Husniyea Kouttainay
Palestinian needlework
Edmonds, WA
Husniyea Kouttainay, a Palestinian from Seattle, has a commitment to teaching people
about Arab culture and the Middle East. One of the ways she gets people to better
understand and appreciate Arab culture is by exhibiting and demonstrating her exquisite
Palestinian needlework at such festivals and events as the Northwest Folklife Festival.
In a Seattle Times interview Kouttainay said, "If you want to put some seeds of love between
countries, then in schools you need to study the history and geography of all nations."
She and her husband have been actively educating and promoting cross-cultural
understanding through membership in many Puget Sound organizations, including the
Palestinian Heritage Group and the Arab Center of Washington. Kouttainay practices
al-tatreez, an elaborate form of traditional embroidery indigenous to Palestine.
Palestinian embroidery, or al-Tatreez, is an integral part of the Palestinian geographical
and cultural landscape. Al-Tatreez has long-standing importance in the regions around
Palestine. Different design elements, and color combinations of the cloth and thread can
represent such identity markers as family origin, geographic origin, and status of the
person owning or wearing the embroidery.