Maldives: Woman preparing grass in her home for weaving a "kunaa" mat, Gadhdhoo Island, Huvadhoo...

"Kunaa" weaving is an exclusively female occupation. The women of Gadu cross regularly to the neighbouring island of Gan where they harvest an especially resilient grass known as "hau". This is then coloured with a variety of natural dyes before being woven into traditional designs on a simple loom. The designs are traditional, handed down from mother to daughter from generation to generation. By the mid-17th century so prized had Gadu "kunaa" become in the neighbouring Indian Ocean region that they were sent as part of the annual tribute from the Maldivian Sultan to the Kingdom of Sri Lanka.