Handicrafts

Najat Habash

People of Bakhdida are well known for their weaving skills, unfortunately this handicraft faded away. Most weavers were farmers who owned sheep. In spring, after the sheep are sheared .

The household women start skirting the smelly fleece then wash and dry them

 After drying the ladies start to card the clean wool to be softer for spinning.

Spinning is done by wooden hand spindles. It was very common to see ladies and girls spin their wool in to fine yarns while they were chattering in their neighbourhood.

The yarns are then collected in to big bundles to be ready for dyeing. Powder dyes were used because they were economical.

The weaver then uses the traditional loom to weave the final product locally known-BERMALA-as shown in the picture above, bermala is about a meter wide and more than two meters long. Few pieces are sewn together to make wider rugs.
Not long ago weavers modernized their handicraft by weaving rugs from fabric ribbons that are cut thinly and spun the same way as the wool. This product was prefered because it is softer than the woolen one besides it doesn't smell at all.
Ladies knitted woolen sockes too from the undyed wool especially worn by elderly men.
 

Different rugs were made from low quality wool which is of the tails and legs area of the sheep. The product is called -KACHA- and is made by pressing the wool together in a traditional and artistic way. This kind of rug is very warm for the winter season and is made by skillful locals as shown in the picture above.

Another very well known handicraft still exist is sheepskin tanning. The sheepskin is treated locally in a very traditional way.

 The final product is known -FARWA- used as a winter coat by local men. These coats are produced for selling in other cities of Iraq too. The most expensive one is made of little lambskin.

Quilt making is one of the fine crafts that many Bakhdida women are also well known of. Before marriage, groom's family get the wool ready for the double quilt.

The quilter is then called home to sew the would-be couple quilt. single quilts are produced too.

Pottery making is another craft that I heard of from my grandmother when I was growing up. ARKANA is a name still in my memory of one of the pots that my grandmother made and used to serve water for her domestic animals like chicken. She made her pottery herself, first she would prepare the mud and shape it to the desired design and then after drying she would cook it. This craft still exists to some extent as few ladies are known for locally making mud ovens (TANORTA).
Nowadays people depend on the metal TANOOR but the flavor of the bread doesn't match the one that is baked in the mud oven.