Stitching Heritage Chapter 4: Janubi Tatreez

Janubi Tatreez: Stitching South African Heritage into Solidarity

When many cultures come together, what becomes possible?

If, 50 or 100 years from now, someone asks, “What is South African cultural heritage?”

What will we be able to point to? What new craft and visual art practices might emerge from the many histories, cultures, landscapes and traditions that meet here?

Janubi Zakhrafa, translated as Adornment of the South, offers one possibility.

Janubi means Southern, while Zakhrafa refers to decoration or adornment. Developed by Mahmudah Begum-Jaffer, Janubi Zakhrafa begins with the South African landscape, particularly the unique flora of the fynbos, and brings it into conversation with Islamic Line Design (ILD).

Rooted in Islamic principles of line, geometry, natural forms and remembrance, ILD provides a spiritual grounding for the creative process, a continual reminder of the Creator and of our relationship and servitude towards Him.

Through Cape Town Stitch to Resist, Janubi Zakhrafa finds a new home in Palestinian Tatreez embroidery.

Janubi Tatreez

Janubi Tatreez is an emerging South African expression of Palestinian embroidery. It brings together South African botanical forms and the living tradition of Palestinian Tatreez, translating plants from the South African landscape into geometric embroidery motifs.

The practice is also an act of solidarity.

Through the quiet, repetitive act of stitching, Janubi Tatreez connects South African place, Islamic spirituality and Palestinian solidarity, using our hands to participate in a wider resistance to oppression and occupation.

Emerging motifs include the Pincushion Protea, Protea, Nelson Mandela Strelitzia and other South African botanical forms.

This workshop invites us to consider:

• Where does heritage come from, and how does it evolve?
• What happens when different cultural traditions enter into respectful conversation?
• How can South African landscapes and plants become part of our visual heritage?
• How can existing craft traditions inspire new practices without erasing their origins?
• What role can spirituality, making and collective action play in creating heritage?

We will explore the origins and principles of Janubi Zakhrafa, the role of line, geometry and natural forms in Islamic Line Design, and the process of transforming South African botanical forms into Tatreez-inspired patterns.

We will be joined by Mahmudah Begum-Jaffer, whose pioneering work in Janubi Zakhrafa provides the foundation for this exploration, Ismail Ebrahim, who will bring a botanical and artistic perspective to the South African plants that inspire these emerging motifs and Basima Abu- Salaam, a young Palestinian from Nablus in the West Bank.

The Making

You don’t need previous embroidery experience.

Each participant will create their own piece of Janubi Tatreez by stitching selected South African botanical motifs onto a small notebook.

We will begin the embroidery together during the workshop, and you can continue stitching at home. In this way, the workshop becomes the beginning of an ongoing practice rather than a finished object.

Through drawing, stitching and paying attention, we explore how heritage can become embodied, carried not only through stories and objects, but through the work of our hands.

All materials are provided.

Cross-Subsidised Tickets

We use a cross-subsidised ticketing model to make the workshop accessible across different income levels.

Community Access (Free)

For anyone for whom the ticket price would be a barrier.

Early Bird (Discounted)

A limited number of discounted tickets.

Standard (Supporter)

Helps sustain the workshop and makes the Community Access places possible.

Workshop Details

Saturday, 24 October 2026

10:30–13:30

Bertha House, Mowbray, Cape Town

Come learn. Come stitch. Come create.

Together, let’s consider what kind of heritage we are making for the South.