Monumentalizing Rituals of the Palestinian Diaspora

Download or read book Monumentalizing Rituals of the Palestinian Diaspora written by Reema Abu Hassan and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Displaced Palestinians have historically sought to preserve their Palestinian memories and identities in order to remain connected to their lost homeland. Despite the importance of memory for them, and their history of suffering and exile, there have not been any significant monuments designed to preserve their collective memory. This thesis considers the adaptation of a traditional monument by redesigning it to the specificity of the Palestinian diaspora. In doing so it proposes the monumentalizing of four Palestinian rituals to add significance, meaning and permanence to them. The four rituals are making maamoul, applying orange and mashmoom perfume oil to hair, pouring Palestinian olive oil and dispersing sage tea leaves within a family. The key attributes captured, conveyed and explored within these rituals are the role of the matriarch and the sensory olfactory system that elicits memories and narratives of Palestine.