Bayt Dajan

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Bayt Dajan
Arabic بيت دجن
Name Meaning "home of Dajan"
Also Spelled Beit Dajan
District Haifa
Population 3,840 (1945)
Jurisdiction 17,327 dunams (17.3 km²)
Date of depopulation 25 April 1948
Cause(s) of depopulation Fear of being caught up in the fighting
Current localities Beit Dagan

Bayt Dajan (Arabic: بيت دجان‎, transliteration: Bayt Dajān, also known as Bait Dajan or Beit Dajan) was a Palestinian village situated approximately six kilometers southeast of Jaffa. It was depopulated after an assault by the Alexandroni Brigade during Operation Chametz on 25 April 1948 in the lead up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

The village might have been the Biblical Philistine town of Beth Dagon (mentioned in Joshua 15:41.)

The village is extremely old. In English Bibles, the name of the village (Joshua 15:41) is conventionally rendered Beth Dagon. It appears in a list of "the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward."

In 1895 Philip Baldensperger noted about Bayt Dajan:

The inhabitants are very industrious, occupied chiefly in making mats and baskets for carrying earth and stones. They own camels for carrying loads from Jaffa to Jerusalem, cultivate the lands, and work at building etc., in Jaffa or on the railway works. The women flock every day to Jaffa and on Wednesday to Ramleh -to the marked held there, with chickens, eggs and milk[2]

[edit] Culture

Bayt Dajan was known to be among the wealthiest communities in the Jaffa area, and their embroideresses were reported to be among the most artistic.[3] It was a center for weaving and embroidery, and its influence was exerted on many other surrounding villages and towns. Costumes from Beit Dajan were noted for their varied techniques, many of which were adopted and elaborated from other local styles.[4]

White linen garments inspired by Ramallah styles were also popular, using patchwork and appliqued sequins in addition to embroidery.[4] A popular motif was the nafnuf design: a floral pattern thought to be inspired by the locally grown orange trees.[4] The nafnuf design changed after World War I becoming embroidery running in long panels known as "branches" (erq). It is the forerunner of the "6 branch" style dresses worn by Palestinian women in different regions today.[4]

In the 1920s, a Bethlehem lady named Maneh Hazbun came to live in Bayt Dajan when her brother bought some orange-groves there. She introduced the rashek (couching with silk) style of embroidery, a local imitation of the Bethlehem style.[5]

The Jillayeh (the embroidered outer garment for wedding costume) used in Bayt Dajan was quite similar to those of Ramallah. The difference was in decoration and embroidery. Typical for Bayt Dajan would be motif consisting of two triangles, mirror-faced, with or without an embroidered stripe between them, and with inverted cypresses at the edges. There are several items from Bayt Dajan and the Bayt Dajan area is in the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) collection at Santa Fe, USA.[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Welcome to Bayt Dajan. Palestine Remembered. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  2. ^ Weir, p.207, citing Philip Baldensperger (1895): "Beth-Dejan", in Palestine Exploration Fund Quartely
  3. ^ Jane Waldron Grutz. Woven Legacy, Woven Language. Saudi Aramco World. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  4. ^ a b c d Palestine costume before 1948: by region. Palestine Costume Archive. Retrieved on 2008-08-01.
  5. ^ Weir, 1989, p. 225, 227.
  6. ^ Stillman, 1979, p. 66, 67.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Stillman, Yedida Kalfol (1979). Palestinian Costume and Jewelry, ISBN 0-8263-0490-7
  • Weir, Shelagh (1989). Palestinian Costume, London: British Museum Publications Ltd. ISBN 0-7141-2517-2. (exhibition catalog; see also chapters five and six (p. 203-270) on "Changing Fashions in Beit Dajan" and "Wedding Rituals in Beit Dajan".

[edit] Additional reading

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