Al-Sadu Weaving: Significance and Circulation in the Arabian Gulf

Traditional Bedouin al-Sadu weavings are nomadic, narrow-loom weavings that are warp-faced,¹ a technique used mostly by women to weave tent dividers, cushions, and pillows inside the tent. The cloth is woven to become tight and strong to prevent the rain, wind, and sand from entering the tent. The most decorative parts of the nomadic tents are the tent dividers, which are often woven with a pattern in the center called shajarah, while the decoration on the outside of the tent is simpler and mostly striped. The warp-faced al-Sadu weavings are occasionally combined with the ragaoum technique, in which additional threads