ZEYNEB XİLÊF

Deir ez-Zor- Wool weaving is a culture maintained by women despite technological development. Women living in villages located east of North and East Syrian city Deir ez-Zor weave wool to pass this culture down from generation to generation. 55-year-old Şemsa El Hemûd is one of these women. She has woven wool for 40 years. She does not want this culture to disappear so she teaches young people how to weave wool.

She learned from her mother

“I learned this traditional art when I was a child. My mother taught me how to weave wool. I used to watch my mother to learn from her. In time, I learned how to weave wool. As I wove, I saw different shapes and as I saw shapes, I wanted to weave more,” she told us.

‘This culture must be preserved’

Şemsa El Hemûd makes a wool mattress in about 20 days. “Each job has its difficulties,” said Şemsa El Hemûd, who works six hours a day.

“I suffer from hand and back pain because I have worked weaving wool for years. However, our wool products are not preferred by many people now. Before, people used wool products but now they prefer the products made by machines. I teach young people how to weave wool in order to preserve this culture. This culture must be preserved and passed down from generation to generation.”