Wooden Plate Craft in Saudi Arabia
Wooden Plate Craft in Saudi Arabia, is a profession notable in the regions and villages of southern Saudi Arabia. Plates are a collection of bowl-shaped carvings, crafted from the wood of willow trees, circular, and used to place food for consumption at meals and special occasions like weddings. Men were traditionally not considered married if there were no wooden plates in the home, marking them as essential household items.
Manufacturing Wooden Plates in Saudi Arabia
Several items are made from sihaf, including large and medium-sized bowls, measuring vessels, and wooden yokes used for pairing oxen during plowing. The measuring vessels are carved wooden containers used to measure quantities of grains, while the yokes are wooden tools used to bind two oxen together for agricultural tilling.
The value of the Salix mucronata (Willow) tree—known for its strength and light weight—exceeds SAR50,000, and its products are therefore sold at high prices. This tree lives for more than fifty years and grows only in specific areas. It has no seeds and must be planted manually, only in valleys or designated planting sites, and it requires large amounts of water.
Preparing and processing the raw material for sihaf making
The Salix mucronata (willow) tree is transported from its original growing site to the workshop set up in the artisan’s home. Its branches are trimmed, leaving only the trunk, which is split with an axe into two halves to prepare it for crafting the wooden bowls (sihaf). A single full tree yields about twenty-five to twenty-six bowls of various sizes, while the remaining branches are used to make measuring vessels and other agricultural tools.
Handcrafted techniques for making sihaf
The artisan cuts a portion of the Salix mucronata (willow) tree with a large axe, shaping it roughly into the desired form. A circular outline is then drawn using a compass—although in the past, artisans used a string and charcoal for marking. The hollowing process begins with a small, elongated axe, either straight or curved on the inside and outside, until the piece starts to resemble its final shape. The artisan then refines the exterior using a long-handled adze until the bowl takes its final outer form.
Next, the artisan shapes the interior of the bowl using a curved adze to achieve the final inner form. Some craftsmen engrave decorative patterns on the outside. The bowl is later coated, inside and out, with heated tar wood resin (ud al-qatran), which the wood absorbs. The owner then applies natural ghee to the interior. When used, the bowl imparts a distinctive flavor to any food placed in it.
Sources
Abdullah Bin Suleiman Al-Jabali. Words and vocabulary from heritage. Riyadh. 1990.