Technique passed down through generations
Traditional grain grinding endures in Hit with ancient millstones
ANBAR – Khaled Ibrahim, a resident of Hit in Anbar province, finds great pleasure in grinding wheat using the “raha” millstones, the same tools his mother and other neighborhood women have used for decades. These traditional hand mills are among the oldest in Iraq’s history, and many in Hit still use them to grind small quantities of grains. The town was once known for its watermills powered by large waterwheels throughout the past century, with some structures still standing in the middle of the Euphrates River.
“We have used this hand mill for decades; it represents our heritage from the time of our fathers and grandfathers, and we are proud of it,” Ibrahim told 964media. “We call this mill ‘raha,’ and the remains of the large mills are still visible near the waterwheels in the middle of the Euphrates.”
Ibrahim said he grinds bulgur and other grains in small quantities, up to 15 kilograms, and finds joy in continuing the tradition. “I remember my mother and the women of the neighborhood grinding grains with this ‘raha’,” he added.
Historian Rashad Al-Khatib, in his book “Hit in Its Old and Modern Context”, describes the ancient watermills in the town as “large old buildings used for grinding grains.” He explains that these mills were connected to millstones, which ground grains through the rotating motion of a “naour,” a large waterwheel turned by the river’s current. This mechanism allowed the town’s inhabitants to harness the power of the water for grinding. However, with the advent of modern machinery, many of these watermills were abandoned, with only a few remaining today.
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