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Originally Posted by John Aubrey
I got hold of a couple of books on tablet weaving and hope to try my hand at it.
If I can track the reference down, Charles Doughty, in his book, Travels in Arabia Deserta (Doughty lived with several Bedu tribes in the Hedjiz in the 1870s) Doughty told how women in one Bedouin group manufactured a red dye.
One had to find a particular fungus and treat it with camel urine--and this could only be done at a particular time of year after the camels had grazed on a specific type of grass.
It is staggering to imagine the centuries of knowledge and observation needed to discover and then refine techniques of this kind.
I will print the information when I can find it. Mr Doughty was also asked to evaluate blades, and describes some of them. He lived with people who were, for the most part, extremely poor--it was rare to own a jambiya; they were more likely to carry a simple shibrayah. Later Doughty spent considerable time in the town of Heyil, as guest of the ruling sheikh.
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Salaams John Aubrey ~ Very interesting study ! Certainly the Bedu used camel urine to disinfect their hair from lice and in their society everything was used for its practical purpose even camel dung as fuel.. Traditionally on the silk road the root used for red dye was the madder plant which grows as a weed in those areas... I will have a look in the souk here to see if there is a Bedu recipe.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.