Straw weaving in Syria a traditional handicraft that preserves tangible heritage  

Straw weaving is a traditional handicraft in Syria carried out by women in the countryside to produce distinguished straw plates and baskets for various household needs including kitchen utensils. Women working in this industry don’t know that by weaving beautiful straw products they contribute to preserving the Syrian tangible heritage.

The straw industry is widespread in most of the Syrian countryside, where the necessary raw materials are available.  Straw weaving requires special tools which are: Wheat straw, an awl, which is a sharp pointed tool about 10 cm long and a scissor.

Interviewed by Syriatimes, Mrs. Aziza Fashtouk, a 70-year-old rural woman from Misyaf, Hama, who mastered straw making, said that the use of the straw products is one of the basic elements in the daily life of rural people.

About the basic steps for making a straw plate, Mrs. Aziza said: “After harvesting the wheat and stacking it into the threshing floors, we collect the straw and select the good with medium thickness and length. Then we remove the spikes and husks, cut them, tie them in bundles and hang them until the start of the winter, so they can be used in making the straw plates.

“Directly before working, we soak the straw in water for about an hour until it becomes soft so that we can braid and manufacture it. We choose 3 straws and weave them like a braid, then, we wrap them in a circular way to make the basic knot which the success, durability and cohesion of the plate depends on.

During the work, the worker decorates the plate by weaving it with colored straws by drawing systematic and geometric shapes such as broken and zigzag lines, triangles, roses, stars or some shapes of birds and animals according to her own artistic vision.

She added that she prefers to use tools and plates made from straw because they are made of natural materials, suitable for health and resist heat and cold. “They also last for a very long time if we take care of them and dry them after each use,” she explained.

Mrs. Aziza told us about the rituals of practicing this craft saying: the practicing of this craft is accompanied by a social ritual , where rural women and girls gather every evening in some one’s house , especially in winter to make straw plate , exchange conversations and compete to complete the work at maximum speed and create new drawings.

Mrs. Aziza sells straw plates. They are a source of income for her and for many women in the countryside as many traders come from the city to buy straw products.

Report: Souha Suleiman