It's My Bag, Man

My Grandmother gave me an old African? Afghani? Moroccan? pouch many many years ago. It was half the size of what you see above. Each side had the hand-worked pattern and featured five circles of mirrored glass. I covered the shiny blue mirrors with hand-painted paper flowers and sewed the two squares into one larger one. Backed it with lush woven linen and made a strap from vintage textile. Filled it with spent flower heads, flower petals, and a bundle of medicinal herbs wrapped in woven coth. I made the bag closure from a hand-carved bead (--with the EXACT petal shape motif running along it!) and miniature cloth tassel.

No one was more surprised than me that Urhu would have a medicine bag. And now it will sit next to him outside his tent on the mats while he waits for the troop to arrive seeking his help.