Basket weavers utilize palm leaves to make several items available in Bahraini homes including the sofra dining mat, storage baskets,small dishes, hand fans and chicken coops. It is one of the most prominent crafts and is still practiced in several villages throughout the island. Basket weavers today can mainly be found in the villages of Karbabad, Jasra, and Budaiya.
Working on looms in Bani Jamra and Jasra, Bahrain’s fabric weavers inherit the trade from father to son, producing lengths of cloth to turn to irdeh, a black abbaya with lines of red and gold worn by women from rural areas, or the well known wezar, worn around the waist by men. Today, the craftsmen produce a multitude of items. In addition to traditional wear, scarves in varying colors are available for customization. While weaving, the craftsmen uses both his hands and legs and distributing and overlapping the threads into each other in a systematic and coordinated manner.
As an island, boat making is a historic and iconic Bahraini industry. Over the centuries, Bahraini craftsmen developed a wide range of boats, each differing according to its purpose, from fishing, diving, pearling and transportation of goods and people. Made from lumber imported from India, the vessel exquisite balance in the high seas is testimony to the skill of Bahraini craftsmen.
Pottery is an industry Bahrain has been famous for since ancient times, as indicated by the vast quantity of millennia-old examples found in archaeological sites across Bahrain thanks to the availability of locally-sourced raw materials. The wide range of pottery on display illustrates the advanced level attained by Bahraini craftsmen who learned their trade from their forefathers.
Still used as a decorative element in many houses, Sanadeeg Mubayata traditional chests also serve as storage for clothing and personal items. It’s appearance is distinguished by nail heads hammered into various decorative fashions. These chests are made out of real wood and are often used to present the bride with her trousseau. Storing zeri in a dark area when not in use helps maintain its shine and appearance. Today, several traditional chest designs have been reinterpreted and now incorporate a variety of colors.
As Arabic is the language of Islam and the Holy Quran, Arabic calligraphy spread in tandem with the growth and spread of the Islamic Empire. In a short span of time, Muslim artisans gave it a decorative beauty that no other calligraphy in the world has achieved. Due to the Islamic influence, many non-Arabic speaking nations became ‘arabized’ and Arabic lettering spread
among them, including India, Persia, parts of China, among others.
Music went hand-in-hand with the longstanding pearling heritage of Bahrain, as divers used song, dance, and music to pass time aboard the dhows in their long voyages at sea. As such, the country boasts a wide range of traditional instruments which can be viewed and purchased in this shop.
Bahrain’s identity has always been closely tied to palm trees. As a source of food and shelter, the palm tree has always been an indispensable element in the lives of Bahrainis. In an initiative to reinterpret the use of palm leaves, Children & Mothers Welfare Society encourages the Palm Paper Workshop involved in making handmade papers, cards, notebooks and illustrations.
Kurar embroidery produces beautiful ribbons of gold zeri, silver zeri and briesam which are made by hand and used to decorate clothing. It is the result of a group effort in which the width of the final product depends on the number of women involved in the process. The Qataba sits opposite her partners, who assume the role of the Doakhil, holding and weaving several strands at a time while the Qataba guides the process and attaches the ribbon as it forms directly onto garments. While the popular korar zeri makes an appearance in many different styles of thoub, the breisam version is reserved exclusively for men’s clothing.
Naqda is Arabic for the measuring unit of silver weight. Featured mostly in thoubs worn by women, bukhnaqs, and scarves, naqda embroidery has a hammered appearance achieved by the khoos strands used to create the designs. Khoos, which are thin strands of metal that come in either gold or silver, require a special needle to be pulled through cloth. Preferring
tulle, wale cotton, and silk chiffons, the craftswomen thread the strands through cloth to create geometrical shapes, crescents, stars, and flowery motifs.
Hawajah (apothecary) is a profession that was once commonplace. For a long period of time, practitioners of hawajah (called the hawaj) were the equivalent of modern day pharmacists, dispensing medicines and traditional remedies made from herbs, plants, and liquid medications for ailments afflicting the general public. Despite the advent of modern pharmacies,
many people mean still visit the hawajah shops that are still present in some of Muharraq and Manama to this day.
Fish Traps
As an island nation renowned for its seafaring-related activities, fishermen have been plying their trade in Bahrain’s waters for many millennia. Among the prized items in the toolbox of any fishermen is the “fish traps” –considered a prized item in the toolbox of any fisherman. Traditionally made from local palms and reeds, Fish Traps are deposited in various locations,
where their clever funnel shape allows fish in but prevents them from escaping.
