The Kajooja, Pearl Necklace,

and Map

“Crafting a Way Through UAE’s History”

Amna Mohammed Al Saleh

201114900

Research Methods ART 221-501

Researcher’s Bio

Born in the year 1993 in Dubai, I come from a family with roots in both Al Rams

and Dubai. I am was born the youngest of five children. I am a second year student

majoring in graphic design. Art became a major interest to me by the age of 8, but I

never took it seriously until high school. As an art student, I try not to limit my artwork to

one medium. Using traditional material to create art is my preference. My interests are

wide, ranging from reading, sewing, and playing squash just to name a few. Art is

definitely something I see in my future, but my interests are what make me who I am.

Family Background

The objects I chose all come from the Lootah family. The family goes generations

back, and share a history with the great rulers of the UAE. The Lootahs are known for

being a pearl divers, traders, and jewelry makers. As time passed on, many of the Lootah

family, especially the women, have gotten into the perfumery business. Today, they are

known for it and each generation is learning this occupation from the previous one.

Profiles

Name: Hilal Ahmad Nasser Lootah

He accompanied his father through his journeys of pearl trading. Through that he became

a captain of a ship. Later on, he became one of the first National Federal Council

members of the UAE. He was also the third head of the council.

Today, Hilal Lootah is a father of seven children and many grandchildren.

Name: Shamsa Hilal Ahmed Nasser Lootah

Shamsa Lootah is a mother of five children. She was born in Dubai and grew up in the

area of Bour Saeed. Graduated from Emirates College in Al Ain with a degree in

English Literature. She taught as an English teacher in several schools in the UAE.

Today, Shamsa Lootah is a mother of five children and has one grandchild

Name: Salama Saleh Nasser Ahmad Lootah

Salama Lootah is a mother and wife. She lived and had grown up in Ajman. Her

father was a pearl trader who traveled to Bombay to create jewelry. Salama Saleh

married and became a stay at home mother who created traditional Emirati crafts

such as talli.

Today, Salama Lootah is a loving grandmother.

The Kajooja

The ‘Kajooja’, a crafting piece used by many

Emirati women, has a name with Iranian roots.

Women used to sit together and create talli for

their kandouras. To them, it was an essential

part of a woman’s belonging.

This particular kajooja belonged to a woman

named Hessa who used to be my mother’s

great uncle’s wife.

The kajooja in general has been in the Emirati culture for over a century. Yet, this

particular kajooja is about 20 to 30 years old. The silver ribbons used for the

talli used to be actual silver, but today it is simply plastic. A kajooja’s stand is

made of metal, but what makes it special is that it’s made of an old empty oil tin.

An Interview with Salama Lootah…

When did you start using this kajooja?

I was taught at an age around 10 years old.

Most girls would be taught by their sisters or

mother at the age of 10 to 15. Each woman

would have her own kajooja. After she had

bought silver ribbons from the Iranian souq,

women would gather around and work on

their talli.

What do you remember when you

look at the kajooja?

It reminds me of our house in Ajman

before I got married. We used to

gather around at home, all of us the

women and young girls, and we would

sit together in the yard and make talli

or anything else on the kajooja.

What memory do you have of this kajooja?

I don’t have much sentimental value to this one.

But I do remember one time when I was about

7 years of age I had a funny incident. For some

reason I walked up to my sister Ousha’s

kajooja, lifted up the cushion and found some

small change. I took that change without

thinking.

My other sister Maryam found out that I

took the money and started running after

me, pointing and shouting at “Theif! You’re

a theif! Give back the money!” as though I

have done a serious crime. The money

was Ousha’s but Maryam did not stop

calling me a theif!

An Interview with Shamsa Lootah…

Who gave you this kajooja? Why?

My great uncle’s wife. This is just what I believe; it might be because she didn’t have

any children and so she gave it to me. I think it is fate, because every time I look at it I

pray for her.

Have you ever used it?

Yes I did. I asked my mother to

teach me when I was 15, I was

very interested in it and she

taught me how to make the

shebg. I don’t remember how to

make it anymore. It was a

common household thing,

but I was the only one of my

sisters who knew how to use it

because I asked.

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What memory do you have of a

kajooja in general?

I remember mom sitting and

making talli, badleh, and the

shebg.

I also remember that my aunt

Amna made me a traditional

thoub for my wedding. She sewed

it by hand and made the talli for

it.

I look at a kajooja and feel

happy in a way. I remember how

girlie we used to be and how we

were able to make beautiful

handmade things.

What memory do you have of this

kajooja?

I remember my great uncle’s wife

making talli. I also remember her

giving it to me. I don’t remember her

much, but I also remember knocking

on her the wooden door of her house

in Bour Saeed and when she opened

it for me.

When I look at this kajooja I realize that

my great uncle touched it and his wife

Hessa used it as well, and here I am

holding the same kajooja and touching

the same strings she used. Their eyes

have seen it and now I am seeing it. It is

like “I see eyes that exist no more”. I

find this wonderful!

The Pearl Necklace

The pearl necklace, a strand of

genuine pearl, my mother owns is

one that moved from a

grandfather to a grandchild.

The necklace has transformed

every time it move to a person

and became something more

beautiful over the time with more

memories clinging to it.

The pearl necklace was created

from the old pearls that Emirati

pearl divers collected. Saleh

Nasser Lootah, Salama Lootah’s

father, had bought the pearls long

ago and created a simple pearl

necklace out of them.

An Interview With Shamsa Lootah Who gave you this necklace?

It’s from my grandfather Saleh. Well,

actually my mother did once she

received it from him. My mother gave it

to me a few days before my wedding

as a gift.

Has it changed since you got it?

Yes it did, a lot in fact. My grandfather

was a pearl trader so he only had the

pearls. It became a strand of pearls

when my grandmother got it. When I

received it, I had it as a strand of

pearls. Later on, I designed a drop

shaped pendant to add to the strand. I

sent it to India to have that addition

made and some matching earrings too. I

wanted it to have a bit of my style. I’ve

had it ever since.

What memory do you have of it?

I remember my mother wearing it. It

was just a strand of pearls. When

she gave it to me she gave me this

advice “Don’t spray perfume on it, it

will get ruined”. The necklace even

broke once.

It reminds me of my grandfather

and the vest he used to wear and

the stick he walked with when he

went to the masjid.

I was a kid and I used to run up to him in the street and as him for a quarter. I

had a lisp which changed the Rs to Ys and I sounded funny.

It also reminds me of a time and period which passed. A time when people used

to care for pearls and such things. It gives me a feeling of belonging and

identity.

Interview with Salam Lootah

From who did you get the necklace?

My father was a pearl trader. He

buys pearls from divers; it was his

trade.

When did he give it to you?

It was some time after I got married, I

was about 20 to 25 years old. He

had many pearl necklaces, and this

was one of two he gave me.

He used to make many pearl necklaces

and sell them you know.

Why did you give one to your

daughter?

I had two necklaces, so I gave her one

and kept the other for me. It was simply

a gift.

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What memory do you have of your

father when looking at the necklace?

I remember my father’s pearls. I

remember when he used to ask me to

hand my uncle a “gmasha”, which is a

name given to the big pearls. I

remember him using a “dashta”,

something like a sieve where he would

shake the pearls and classify them

according to size.

My father had a boat where he used to

travel to Bombay to make and sell the pearl

necklaces. I once went on a ship with him

and my two children. We had a room to

ourselves. My daughter Shamsa was about

8 to 10 months old, when the ship rocked

side to side, she would tumble and roll

around.

The map

The map, created by Man’e

Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was

made for the pearl divers.

Areas where the pearl divers

visited the most were named

accordingly.

One of those areas is named

“Lootah Surface”. The name

was given to the area because

many of the Lootah family

pearl divers used that area in

the past. Some pearl diving

areas today are used as oil

fields.

Interview with Hilal Lootah

How did Man’e Al Maktoum create

this map?

He had great knowledge. He knew

so much about the area that he was

able to create it. It was something

that he made for the people to use

when going out to sea and pearl

diving. Pearl was like petrol today,

people lived off it. He realized that

people did need such a map to

guide them. I find it wonderful that

he created it.

Have you ever used the map?

No, I didn’t really use it because I

wasn’t in the pearl business, but my

father did. He was a pearl trader

what they call a “tawash”.

What was your occupation in the past?

I used to be a traveler. I mean I traveled to either

buy items such as sardines from one country and

then I would sell them in another country.

Sometimes I used my boat as for transporting

people and goods like building materials.

What memory comes to mind when you look

at it?

I remember the views of the sea when I was

young. The time I used to accompany my father

to sea to buy pearls from the pearl diver’s

ships. We would ride a small sail boat and

head somewhere near Bani Yas island. The sea

was nothing like today. It used to shine and it

was very blue unlike how it is now.

It reminds me of the first mechanical

steam engine boats that were

introduced here. Four men brought them

here. Man’e al Maktoum, Hussain

Lootah, Hussain Khan Saheb, and

Ahmad bin Utaiba worked together to

get the boat here.

What memory do you have of your

travels with your father?

As I said I would accompany him to

the ship to buy the pearls from the

ships. We would go all the way to

the islands near Iran. People knew

us and so they were very friendly.

What memory do you have of your

travels?

I was very young when I began

traveling, and there were many

incidents that happened to me.

Some were a little dangerous and

others were funny. There was a

time in 1958 when I was in Iraq.

During that time, Jamal Abd Al

Nasser was calling out to unify the

Arab world, but the Iraqi people

were against his idea.

I was loading a large container

of dried lemons. In the past,

people usually shout out “unity”

all together before carrying

something together. When I

shouted out “unity!”, the Iraqi’s

reaction was “We don’t want

unity!” and let go of the

container. I can’t help but laugh

at the situation today.

Interview with Salama Lootah

What can you tell me about the

map?

I don’t know much about it. Men were

the ones who used it, they know

everything about it. You see, it was

their occupation and they travelled a

lot. They needed the map to get to

the pearl diving areas, so they had to

depend on the map, the wind, and

the stars.

Do you remember having one at

your home?

No, I don’t think we had one to be

honest. My father might have had

one, but he might not have kept it.

Do you have any memory that comes

to mind when you look at it?

I once went with my children to an area

near Iran to a place with sulphurous

ground water. We got on a steam

boat, similar to the ones you see at Al

Khor, and we had a day to reach

there. My son, Saif, my daughter

Shamsa, and my sisters were with me.

The water was very hot, boiling

actually.

The sulfur ruined our gold that it

turned black. Even the gold zari on

my sheila turned black! It was a natural

treatment for our body so it didn’t

matter, we took a quick dip and leave.

What does it remind you of?

I remember when my father used to go

to sea and travelled as a pearl trader.

I remember the sea itself too.

Epilogue

The objects might simply appear to be

old things, but the research has shown

otherwise. I see them as being older

than me and even luckier. Each item

was held or created by people I have

never met and will never know. Hessa

created talli on the kajooja. The pearl

necklace was harvested by Emirati

people and created by my great

grandfather. The map was made by

one of the great leaders of the what is

known today as the UAE. I will only get

to meet those people through what I

have heard about them, and that is not

enough. Those objects have also been

through times which I will not

understand, but do wish to have

witnessed.

Sooner or later the objects will be left

behind once again. They might be

thrown away, stored, or possibly

sold. I personally would not want that

to happen because I see them as my

portal to the past.

Even if I do hold on to them I still

wonder, will the next generations to

come realize how wonderful they

are? I do wish that the kajooja is

reintroduced to the Emirati culture. I

want the map to become an icon of

the pearl divers of the UAE. As for

the necklace, I hope that it is passed

down generation after another as a

way of remembering Saleh Nasser

Lootah.