The
tabun is a primitive oven made of unbaked clay fashioned
by Palestinian country women. It is an oven used to bake
bread and cook. The oven (tabun) itself is covered by
dry manure spread all over its external surface while
inside the bottom is covered with small stones called "ruddef."
On the top of the tabun is an opening that is closed by
an iron lid or covered with a wooden handle that can be
opened in order to place the bread dough inside. This
closing cover helps to maintain the heat. Hours before
the baking process, all sides of the interior should be
covered with wood or dry animal manure or, in Arabic, “jift,”
or with the remainders of pressed olive pits after the
olive oil has been extracted. After closing the tabun,
it is left for hours sitting atop the fire burning
beneath it. When the manure is kindled, the "ruddef"
gets very hot at which time the bread is placed inside
the tabun and baked in such a way that makes it taste
delicious. The tabun has been used by Palestinians for
hundreds of years. Most archaeological excavations in
Palestine attest to the use of tabuns both in private
homes as well as public spaces in Palestinian villages.
In addition to being shared communally for baking bread
and other food, the location and setting of the tabun
was used and continues as a gathering place for women of
the neighborhood. The aroma of freshly baked bread
prepared in the tabun permeated the entire neighborhood
and served to let people know that the bread was almost
ready and that the oven would soon be free for someone
else to use.
In some cases, when a woman had a pressing need for
baking facilities, even privately owned tabuns would be
shared as a form of solidarity. The famous traditional
dish, mussakhan, whose origin is in Tulkarem and Jenin,
has a completely different (and better!) taste and aroma
when it is prepared in a tabun as compared to its being
baked in a conventional or modern oven. Mussakhan, at
all-times, is a favorite among Palestinians as a
succulent dish consisting of grilled chicken served on
bread smothered with a mixture of onions and sumac and
cooked in plenty of olive oil. It competes with manssaf
and qiddreh as the representative dish of the
Palestinians. The ideal bread for this dish is the local
tabun bread.
Tabun (the oven) was, and remains very popular. The
tabun and its surroundings played an important role for
village women who would sit by the side of the tabun
(oven) telling jokes and exchanging news while their
bread was baking. The tabun, as a social place for
gathering, functioned for women like the guest-house (madafeh)
did for men. Today, unfortunately, very few tabuns
(ovens) are still in use.
Below are examples of Palestinian lyrics chanted during the baking of bread and preparation of food in a tabun |
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غني يا زهر الدحنون
وارقص يا خبز الطابون
طاح الشومر والزعتر
وودعنا سقعة كانون |
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