Traditional weaving

In Lebanon, weaving is an ancient craft tradition that dates back centuries. The country has a rich history of weaving, with varied techniques and patterns that reflect Lebanon’s cultural diversity and complex history. Weaving is a skill passed down from generation to generation, and there are two localities of Lebanon where weaving is renowned : Zouk Mikael and Baadarane.

Zouk Mikael weavers developed Nawl and increased its productivity. They learned to make an “abaya” and to innovate in production by drawing new patterns and embroidering with gold and silver threads. These weavers were characterized by their impeccable mastery of the shuttle, their creativity, their use of color and their art of playing with light and shadow. They successfully produced abayas, home textiles, tapestries, coats, scarves, church costumes, altar cloths, etc., decorated with luminescent patterns and threads. Moreover, the first three Lebanese flags were woven in Zouk Mikael. However, this craft passed down from generation to generation for centuries is threatened with extinction. There is only one weaver left. To commemorate this craft, a Nawl museum was inaugurated on April 25, 2019.

Baadarane contains an interesting cultural heritage which is that of weaving ceremonial silk abaya with the traditional Nawl instrument, dark in color enriched with golden embroidery. This ancient technique, threatened with extinction, resists technological progress and continues to this day. It is passed down in the Al-Baz family from generation to generation. The Loom Museum, founded in 1918 by Sheikh Raydan Al-Baz, preserves all of originality and heritage of this craft.

Weaving flourished in Lebanon in the late sixteenth century. The Nawl (loom) became an integral part of social life and proved to be an essential necessity of life as families wove clothes by hand using sheep’s wool, goat’s hair or silk.  The traditionnal woven abaya was introduced by this historical craft,  first to cover men with cloth and then women. It has not lost its glow in Lebanon despite the change in the nature and rhythm of life, but it has kept pace with fashion, whether in terms of design, fabric, colors, or accessories that have been introduced to it.