Tabun al-Zibl and Its Vernacular Terminology in the Folk Dialect of Saffa Village, Ramallah, Palestine

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive examination of Tabun al-Zibl in Saffa village—now completely disappear from use—as an essential component of Palestine’s tangible rural heritage. The study employs a multidisciplinary approach that combines literature review, field documentation, and anthropological analysis to examine the historical, social, cultural, and economic dimensions related to the traditional tabun. Particular attention is given to its architectural characteristics and construction materials—unshaped stone, wood, and a clay–straw mixture—alongside its operational mechanism, which relies on dried animal dung as the primary fuel source, and also to the terminologies related to it. These features show how effective the local community is at using the natural resources they have in their environmental context. Beyond its functional role in bread-making, cooking, and heating, the tabun also serves as a focal point of social interaction, especially among women, reinforcing its status as a locus of communal cohesion and cultural continuity. A qualitative field study was undertaken to assess the degree of familiarity among Safa’s residents with the popular terminology associated with Tabun al-Zibl and its linguistic and cultural implications. The findings reveal a gradual decline in the usage of traditional terms among younger generations, a trend attributed to ongoing social, economic, and technological change. The study concludes by underscoring the urgent need for integrated national and community-based strategies that employ digital documentation and linguistic approaches to effectively enable the local community to use the natural resources in its environment research to safeguard both the material and intangible heritage associated with Tabun al-Zibl throughout Palestine, ensuring its preservation and transmission to future generations