Weaving Across the World
Weaving is a common thread among cultures around the world. Weaving is a way of producing cloth or textile. Today we have machines that weave large-scale textiles at cheap prices. Production of cloth by hand is rarely engaged in today’s Westernized societies. Not many people are thinking about how the fibers are actually constructed to make their clothes. However, in other cultures across the world the tradition of weaving still exists. By comparing three cultures that continue weaving as a part of their tradition we can see similarities and the differences between them. The reasons that each culture still weaves vary, as do the methods and materials. The desired characteristics of the cloth also vary around the world as each culture values different aesthetics.
Weaving is a skill that is considered valuable in many cultures. The people in Mexico, Indonesia, and Ghana each come from a tradition of weaving. The tradition of weaving has been passed down through many generations. There are similarities and differences that arise when comparing how each of these cultures weaves. Mainly the devices that they use to weave on vary, who is allowed to weave, and whom they are weaving for differs in each culture. The rules and standard of each culture ultimately determine how that culture goes about the process of weaving.
There are many cultures that weave in Mexico. Maynard, Greenfield, & Childs (1999) explain that it is traditional in Mexico for women from Zinacantan culture to be excellent weavers. In fact, a woman who can weave well is supposed to make a good wife (Maynard et al., 1999). Overall, men do not participate in any form of Zinacatan weaving (Maynard et al., 1999). It is standard for the Zinacatan w...
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The Hmong people are well known for their survival antics from their silent war with China and their migration from the Vietnam War. Hmong is a term many have never even heard of but their culture it is known as "free people." Hmong textiles has survived just like their whole culture. The attractive handcrafted designs have been in their history for over two centuries, and their embroideries are popular among the Asian countries as well as the United States. Hmong textiles includes a variety of embroideries on their Flower cloths, story cloths, and their New Year dress. All fabrics have powerful importance in their customs to bring prosperity and good fortunes. Needlework is a substantial skill in their community that can not be forgotten, symbolizing work ethics and preservation of their culture.
Through out the ages some of the most impressive feats of blanket weaving has been produced by the Navajo people. One of the most beautiful styles that the Navajo created are the "chief blankets". These blankets have played a extremely important role in the survival of their people with the coming of Western society and are still continued to be made to this day
The community of the American Colonies in the 16th to 17th century shared ideas and ways of life with one another. “The colonist came from many countries—England, France, Holland, Germany, and Spain. They brought with them their different customs and skills” (Corwin 7). Together they learned to formulate and develop items. Home crafts are gender specific; typically women became the ones who wove, sewed, embroidered, and quilted; while the men cleared land, farmed, cut wood, butchered and hunted animals. In colonial America, home crafts became not just decoration or a hobby, but a thrifty use of leftover resources, a way of life, rebellion, and a huge role in women’s history.
There are many different cultures and groups of people that we don’t know anything about. There are a lot of people in the world trying to close that gap. People like Catherine J. Allen, author of The Hold Life Has and Napoleon A. Chagnon, author of Yanomamo. In each of their respective books, they brought us closer to societies I had never heard of until now. We learned about the different aspects of the lives of the Sonqo (Allen) and the Yanomamo (Chagnon). They brought us insight on certain things like gender differences, family relationships and how where they live affects their lives. In this following essay, I’ll be discussing gender differences in both the Sonqo and Yanomamo societies as well as how each tribe uses kinship, reciprocity
Throughout time, weaving, of both basketry and cloth, has had a tremendous impact on Southwestern cultures. Robert Graham, author and Southwest textile expert, has stated, "The most ancient historical and archaeological investigation demonstrate that textile was a highly developed art by the time writing began, and in many cultures before writing began" (Graham 23). Where written records are not available, decorations on structures and pottery show that the production of clothing encompassed a vast part of practically every Southwestern culture. Weaving has played an important role in the economy, the interaction between weavers, and the acknowledgment of community gender roles of Southwestern peoples. Ancient weaving traditions have progressed to ensure their survival, although they may not play the vital role they once did, as can be seen through the examination of ancient textiles. Textile production was a major part of the economy in the early Southwest because it was a tradable commodity and brought wealth and other goods to the communities. Through trading, the communities were able to be complete in the resources that they were lacking and they were able to communicate with other communities. In addition, weaving brought women into the economic sphere and enabled them to have relationships outside the household as traders and in weaving networks. Women played a vital role in all weaving activities and without their efforts textile production would have been an exhausting activity for the men, who had other responsibilities. By observing ancient textiles, specifically the area of clothing production, textile based economies, community gender roles, and...
Quilting has different meanings for different people, but all quilts have a unique appearance and tradition. “What makes art is its life – pulsing and shining with the energy and intentions of its creator. The art of quilting glows with a respect for all generations that have come before – putting thread, needle, and cloth together with vision and love” (Wilson 7). Starting out in antiquity as a necessity and a work of art, quilting has changed over time, but it is still practiced in a myriad of cultures around the world.
In the era we are in today society is consumed with the want of new technology not the need. “The study into quilt history is a rapidly growing area of research in American history: domestic life in the 18th-20th centuries; development of the textile industry in Asia, India, Europe and America; the purpose for making quilts; their patterns and style development over time.” Quilting is an art form as seen through history, the perfecting of practical skills and the evolution of the sewing machine which gives us the beautiful quilting art of today.
Quilt making in the African American community has a long history dating back to the 18th century and has been important for ways of communicating social and political conditions. During the time when African Americans were enslaved, quilting became a popular way of communicating safety to African Americans escaping their way to freedom, up north. The tradition of Quilting was past down form generation to generation, by mother’s to daughter’s as a way of teaching the daughter about the past and giving them a valuable skill that could add to their lives. In the series Bitter Nest by Faith Ringgold, Ringgold’s communicates her life experiences with her daughters though using the art of story telling, traditional African materials, the art of quilting, and elements of art to make a unique story-quilt that appeals to African Americans of all ages.
According to the documentary series Craft in America (2009), “the American craft tradition didn’t just appear one day, fully-formed and mature.” Over hundreds of years of history, craft techniques and materials have emerged because of social, political, economic, and technological factors. Master craftspeople have educated apprentices for generations in skills that have been passed down through domestic associations on handicraft goods made in home-based industries. However, industrial globalization, urbanization, and immigration at the end of the nineteenth century brought uncertainty to many regions of the United States, causing many community members to look back to an imagined past. An invention of creative style and conventional comradeship (Anderson, 1983, 7), this “imagined past” was an idea of nostalgia playing a major role in the lives of arts and craftspeople after the Great Depression. In response to arts and craftspeople searching for a more predictable and normal lifestyle, they sought refuge in a lifestyle of familiarity, reaching back to a time when life held less economic and emotional turmoil.
The population of immigrants in Canada represents approximately 1/6 of the total Canadian population. In order to facilitate the transition for Indian immigrants who leave their native country to come to Canada, authentic, quality textiles, ranging from silks to cottons, canvasses and rugs will be made available to them. Many traditions are expressed through these textiles. Some of them tell stories or express tradition. Others are exclusive to particular areas in India, based on their design or texture.
In the early 1800s, lace made materials are much expensive than the crochet products. In Europe, some communities use crochet products to identify their social status, which only indicate that they can afford crochet products and other lace made items. The craft of crocheting only requires less expensive supplies and materials, which are commonly threads and yarns that they can purchase in nearby markets.
“The study into quilt history is a rapidly growing area of research in American history: domestic life in the 18th-20th centuries; development of the textile industry in Asia, India, Europe and America; the purpose for making quilts; their patterns and style development over time.” Quilting is an art form as seen through history, the perfecting of practical skills and the evolution of the sewing machine which gives us the beautiful quilting art of today.
In the late 18th century the Industrial Revolution occurred causing a huge shift in the ways in which clothing was produced and subsequently altering the ways in which clothing was perceived. For decades preceding industrialisation men and women of high so...
The Garment industry also referred to as the clothing or textile industry traces its inception early before the invention of the sewing machine that happened in the 19th century, but its peak occurred in the first half of the 20th century (Arnesen, 2007). The manufacturing of ready-to wear attire augmented the growth of the industry, which entailed acquiring the garment, designing the outfit, cutting the fabric and finally the actual sewing.
One of the characteristics that is lost fist through the process of westernization of a culture is traditional clothing. Clothing in India, with the exception of traditional vestments such as the Dhoti, Kurta, and Indian Sari, has never been about the aesthetically pleasing look of clothes. Up until the modern era Indians have had clothes recycled from older more worn clothes. This clothe recycling process is known as the “Indian shoddy industry (where clothing is completely destroyed in order to permit the reclamation of its constituent fibres)”(Norris). A now more modernized and westernized India has seen a growth in western name brand clothing such as Levi’s Strauss & Co. Jeans, and other brand name clothing that are favored by adolescents of western society, and have gained increasing popularity amongst Indian adolescents as well. Western clothing has become so popular in India that its own government now considers it a part of traditional Indian clothing. This is a clear example of India 's loss of culture as foreign brands are becoming more prevalent within the Indian mainstream. Not only has western clothing such as jeans and t-shirts been accepted into the Indian mainstream, but