Weaving Home: Textile Traditions from Houston's Karenni Community
Item
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Title
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Weaving Home: Textile Traditions from Houston's Karenni Community
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Creator
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HAA Folklife & Civic Engagement Program
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Date
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2012
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Description
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Houston has come to be home to a wide range of refugee communities from around the world. They all bring with them distinctive traditions. Weaving Home focuses on the weaving traditions practiced by a group of Houston-based women from the Karenni ethnic community. Houston’s Karenni are originally from the mountainous border region of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) that abuts Thailand.
Weaving among the Karenni in Burma is a domestic practice and very much a part of home life. Weavers learn the tradition in the family and carry it on throughout their lives. The objects they weave – bags, skirts, capes, etc. -- are for functional use and everyday adornment.
Several Karenni weavers in Houston have re-purposed their weaving skills. They have turned their craft to the creation of scarves, table runners and other objects attractive to Western consumers. This adaptation works to preserve the art form and to sustain the community culturally and economically.
Weaving Home shows examples of both Karenni traditional and market-influenced pieces in an effort to tell the story of an art form at the center of refugee life. As they make a home in Houston, they weave. As they weave, they make a home.
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Contributor
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Published by HAA Folklife & Civic Engagement Program & the Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.
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Rights
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In Copyright: This item is protected by copyright. Copyright to this resource is held by the creator or current rights holder, and the resource is provided here for educational purposes. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without permission of the copyright owner. Users assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or related rights.
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Type
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digital video
