“Frond Engineering”… Elderly people pass on the secrets of “Al-Khus” to children in Qatif
Veteran craftsmen in Qatif Governorate intensified their efforts to protect the heritage of «Traditional crafts.
This movement is led by an elite group of elderly people who inherited the profession from generation to generation, as the craftsman Ali Hassan al-Ribh stressed that his adherence to this craft comes as an extension of the legacy of his father, Hajj Hassan al-Ribh, with the aim of documenting the ancient lifestyle that the ancestors lived and transmitting it vividly to new generations.
The origins of the craft
Al-Ribh has many years of experience in transforming palm fronds into functional and aesthetic products. A variety of things, including the “Zabeel,” “the lifter,” and the “qafah,” in addition to old cooling tools such as the “blowing fan,” and dining and hospitality tools such as the “sofra” and “mats.”
In another aspect of this living memory, the wicker maker Abd Rabb al-Rasul al-Matar narrates the details of his journey that began at the age of nine, when he received the origins of the craft at the hands of his mother, to master since his childhood the basic “saffah” technique from which all other artistic forms branch.
In its production, rain relies on complex innate engineering skills, as work begins with six heads of wickerwork, before adding the “seventh head,” which the ancient craftsmen call the “father,” which is the basic foundation upon which the cohesion of the final product is built.
He said that the manufacture of a single “saffah” requires extreme precision and long patience, as it requires preparing thirty “saffahs,” each of which is three and a half meters long, which are interwoven together in a precise artistic manner to ensure durability. And quality.
Preserving memory
He added that the technical names in this craft vary based on the number of branches, as the piece consisting of two branches is known as “the quincunx,” and the one with four branches is known as “samt,” all the way to “the ten,” which reflects the linguistic and technical richness of this popular profession.
The skill of rain is highlighted in making the “stage,” which is the tool that was used in ancient times in the palm trees to carry Firewood and kibbles, which are formed by adding the “father’s head” after sixteen heads of wickerwork, in a precise manual calculation process.
The craftsmen stressed that their primary motive is not financial profit, but rather the preservation of historical memory, as Al-Matar practices his work with a personal passion to document the heritage for himself and his community, refusing to sell some of his rare pieces to remain a witness to the beautiful time.
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