1. TRADITIONAL CRAFTS IN SAUDI ARABIA
By Dr. Mona Al Munajjed

2. MAP OF SAUDI ARABIA

3. THE IMPACT OF HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
 For Thousands of years, the Arabian Peninsula has been at geographic,
commercial and cultural crossroads of the World.
 Pre-Islamic Kingdoms of the Minaens, the Sabaens, the Hymiarites and the
Nabateans prospered economically and culturally through their control of the
caravan routes to the Mediterranean and the trading of frankincense, myrrh and
spices.
 Madain Salih the ancient Nabatean city of Hegra in North Saudi Arabia was
added in 2008 to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

4. THE IMPACT OF HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
 In the seventh century, Islam as religion emerged first in
Makkah then spread all over Arabia, the Arab countries,
then West to the Atlantic Ocean and as far as the Indian
subcontinent and China.
 Every year, for the past fourteen centuries, Muslim
pilgrims from around the world travelling to Makkah and
Al Madinah have helped further enrich the Culture of the
people of the Arabian Peninsula.
 Islam influenced nearly all aspects of Arabian cultural
and spiritual life, but it is the deep roots of Nomadic
Bedouin society that shaped the country’s Cultural
Heritage in the area of traditional crafts.

5.  Considered as part of cultural heritage, social
identity and creativity of the country..i.e. what we
inherited from our past generations, what we
should preserve and what we should pass on to
our future generations.
 Traditional Crafts in S.A. include: Weaving,
Jewellery, Costumes, Nomadic Equipment,
Traditional Weapons, Household Crafts.

6. TRADITIONAL BEDOUIN CRAFTS
WEAVING
 Sadu (Arabic): Tent walls, curtains, rugs,
blankets, camel saddle bags, coffee bean
bags.
Weaving materials are: wools from sheep,
camels and goats, cotton especially for the
white sections of the designs.
Colors: are made out of natural plant dyes.
Ornamentation is added such as appliqué,
leather strips, braiding and tassels..
 Influence: Asian, African and Ottoman
using native stripes and geometrical
designs with bright colors as opposed to
the austerity of the life in the desert...

7. TRADITIONAL BEDOUIN CRAFTS
JEWELLERY
Jewellery: Form of symbolic
communication revealing social and
economic roles of women, marital
status, tribal affiliation and religious
beliefs.
Mahr : A portion of Bride’s settlement is
still paid in jewellery which is part of
her personal wealth.
Bedouin women wear wrist bracelets,
arm bands, anklets, rings, earrings,
head jewellery, necklaces which have
amulets (hijab). They are made of
silver in Bedouin areas and gold in
urban areas.
Decorations include: Islamic designs of
Arabic calligraphy, granulation,
filigree, twisted metal wires, crescents
and hands, with turquoise beads, and
which provide protection from the
evil eye.

8. TRADITIONAL BEDOUIN CRAFTS
COSTUME
 Women’s traditional clothes: a reflection
of identity, social customs and traditions,
as well as of cultural, economic aspects
of the life of people.
 Women’s dresses consist of thawb,
which is a long-sleeved and floor-length
dress and a gown or tunic.. They tend to
be mostly black, burgundy or dark green.
 Style and patterns of traditional dresses
vary from region to region. They have
been largely influenced by other
civilizations, such as Syria, Egypt,
Jordan, India, china, etc..
 Decoration: They are embellished with
different materials, textures and
techniques, depending on the tribe.
Appliqué strips, Floral motifs and
geometric designs are created by stitches
which can be chain, stem, flat or
buttonhole.

9. TRADITIONAL BEDOUIN CRAFTS
OTHER CRAFTS
 Nomadic Equipment (saddles, litter, leather carriers)

10. TRADITIONAL BEDOUIN CRAFTS
OTHER CRAFTS
 Traditional Weapons
Sword and Daggers

11. TRADITIONAL BEDOUIN CRAFTS
OTHER CRAFTS
 Coffee and Incense
Coffee been bags, coffee
boxes and pots, Incense
burners

12. TRADITIONAL BEDOUIN CRAFTS
OTHER CRAFTS
Household Crafts: Basketry and pottery, doors and
windows.

13. How is Excellence Encouraged
in the Development of Traditional Crafts
in Saudi Arabia?

14. THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
 Major efforts exerted by the Saudi Government in
promoting Bedouin Handicrafts and developing expertise to
safeguard traditional crafts: This has been expressed through:
A. The Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts, (1972). It is
part of Ministry of Culture and Information. It aims to:
 Develop the level of Culture and Arts in the Kingdom.
 Look after the welfare of Saudi artists by raising their cultural
artistic and social standard.
 Sponsor talented artists and help them into displaying their
skills, and represent the Kingdom in national and international
events.

15. THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
 B. Al Janadriyah Heritage and Cultural Festival: The Saudi
National Heritage and Cultural Festival held first time in 1985 at
Al Janadriyah (Riyadh).
 One of the most important and famous cultural events held
annually for two weeks by National Guard and under patronage of
King.
 Epitomizes Saudi Arabia’s commitment to preserve its customs
and traditions and explore its cultural heritage. Artisans, such as
potters, weavers, woodworkers, basket makers, jewelers,
demonstrate their traditional crafts in small shops with typical
palm roofed porches.
 Men perform traditional folk music and dance, as well as poets
participate in poetry competitions reciting historic verses. A
special day is usually designated for women to perform and
demonstrate their crafts.

16. THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
C. The Saudi Commission for Tourism (SCT), exerted efforts to promote
Handicraft Industry in Kingdom and in strengthening economy. Worked out a
strategy /executive plan to promote Saudi handicrafts in cooperation with nine
government agencies. Projects have been launched to boost art and culture :
TAKAMUL Project: (2008).The National Project for Developing Tourism
Human Resources. Aims to: a. create specialized body concerned with
providing educational process/training of cadres according to best professional
standards; b. provide training courses for craftsmen and artisans of handicrafts
and traditional crafts, in all regions of Kingdom and use of incubators for
tourism marketing products outlets.
 BAREH Project: (2009): National Project dedicated for development of
traditional crafts and industries, financed by government for benefit of
productive families. The SCT in cooperation with Ministry of Municipal and
Rural Affairs are working for creation and rehabilitation of markets and artisans
in number of areas. Recently organized (July 2009) four training workshops in
Al Jouf . Training focused on teaching development of traditional crafts for
fifty Saudi women such as: soap with the use of olive oil, palm production,
embroidery. One thousand women have been trained previously.


17. THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
 The International Conference on Tourism and Handicrafts (Nov. 2006)
Saudi Arabia hosted the First International Conference on Tourism and
Handicrafts in Islamic Countries. Organized with the Istanbul–based Research
Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture. Aim: to boost Islamic Handicraft
Industry. Focus: Cultural Heritage and Economic aspects of Handicrafts and
how to improve quality through innovation and creativity/application of new
ideas/designs to increase craftsmen’s qualifications. It included live displays
of craftsmen and an exhibition of handicrafts.
 UNESCO in coordination with SCT conducted a three days training workshop
in Riyadh (29-31 October 2007). Objectives: to increase public awareness on
Handicrafts and promote the diversity and quality of crafts/the social status of
crafts people.

 c. The National Museum in Riyadh including the King Abdul Aziz Center,
(opened in 1999) display a number of cultural heritage and crafts.

18. ROLE OF WOMEN NGOS
 Encouraging crafts innovation and ensuring their sustainability;
 Providing capacity-building, training workshops for women and assisting craft
producers in improvement of product design;
 Providing income-generating activities for poverty reduction.
 a. Al Nahdah Philantropic Society for women in Riyadh: (Arts Center -1986).
Provides Training Courses in field of Arts (Arabic Calligraphy, Quran
decoration) and Handicraft Courses(embroidery, dyeing fabrics program, flower
coordination, candle–making and wall-painting program). Provides assistance to
poor families and projects for women’s employment . As part of Saudi heritage,
the association has preserved valuable and rare collection of traditional Saudi
dresses made of silk, satin, chiffon, and lace, embroidered with gold and silver
threads. These dresses are replicated with new styles and patterns for sale.
 b. King Abdul Aziz Association in Buraidah: (Jan.2009) established in
coordination with Ministry of Social Affairs, the first cooperative Association
for Women in Saudi Arabia for Development and Commercialization of Crafts
in Al Qassim; focus on weaving, embroidery and food production (dates and
keleja or waffles)

19. ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR
 Upgrade manual industries
and develop economic
opportunities and project
funding.
 A number of Saudi women
working in development and
commercialization of Crafts
Heritage such as:
 Traditional dress:
 Soad Al Dabbagh: owns
several clothing shops in
Riyadh and has developed a
line of traditional dress with
a modern innovative touch.

20. ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR
 Jewellery: Ebtissam Al Gossaibi : gave Traditional Arab Jewellery new sophistication.
Decorates with pure Arab Islamic calligraphic designs, geometric patterns with a touch
of the European renaissance and rococo.
 Businessman: Muhammad Abdul Latif Jameel
*Nafissa Shams Academy for Arts and Crafts in Jeddah: programs
on vocational and Crafts training courses for women. Number of
trainees: 1,479 young women in beauty care, hair styling, tailoring,
fashion, food preparation, weaving.
*The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts: Al Foustat Crafts and
Ceramics Centre: Funding in supporting establishment of regional
centre for traditional Islamic arts/crafts in Cairo. Education program
enables students to improve their design and crafts skills/technical
ability to produce better quality range of products mainly in ceramics,
woodwork, gypsum carving, stained glass and appliqué. Students work
with local craftsmen on design projects and aim to understand
principles of traditional art in contemporary design for adaptation to
commercial products.


21. WHAT MORE SHOULD BE DONE ?
FOR A NEW RENAISSANCE OF SAUDI TRADITIONAL CRAFTS
 Educate young Saudi generation about importance of traditional
crafts and preservation as part of Saudi culture/ heritage. This
should be part of School Curriculum in Saudi educational system.
(Ministry of Education in coordination with SCT)
 Raise public awareness on national level through organization of
lectures, conferences, exhibitions and more festivals, in various
regions of the country to present the products. Also use of Media
with documentary films on T.V. (The Ministry of Culture in
coordination with SCT).
 Provide training workshop/capacity building to help
improvement of crafts product/design in market. (SCT in
coordination with NGOs and the private sector).

22. What more should be done ?
Encourage production /development of high-quality traditional crafts
using traditional skills and encourage product innovation design to
ensure continuity and sustainability of crafts in a modern society. (SCT
in coordination with artisans, NGOs and crafts activists).
Provide new market opportunities for Saudi artists and crafts people to
ensure sustainability of handicrafts which play a vital role in economic
community development/ poverty reduction.(Built on a partnership
between Ministry of Commerce in coordination with SCT and NGOs)
Invest more resources and funding into crafts development and projects
and the creation of another centre/academy for arts and crafts in other
regions of the kingdom. (Private sector and SCT).
Establish through STC a National Award for Handicrafts in Saudi
Arabia such as (UNESCO/the Award of Excellence for Handicrafts)

23. THANK YOU