When Nour and Yasmine asked me to give the textile history class, I couldn’t be happier. History and textile are two of my favourite subjects. I didn’t know where to start; there is so much to cover!
However, one thing was certain: It wasn’t going to be a boring class.
Here, I’ll be sharing interesting facts my students and I discovered and discussed. Textiles are not just monumental in this life. They play an important role the afterlife too!
When we talk about afterlife, the Pharaohs come naturally to mind with their monumental pyramids. In Ancient Egypt, the deceased had their body embalmed in bandages, a process known as mumification. Hollywood played no small role shaping our popular perception of mummies. But there is another civilization that lived and died with its precious textile. Sapa Incas were buried with all the tools and yarn needed, just in case they wanted to weave their textile! An example closer to home? Muslims are wrapped in the Kafan to be buried. So, it seems like across continents, centuries and religions, textile plays an important role in the afterlife.
In this first round, we’ve only scratched the surface of these topics. And I can’t wait for us, Majal and I, to dig and research them further.
If you have any insights to share, please do reach out to us. And if you’ve made this far, then you should definitely keep an eye on registrations and enrol next semester. Our time machine has a seat with your name!
Signing-off: Christelle EL-Daher
To follow on Instagram: @christelle.ed