Traditional Fiber Hemp (Cannabis) Production, Processing, Yarn Making, and Weaving Strategies—Functional Constraints and Regional Responses. Part 1

Abstract

Traditional (preindustrial) hemp (Cannabis) production and processing methods once used in Europe are compared with those of Asia. The commonality of climate throughout the hemp-growing regions of Eurasia, in league with the essential characteristics of all bast fibers and the utilization of hemp in particular, impose functional constraints on hemp cultivation and processing, and as a result many production protocols are shared among Eurasian hemp-fiber-growing cultures. Despite the commonalities imposed by environment and biology, fundamentally different methods have evolved within Asian and European hemp processing traditions. Two processing strategies may have arisen because of ancient relationships involving the earliest fibers adopted for weaving by different cultures—the hair of animals (e.g., sheep) being an early fiber source that still characterizes European weaving and bast fibers derived from annual plants (e.g., hemp, nettle, and ramie) being the ancient fibers of choice in East Asia. Here we explore the general commonalities and essential regional differences of traditional Cannabis hemp processing from harvest through fiber extraction and processing to making yarn and weaving cloth. Commonalities in Eurasian hemp processing methods have arisen largely from the essential protocols associated with the processing of hemp and other bast fibers (e.g., extracting the fibers from the stalk, softening and whitening the fibers, and constructing yarn), while differences in processing strategies have arisen as localized regional responses to these common challenges.