UNESCO appreciation for UAE’s traditional craft

Sadu, the UAE’s traditional weaving craft, has been added to the UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The UN body’s announcement was made on Friday, during the sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, in Bali, Indonesia, said an announcement by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

Sadu is a form of weaving done by women for the production of fine furniture and decorative accessories. Bedouin men slit wool of sheep, camels and goats, which is then cleaned and prepared by women. Wool is spun and then dyed and woven on a loom.

The traditional colours include black, white, brown, beige and red. Distinctive geometric designs are employed when spinning wool.

Weavers gather in small groups and begin spinning and weaving as they narrate family events. sometimes they sing or recite poems.

These meetings are the traditional means for teaching this craft, where girls learn by watching. Girls are assigned some tasks to do such as sorting wool, before learning more complex skills.

However, Sadu weaving has receded due to phenomenal economic and social transformations during the 40 years. Nomadic pastoral communities moved to urban cities and young women began to increasingly work outside homes.

Now, Sadu is only practiced by old women, whose numbers are decreasing. The ADACH has started to implement its strategy to safeguard crafts and handicrafts, and ensure their inheritance through young artisans.

Shaikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), said the listing contributes to enhancing the sustainability of this traditional craft. Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Advisor for Culture and Heritage at the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Director-General of ADACH, said the authority has succeeded in registering falconry on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

It also succeeded in having the City of Al Ain inscribed on the UNESCO’s tangible heritage list in June 2011.

The authority “prepared two international files in cooperation with the Sultanate of Oman to register ‘Iyala’ and ‘Taghrouda’ on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The two files are expected to be examined next year, 2012,” said Mazrouei.

Against 29 nominations, UNESCO agreed only to 12 files and rejected 11 others, while 6 countries withdrew their nominations.

haseeb@khaleejtimes.com