Nubian colour and pattern — how to read a handwoven cloth
With Mona Hassan · Aswan, Upper Egypt
A digital introduction to Nubian weaving from Aswan. I will show you how the pattern is built entirely in the warp — the colour sequence is set before the first thread of weft is passed. I will explain what the stripe combinations mean, how to distinguish handwoven from machine-made, and what the displacement of 1964 did to the tradition and what survived.
- Lessons
- 5 lessons
- Total length
- 2 hours
- Format
- Self-paced video
The ability to read the stripe vocabulary of Nubian cloth, understand the lineage-pattern system, and distinguish authentic handwoven work. Context for understanding what a commission with Mona means.
Buyers, collectors, anyone with Nubian heritage who wants to understand the craft, and textile professionals working in East African or Nile Valley contexts.
5 lessons · 2h total
- 1Nubia before the dam — what the villages were and what they made22 min
- 2The warp-dominant pattern — how colour is built before weaving begins30 min
- 3Stripe vocabulary — the fadig, the kirba, and what they say28 min
- 4Natural dye and cotton — what Mona uses and why20 min
- 5Reading a piece — handwoven vs. machine, old vs. new25 min
Mona Hassan
Nubian handwoven cotton · Aswan, Upper Egypt, Egypt
An Amussu regional coordinator has visited this artisan in person, seen the workspace, and confirmed they make what they sell.
I weave on a floor loom that my father brought from the village we lived in before the dam. The High Dam displaced our village in 1964. Most of what we had went underwater. The loom came with us. I weave the geometric patterns that are specific to our part of Nubia — bold colours, strong lines, cotton warp. A throw takes me three weeks. I do not make anything quickly. I have been weaving for thirty years and the loom still surprises me. If you want to collaborate, tell me the colours in your room and I will tell you what I can make that will work in it.
In the archive
Mona has documented this tradition in detail in the Amussu Archive. It is free to read.