wide
so that both edges of the warp thread are within arm's reach. However, this limits the width of the cloth that
can be produced. Often, weavers will sew together
multiple panels to make larger swatches of cloth.[1]
Fig 1. Hand spinning [1,2,3]
The craft designs in traditional society are consist of
three dimensional elements such as the object form
and the two dimensional features such as patterns,
lines and colors (kashim 2013). The visual designs on
material artefacts have consistently infused culture-
oriented aesthetics, thus adding to their local identity
and commercial value (Lam et al. 2006).
Indigenous Hand weaves textiles which are
accomplished with technical expertise and covering
wide areas of applied art and design, such as jewelry,
interior design, ceramics, household wares,
architecture, textile designs, leisure goods and
woodwork. The Nigerian concept of industrial design
embraces the creation of functional designs with
intrinsic aesthetic satisfaction.[2-5]
Hand weaves textiles, as made-made objects, are a
material medium for the communication of cultural
values. The research questions were adopted to test the
research aim. Qualitative approach was used as tool of
investigation in order to establish the relationship
between weaving and its traditional values. Interviews
were conducted to establish the cultural, social,
tourism, ecological and aesthetic value. They take the
form of structured, semi-structured and unstructured
questionnaires designed for a census of creative
activities using purposive sampling techniques. Apart
from interviews, scheduled observation were
administered so as to collect in-depth information and
data. Lastly focused group discussion was also cried
out with selective key informant.[2,6]
It includes objects, processes, services and their
systems. Since visual and material objects are part and
parcel of such communication which gives rise to
social forms, visual and material socio-culture has
emerged from the interaction between man and Hand
weaves textiles. Today, design woven fabrics have
become an inseparable component of human society, a
totem of cultural identity and an important source of
reference for modern society. These woven fabrics are
instrumental to aesthetic expression and socio-cultural
interaction within a local context (Moalosi and
Hudson, 2007).
Behind every man-made object is a valuable concept,
beliefs, customs, rituals, habits and ideas that shape its
perception within a socio-cultural environment. Visual
culture has been described as the artistic tastes and
interpretation of what is aesthetically pleasing to an
individual depending upon the surroundings and the
environment. However, it is not just artistic
differences that are influenced by environmental
differences. In addition, there is the practicality of the
visual statement (Lee, 2004).
Many historical references refer to cotton, cloth trade
and the loom in this area of east Africa. Excavations at
Axum in northern Ethiopia by a team led by David
Phillipson show indirect evidence for textiles.
Documentation of specific weave structures and
design vocabulary for the woven tibeb as well as other
textiles remains sparse. Taboos associated with
weaving vary in different areas of the country.
Weavers in many areas of the country could provide a
wealth of research information. In Addis Ababa today
and the significant Diaspora outside of Ethiopia and
Eritrea Yehabesha Lib's or national dress with the
woven tibeb is worn predominately by women but also
by men for special occasions. It is considered to be
traditional, elegant, comfortable, versatile and
modest.[3,8,26]
Hand card
cotton
Inzirt
Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res. (2018). 5(12): 59-67
61
Thus the relation between handweaving and societies
are intractable relationship. Their study is mainly
focus on social status and economy of artisans.
However the relationship between material culture and
society was addressed in a fairly limited way. Cultural
values of handicraft in general and weaving in
particular selected areas were studied in detail. For
example, traditionally made for the dowry, the bride's
family must give the groom a buluko before marriage.
These cloths are also used by village chefs during
important village meetings to illustrate their
leadership. Also most part of Ethiopia traditional
cloths were worn during special occasions and public
holiday. Even if there are diverse religion, culture and
ethnicity they have a blood tie relationship among the
peoples that make Ethiopia different from any other
place and countries, the most interesting things in our
country is that ,the wearing style of traditional cloth
like gabi and netela of Muslim and christen are
different. Thus, this paper aims to fill the existing
literature gap of Ethiopian textile handcraft in socio-
cultural values.[9,10,18,28]
2. Historical Background of Hand Weaving
Textile Products in Ethiopia
2.1 Traditional Clothing in Ethiopia
Handweave-textiles the gabi, netela, kuta, and qemis
are the key pieces of traditional dress that are worn
throughout the country. The gabi is a large (Fig 2 a),
heavy, white wrap used by both men and women to
protect themselves from the cold air during nighttime
and the chilly rainy season. Its thick cotton weave
helps to keep out the chill. During warmer month or
on special occasions, men will wear a kuta(Fig 2b), a
thin, gauzy shawl. The netela worn by women is a
large(Fig 3a), white stole made of fine and delicate
gauzy cotton. Usually, the netela has beautiful bands
of multicolored jacquard design on the edges, often
with silver or gold metallic threads, called the
tibeb(Fig 3b). More recently, weaver have
incorporated the tibeb design and concept into larger
patterns for home decor and fashion accessories. The
traditional dress for women is the qemis(Fig 3c),a
long, white robe decorated with tibeb on the edges and
waist band. [4,7,11,12,28]
(a) (b)
Fig 2.(a) Gabi and(b) kuta[2,28]
These dresses are made from shemm along strips of
woven fabric sewn together. Recently, innovative
designers have been creating modern styled dresses
with dyed shemma cloth and tibeb. Finally, the
buluko(Fig 4a) holds a special place in Ethiopian
clothing. Meqenet (Fig 4b), is a piece of cloth used as
a belt twisted around the waist on the Qemis. The cloth
is about 3 m in length, and its width is approximately
70 cm.Once the woman has put on the Qemis, the
Meqenet is folded in half lengthwise and twisted
around the Qemis, and it connects in the front. Cloth
for the Meqenet also features the thin stripes and
simple geometric patterns. Traditionally made for the
dowry, the bride's family must give the groom a
buluko before marriage. These heavy wraps are also
used by village chefs during important village
meetings to illustrate their leadership.[4,13,17]
Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res. (2018). 5(12): 59-67
62
(a) (b) (c)
Fig 3 (a)Netela , (b) Tibeband (c) Qemis[4,17]
According to Hudson & Spring (1995) the finest cloth
in Ethiopia is today produced by two ethnic groups
who live close to one another in the southern
highlands of Ethiopia: The Konso and the Dorzr. The
Dorze migrate to the large towns in search of other
outlets for their products, which the Konso people
rarely do (ibid.). In this paper I will focus on the
Dorze[23,27,28].
In Ethiopia the horizontal treadle loom is used in
weaving the cotton, silk and synthetic fibres.[7,17,25]
There are numerous regional variations of the treadle
loom. The “pit looms” is the one Dorze use. Hudson
and Spring describes it as: The weaver is sitting on the
edge of the pit above which the loom is mounted and
in which he operates the treadles with his feet.
Alternatively, the weaver may sit upright with his feet
operating the treadles at ground level (1995, p. 38).
Male craftsmen predominantly operate the weaving
and the women are cleaning and spinning the cotton
(Pankhurst, 1968).
(a) (b)
Fig 4 (a)Buluko and (b)Meqenet[1,2,3,4]
The weaving process can be described as follows: The
first part is the warping and it is done outside. The
factory-made warping threads are placed on a
handheld warping reel and the weaver unrolls the
threads around eight warping wooden posts that are
placed into the ground in two parallel rows. When the
weaver unrolls the threads a zigzag pattern is created
between the posts(Silverman, 1999). When the
warping is finished it is ready to be put on the loom.
Cartledge describes the process like this: The weaver
takes one end of the warp threads and ties this to a
post located at the front of the loom near the weaver’s
seat. The warp threads are then brought around a
second post, which is 2,5 meters beyond the back end
of the loom. Next the weaver takes the warp threads
and pulls them through the harnesses. When this is
finished, half of the warp threads will be on each of
the harnesses. Then each warp thread is pulled through
a small space of reed. Finally the warp threads are tied
onto the beam at the front of the loom (Silvermann,
1999, p. 248)
After the loom is dressed the wefts threads are
prepared on small hollow pieces of bamboo, using a
wooden apparatus called bobbin winder (ibid.)
The weavers use three kinds of raw materials:
Dir(yarn), a factory produced warp (which is locally
known as komtare), mag, a weft which is spun by
women mostly in the house and tilet (Thread), factory
produced coloured threads used for decorative borders
(Freeman & Pankhurst, 2003).
Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res. (2018). 5(12): 59-67
63
2.2. Previous Research
There is a limited amount of literature concerning
weaving in Ethiopia, but there are some which I will
present below. After that I will present number of ESD
research and ESD research focusing on TKS. I have
not found any research about ESD concerning textile
handicraft.[23,28]
Richard Pankhurst (1990), A social history of
Ethiopia. Pankhurst writes about the Ethiopian social
history from the Middle Ages to the early nineteenth
century. In his chapter on Handicraft workers weaving
and spinning are presented and explained. Pankhurst’s
book is an overview and gives a good background.
Julie Hudson & Christopher Spring (1995), The North
African Textiles. The authors give a more detailed
description of the treadle loom used in Ethiopia as
well as what fabrics are produced in the country.
Furthermore, some habits, colours and raw material of
the Dorze weaving are described[17,18,18].
Raymond A. Silverman (1999), Ethiopia - traditions
of Creativity. The book is a based on research of
cultural traditions in Ethiopia edited by Raymond A.
Silvermann. One of the cultural traditions the book
focus on is the weaving in the Gamu-Gofa highland.
The loom, the dressing of the loom, weaving, the
market and the surrounding neighbourhood are issues
presented in the book.For example you can follow two
weavers from the Gamu-Gofa highland which makes
the descriptions very colourful.
Dena Freeman and Alula Pankhurst (2003), Peripheral
People the Excluded Minorities of Ethiopia. The
authors seek to explain why minorities of Ethiopia,
such as craft workers and hunters, are marginalised.
Weavers are one of these minorities and the book
gives an overview of the weavers’ habits. That is, for
example: What they produce, their livelihood and their
social interaction.[4,14,24].
3. The Weaving Techniques of Ethiopian
Traditional Cloth
Handcraft Cloth production follows six processes:
spinning the weft thread, warping, starching the warp
thread, setting up the loom, test weaving, and weaving
the final order. [23]
Loom is a manual machine that produces different
types of textile clothes from warp and weft yarns
(threads); this is a principal machine used for weaving.
The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp
threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of
the weft threads. Ethiopian manual loom machine has
the following parts as shown in the Figure 5.[21,22,28]
Fig 5Manual loom machine[7,15,17]
Handcraft Cloth production follows six processes:
spinning the weft thread (Fig 6), warping (Fig 7a), starching the warp thread (Fig 7b), setting up the
loom, test weaving, and weaving the final order[5].
Fig. 6.Woman is spinning a weft (left), and the other woman is winding cotton weft (right).[3]
Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res. (2018). 5(12): 59-67
64
Warping thread entails fixing cotton thread
(approximately 15 hanks) onto a bamboo tool
(Qwoshere) to hank it. The tips of the thread are taken
from each hank and twisted into one strand, and the
tool is rotated to create the hank.[5].
Starching the Warp Thread/sizing/: During the
warping process, the thread is treated with tef starch to
protect it from the tension and friction of weaving
work. To create the starch, one handful of tef powder
is added to 10 L of hot water (8090ºC) and boiled.
The warped thread is dipped in the mixture and boiled
for approximately one hour. Then excess moisture is
pressed out and the thread is laid out to dry in the sun,
and the dry warp is tied in the shape of a
ball.[17,23,28]
(a) (b)
Fig. 7.(a) Warping thread with two sticks, (b) Starching the Warp Thread/sizing/ warped thread[28]
Weaving (Shemene): The tension of the warp is
checked after the thread is placed in the loom. Then,
using the surplus warp as weft, the weaver weaves
several centimeters to test the weave. Weaving the
final piece of cloth begins after the weaver checks and
adjusts warp, heddles, and reed.[16,18,28]
4. Methodology (Case study)
4.1. The Research Site
The ethnic and cultural diversity has given rise to
many unique and dynamic visual traditions. Generally
all part of Ethiopia like Oromiya, Amhara, Siltie,
Hararyetc has their own traditional fabric styles which
show their socio-cultural values. One of these
traditions is the weaving from the Gamu- Gofa
Highland; the Dorze weaving. Many Dorze weavers
live in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, at Shiro
Meda”, which is an area at the foot of Entotto
Mountain in the northern part of the city , Saris Abo
and Guellele.
4.2 Data Collection
The methods used to collect data depend on their
power to bear upon the research questions asked.
Qualitative methods are often used to capture the
experiences and lived meanings of the subject’s
everyday world (Brinkmann&Kvale, 2009). This
approach is located in a context of discovery, in
contrast to a context of justification that uses the
quantitative methods in which theories are proved or
used to measure a phenomenon (Kullberg, 2004).
Consequently and considering that this study aims at
discovering the learning process and to highlight the
subjects’ experiences I make use of a qualitative
methodology which is suitable for my field study. So,
qualitative approach was used as tool of investigation
in order to establish the relationship between weaving
and its socio-cultural values. Interviews and
observations are the primary methods when collecting
data in a qualitative research (Merriam, 1998).
Interviews were conducted to establish the cultural,
social, ecological and aesthetic value of traditional
cloths. They take the form of structured and
unstructured questionnaires designed for a census of
creative activities using purposive sampling
techniques.
5. Analysis
Common hand woven fabrics in Ethiopian society are
used for different purposes ranging from day-to-day
and ceremonial use, as in for religious purposes. They
are woven materials produced in attractive designs
with rich colours and made for male and females.
Various designs are folded into the material before
dyeing and the fabric is often beaten to achieve its
shiny, attractive appearance.
Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res. (2018). 5(12): 59-67
65
5.1. Weaving and Its Socio-Cultural Implication
Weaving is not simply a particular way of making
cloth but is inextricably bound up with structure value
history and identity of the community in which it
practiced.
Netela:
The way to wear the Netela differs depending on the
religion of the wearer and also on the occasion. The
Ethiopian Orthodox wear the Netela at church, on
public holidays, at weddings and funerals, and also as
everyday wear.Muslims wear the Netela only at
weddings and funerals; for funerals, the Netelais
opened horizontally and wrapped around the body,
and the remaining cloth may be hung from both
shoulders. The Ethiopian Orthodox use a different
wrapping style for funerals. For these occasions, the
Netelais wrapped to cover the head first, whereas
Muslims arrange theirs so that the pattern hangs from
the upper to the lower part of the body. In general, the
people of Amhara vary hanging their patterns
horizontally or vertically depending on the occasion.
Qemis:
The Qemis is formal wear for women regardless of
their religion. The cloth for the Qemis uses machine-
spun cotton thread for warp and hand-spun cotton
thread for weft. There is no standard for length or
width of this cloth, and the woman orders her cloth
from the weaver according to her form and height. On
the Qemis of Ethiopia, the areas around the collar, the
chest, the back, and part of the skirt have embroidery.
Moreover, the patterns embroidered on each part of
the Qemis differ according to religionthe Ethiopian
Orthodox use a pattern of the cross and Muslims use a
star and crescent pattern. Embroidery of the Qemis is
done after the garment is sewn.
Gabi:
The length of the cloth used for the Gabi is 50 Kind
(about 25 m). The cloth for the Gabi is cut into 3 m
and stacked, and these stacks are sewn together on one
side for both men and women. Among the people of
Amhara, the Gabi is widely worn irrespective of
religion. Men wear the Gabi as formal wear at
funerals, during worship services , and as everyday
wear, and women wear them as winter clothing at
home. In addition, at funerals, the Gabi is used to wrap
the bodies of the dead, and at weddings, the Gabi is
given as a gift to the groom.
Meqenet:
The Meqenet is a piece of cloth used as a belt twisted
around the waist on the Qemis. The cloth is about 3 m
in length, and its width is approximately 70 cm.Once
the woman has put on the Qemis, the Meqenetis folded
in half lengthwise and twisted around the Qemis, and
it connects in the front. Cloth for the Meqenet also
features the thin stripes and simple geometric patterns.
it is widely worn irrespective of religion.
In Oromo, hand weave just like other clothes their
products protect cold from the skin. The interviewed
weavers said that their customers view their products
in especial way by separating from normal clothes.
Apart from being clothes their products are
inextricably linked with Oromo philosophy and
identity. In social event like burial, market, weeding
ceremony adult men and women wear bale and
bullukkoo. Bale is dressed by women whereas
bullukkoo is worn by adult men. One of my informants
said on marriage ceremony family prepares different
cultural clothes. Especially bullukkoo and bale are
things that do not left. Even if girl’s family is very
poor one bullukkoo for father in law and one baleeand
sabbata for mother in law are mandatory. On this day
family relative and friend give her bullukkooor bale
which are called gumaata (gift).
The girl family should prepare bullukkoo for husband
and father in law (abiyyuu) and kulaaand sabbataa for
Mather in law (amaatii). Number of bullukko and bale
given for girl on wedding day indicate her parent
status and strength .On wedding day relative bring
cloth and other as gift which is called gonfa (gift).
Five days after marriage there is ritual ceremony
performs at boy house. This ritual ceremony is called
gadbaasaa. On this ritual ceremony different food and
drink are prepared and people invited. On this ritual
ceremony her qarree is shaving by her husband.
Qarreeis hair which symbolize unmarried girl.
Shaving of Qarree marks the transformation of girl
from child hood to motherhood.
Int. J. Adv. Multidiscip. Res. (2018). 5(12): 59-67
66
5.2. Tourist attraction
Fig 8.The role of Hand weaving
Conclusion
Hand-woven cotton textiles and garments are artisanal
traditional crafts and craftsmanship which differ from
region to region, and group to group with hundreds
and thousands of different material traditions in
evidence. Hand-woven cotton garments also called
shemma were traditionally worn by the Christian and
Muslim populations of the northern and central
highlands of Ethiopia and the central and southern
highlands of the country. Today the hand-woven
cotton garments are found nearly everywhere in all
part of the countries and are not only used for
garments but also for household products like
blankets, cushion covers and table covers. Traditional
hand woven fabrics show different socio-culture
values. The fabrics also show the religions of the
society, the nations and nationality of the groups, the
age of the society also the cloths show the socio-
economic level of the group. Traditional Weaving has
various socio-cultural, economic and religious
significance and values. Costumes that participant
wear in ritual activity, religious, political and in
different cultural event are provided by local weavers.
Their products are more preferable than the modern
factory production, which has great contribution for
the development of textile and fashion sectors. The
local products are cost effective, durable, thick, and
propend as socio-cultural context of users. In blessing
and praying like for God every individual in society
come to God by wearing cultural cloth. All ritual
ceremony has their own cultural cloth. Therefore the
cultural clothe are mandatory on ritual and taken as
pure. On the other hand the production does not
pollute environment or nature. Like modern industry,
it does not release burnt air to the environment which
negatively affects biodiversity.
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DOI:10.22192/ijamr.2018.05.12.006
How to cite this article:
Alhayat Getu TEMESGEN, Ömer Fırat TURŞUCULAR, Recep EREN and Dr. Yusuf ULCAY (2018).
The Art of Hand Weaving Textiles and Crafting on Socio-Cultural Values in Ethiopian (Review). Int. J. Adv.
Multidiscip. Res. 5(12): 59-67.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22192/ijamr.2018.05.12.006
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Clarke, Duncan. The Art of African Textiles. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2002.
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