Traditional Cloth Making in Kutaber of South Wollo
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Date
2010-06
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Addis Ababa Universiy
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to describe and document the traditional cloth
making process and tools in Kutaber, Woreda of South Wollo Zone. The
tools used for traditional cloth making, the processes from raw material
collection to weaving and embroidery techniques have been discussed.
In addition to the cloth making process, on work traditional chanting
(music) and socio cultural functions and implications of traditional clothes
were described.
The data was collected mainly from kutaber town by interviewing officials,
cotton and cloth traders, spinners, weavers, embroiders and by
documenting cloth making processes and tools using video and photo
Cameras.
The study indicates that the majority those who wear traditional clothes
currently are elderly men and women. Adult and young men wear 'Buluko'
or 'Gabi' on holidays, Worship places and weddings. Women also wear
traditional 'kemis' and 'kuta' on religious ceremonies and weddings,
however they often wear imported or locally manufactured 'Kemis' and put
on 'kuta' or 'Shemma'. The 'Kuta' even is made of factory-manufactured
threads as 'Dir' and 'Mag' and the product is called 'Ers Bersu'.
Traditional spinning instruments are rarely found in elderly mothers
houses. They are not readily available anywhere. Those who spin cotton
thread, 'Mag' or sell woven 'Gabi' for their living or some mothers who
sometimes spin cotton thread do not roll and apply bow to get clean and
fine thufts of cotton but they simply separate cotton seeds with hands and
spin which exerts a negative impact on the quality of cloth produced.
Spinners and weavers learn the skills from their parents. However they are
not transferring same skills to successors because of wider access to
modern schools. Children go to school as a result they do not learn
spinning or weaving skills.
Embroidery has a relatively higher demand; however it is not used on
traditional clothes but on clothes made of manufactured thread namely
'Dir Bedir'.
This alarming condition necessitates documentation of skills of traditional
cloth making and instruments which are heritages of our ancestor's
indigenous knowledge, but which are gradually disregarded or neglected
by the current generation as boys and girls are not willing to take up their
parents' traditional skills of cloth making.
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Keywords
Traditional Cloth Making