Tatreez is a traditional Palestinian embroidery practice. Each motif in this work is drawn from the place of origin of a member of my family. Historically, embroidery motifs, colours, and compositions reflected regional origin, marital status, and social or economic status.
Many of the villages associated with particular embroidery traditions were cleansed of their indigenous populations during the mass forced displacement of Palestinians in 1948, 1967, and ongoing, yet their distinctive motifs continue to be reproduced and recognised. Embroidered textiles, particularly thobes (traditional dresses),
therefore serve as repositories of local histories, preserving knowledge of places that no longer exist in their original form.
I learned tatreez from my mother, who learned it from hers and from the women of the town. Although none of my grandmother’s embroidered pieces survived the bombing of the family’s home in 2001, the patterns and techniques associated with this tradition have continued to be passed down to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The practice of tatreez was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021.
This work would not have been possible without the thoughtfulness of Vibha Swaminathan, Alli Roshni, Paras Bassuk, Rayan Chakrabarti, and Firas Darwish and the dedicated archival work of Widad Kawar, Nabil Anani, and Suleiman Mansoor.
Archival Sources:
Anani, Nabil, and Suleiman Mansoor. Guide To The Art Of Palestinian Embroidery. 4th ed., Al Ahlia For Publishing & Distribution, 2011, pp. 1–254.
Khalidi, Walid. Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History of the Palestinians, 1876-1948. Washington, D.C., Institute For Palestine Studies, 2010.
Widad Kawar, Threads of Identity: Preserving Palestinian Costume and Heritage, Rimal Publications, Cyprus, 2011