The Museum

GUESTHOUSE FAMILY HOUSE STOREHOUSE COSTUMES WORKTOOLS FOLK HANDICRAFTS
COURTYARD

The Museum of Palestinian Folk Heritage welcomes its visitors and would like them to understand the messages behind the items that they view on display.
The mission of the museum is twofold: to preserve the artifacts of Palestinian folk culture and spread awareness of it among Palestinians living in their country, and to share with other nations an understanding of traditional Palestinian folk culture.
Folk culture is an important component of any national identity; its importance is magnified when a nation (or part of it) lives as a minority population and co-exists with the majority in an environment of local and regional conflict. This is the situation facing the 750,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel living inside the "Green lines".
Thus, the Museum of Palestinian Folk Heritage strives to preserve the identity, especially among the younger generations of Palestinians, by collecting evidence of their ancestors' daily living in Palestine, at home and at work.
The process of collecting items for the museum is also intended to help prevent commercial trade in Palestinian folk heritage artifacts which, it is feared, may one day result in their no longer being found in or accessible to Arab communities.
The museum is also intended to share with peoples of other cultures an understanding of Palestinian folk heritage so "a lnad without a people" was and is patently false, as the artifacts speak to the enduring relationship between the Palestinian human-being and the land.

Moreover the museum is intended to emphasize the reality that the Palestinian people are part of the Arab nation as a hole.
In addition, the presentation of exhibition pieces also strives to demonstrate the evolution of technology used in Palestinian daily life in the home and the workplace- and to show the level of Arab technology in use before the onset of modern technical innovations as a response to the penetratin of Western culture in the Middle East and throughout the Third World as a whole .
Finally, it is hoped that the museum visitor will come to appreciate the authentic Arab/Palestinian origins of various culture symbols- such as the taboon (small oven for baking bread) and the distinctive tatriz (embroidery) costumes- wich have at times been appropriated by non-Palestinian, non-Arab sources in the region.
We hope you enjoy your visit.
The Museum of Palesinian Folk Heritage collection comprises 1,500 pieces displayed in seven exhibition areas spread over 500 square meters as follows.

GUESTHOUSE

The guesthouse, or "madafa" in Arabic, recreates the atmosphere of village hospitality of yesteryear. It is outfitted with authentic furnishings, implements for serving coffee and other refreshments, and musical instruments. Figures demonstrate the protocol of the seating and positioning of gueses, local notables and guesthouse workers.

FAMILY HOUSE

The family house, or "el-beit al-sha'abi ", depicts typical activities
of female membersof thetraditional Palestinian family.
Foremost among these is food preparation, which is presented using authentic cooking tools,
as wellas implements used to grind wheat.
Other activities depicted include childcare and the making of folk handcrafts.

STOREHOUSE

Items used on a seasonal basis for special occasions in the traditional Palestinian lifestyle are stored in the "beit al-moona".
These include items used for the traditionl Palestinian wedding and tools and implements for pressing olive oil, harvesting fruit and for picking and
preserving.
In addition, supplies of dry foodstuffs, including corn, wheat, lentils and beans, also have thier place in the storehouse.

COSTUMES

The disguishing feature of Palestinian women's traditional costumes, or "aziy'a", is the embroidered handwork that announces the provenance of the grab and its wearer.
Each region of Palestine has its own distinctive needlework patterns, threads and cloths. Traditional embroidered dresses from throughout the country are exhibited, along with costume accessories including jewelry, head and face coverings, and cosmetics.

WORKTOOLS

The self -sufficiency of the traditional Palestinian village is evident in its work tools,
or "adawat el-amal".
In addition to the various implements used to cultivate the land,
tools of the smithing, building, masonry and carpentry trades are also on display.
Spinning wheels, irons and weights and measures are included as well.
Many of the pieces date to the 18th and 19th centuries.

FOLK HANDICRAFTS

Palestinian artisans, concentrated mainly in urban centers, work in a variety of media to produce a stunning array of folk handicrafts, "el-heraf al-sha'abiyya".
The exhibit features works in olivewood, straw, glass, copper, ceramics, mother-of -pearl as well as embroidery, or "tatriz".

COURTYARD

The courtyard, or "al-hosh", recreates the open area of the traditional Palestinian domicile: stone benches for outdoor seating, water well, pigeon station and beehives, and taboon for baking bread. In addition, a tent depicts the shelter enjoyed by the farmer in his fields, and examples of larger agriculture tools he used there are also displayed.