Making authentic Kurdish Shawls and threads in Pshdar

Variety 10:42 AM - 2021-06-20

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Pshdar district in Sulaymaniyah Governorate is known for its beautiful nature due to its geography which has beautiful views and mesmerizing landscapes.

 

In a small village in the Halsho sub-district of Pshdar, women are busy making Kurdish Shawls and threads from livestock wool, in fact, the area is famous for producing the best types of Kurdish Shawls which is used in making men's Kurdish costume. 

 

As our reported was walking around this beautiful village, he came across three women who were busy detangling sheep wool and making threads.

 

One of the women, Basi Hama, who is a resident of Halsho, talked about the process of their work and said: "We buy the wools of goats and then wash them carefully and dry them."

 

"After washing and drying it, we will detangle them, and then we will spin the wool along with a group of women from the region."

 

After the spinning and detangling, the wool is then soaked in a special formula to clear it from Lices and other small insects, then it will be airdried and after that, it is taken to a Jolla.

 

A Jolla is a Kurdish name for someone who works in carding wool to detangle it to be used in making threads, shawls, and many other goods. People sometimes take their pillows and mattress to a Jolla to card the wool to make their pillows and mattresses puffier.

 

"The carded wool is then taken to a tailor to make Shawls (a type of Kurdish dress for men)," Hama said.

 

Abbas Mala Muhammad is an elderly man in Qaladze town of Sulaymaniyah. He has been a tailor that makes Kurdish Shawls for many years, especially from the wool brought from Halsho district.

 

"I have been tailoring Kurdish clothes for 58 years and that is also where I began making Kurdish Shawls," Muhammad said. 

 

"The Halsho Shawl is very well known and special," he said.

 

According to Muhammad, a set of Kurdish Shawls were sold for 120,000 Iraqi dinars in the past, but the price declined 70,000 dinars due to the economic crisis in Kurdistan.

 

"The Halsho Shawls are so famous that even Kurdish people from all cities of Kurdistan Region and even abroad and Iraq are visiting that sub-district to get Kurdish shawls," Muhammad said.

 

"The shawl is a more expensive price and a normal shawl of the price is cheaper," he said.

 

Sultan, a young resident of Halsho district, says: "I, wear Kurdish shawls a lot, especially during celebrations and on the occasions... I only wear Shawls made from Halsho, as it is very unique." 

 

"The Kurdish shawls of Halsho are imported to other areas of Kurdistan region and even outside the country," he said.

 

 

 

Reported by Jamal Sargati

PUKmedia