Embroidering Histories: Women, Embroidery and the threads between them in 20th century Morocco

• In Event: Spotlighting Forgotten Women

Abstract

There are many types of embroidery in Morocco, each with its own unique stitches, patterns, colors and materials. Each type of embroidery belongs to a different Moroccan city, region, or community and reflects diverse communal, political and religious histories. Tracing the history of embroidery, a designated “female” craft, reveals untold historical narratives. Faced with the difficulty of finding written materials by and about women in Morocco, my study expands Rozsika Parker’s argument that “(t)o know the history of embroidery is to know the history of women.”
My study compares the social history of the Jewish Moroccan community with that of the Muslim Moroccan community. In particular, I examine the transformations in knowledge transmission mechanisms and aesthetic trends during this period, using the case study of embroidery as an entry point into women’s spheres in Morocco.
In this talk, I will discuss the central place of embroidery in the history of Jewish Moroccan women. Nowadays, a prominent narrative in Morocco is that the Moroccan Jewish community was and is first and foremost Moroccans. Many scholars, museums, and public figures maintain that there is no difference between the material culture of Moroccan Muslims and Moroccan Jews – there is only Moroccan culture. By examining unique embroideries collected in different locations, along with oral history interviews conducted in Morocco, Israel and France, I complicate this narrative.
As will be shown, there are specific embroidered objects unique to the Moroccan Jewish community, such as embroidered Torah covers, Tefillin bags, Hebrew wedding blessings, and more. The need for various ceremonial objects, combined with the central position of the Jewish community in trade, its extensive international connections, and the presence of Jewish quasi-colonial institutions in Morocco, resulted in a unique material culture that could not be found in the Muslim community. Tracing the unique embroidered objects highlights the shifts in women’s non-verbal communication mechanisms, both inside and outside Morocco, and subsequently the shifts in knowledge transmission and aesthetic trends within the community as a whole.

Author

• Elya Assayag, Columbia University