As the exonym MENA suggests, the Arab World spans between the Mashriq (Middle East) & the Maghrib (North Africa). Shaped by deep religious and cultural ties, Arabo-African history was marked by different forms of colonialism. One of the objectives was to direct local resources towards the European mainland. A byproduct of this policy was the dismantlement and destruction of native textile industries.
Fanna Hamdan, a Nigerian textile designer residing in Lebanon, and I, share our observations on the topic through three main areas of interest, with the hope of pushing the conversation on textile memory, loss, and revival further.
1/ The diverging fates of Nigerian and Egyptian cotton
Back in the day, Nigeria used to be an important cotton producer. This changed after the capture of Lagos in 1861, which paved the way for a total takeover of Nigeria by the Brits. The once prosperous cotton economy in northern Nigeria collapsed, as it was systematically broken to serve the British economic interests and racial propaganda. Colonial ideology relied on pseudo-scientific racial classifications that ranked peoples according to their proximity to whiteness. Black African societies were considered as inherently incapable of sustaining sophisticated industrial systems that could rival European production, hence justifying the expropriation of their own resources.
However, the fate of Egyptian cotton was different. Aggravated by the American Civil War, the Second Opium War, and the Cotton Panic of 1861-1865 undermined Great Britain’s textile industry. It wasn’t until 1882 that the UK saw in its new “protectorate”, Egypt, a strategic raw material provider to its mills. Nevertheless, that came at a cost. The British turned the banks of the Nile into a monocultural system that disrespected the natural rhythms of mother nature and stole from the local economy.
2/ Traditional wear in sub-Saharan Africa and Lebanon
As colonial rule took deeper root, the abandonment of headdresses became increasingly apparent in some African countries. For instance, women in South Africa lost their connection to traditional headdress because of the systemic oppression imposed by the authorities. Recently, the new generation has been showing a keen interest in revisiting and revving it as a symbol of local identity. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the headdress remained the crown upon many heads, continuing to signify pride and belonging to a rich culture.
On the other hand, Lebanon offers a different story. Due to a variety of complex factors, such as history, religion, trade, cultural and political identity, the Lebanese people has long been considered as the most Europeans of Arabs. Therefore, they did not find any difficulties in swapping their traditional wear like the “kubran” and the “sherwal” for the latest European runway pieces and “modernity”. In this context, the erosion of traditional attire became tied to a broader aspiration toward assimilation and westernization.
3/ From soulful tents to concrete “homes”
The discovery and export of petroleum and natural gas brought unprecedented wealth to the Gulf region, thereby accelerating urban development. Long before concrete skylines, the nomadic people of Arabia relied on weaving as an essential practice of daily life. Ranging from collecting fibers to erecting tents, their textile industry was not a commercial commodity, but rather a practice that sustained their way of life. Today, what was once widely accessible has been repositioned as luxury and bespoke.
In that sense, the GCC area illustrates a distinct kind of textile displacement. Contrary to previous examples, it is not the result of direct colonial dismantling, but the consequence of accelerated modernization, where an industry once open to all became increasingly reserved for those able to afford its preservation.
If there is one lesson to draw from these case studies, it is that safeguarding textile heritage is not an act of nostalgia, but a necessary commitment to cultural continuity.