Exhibitions 2009-2010

Home , Calico, Fustian, Hairpin lace, Oya (lace), Silk

Textile Research Centre

Table of Contents

1. Kangas 3

2. Oya 7

3. Embroidery in the Arab World 13

4. Badla 21

5. Prince for a Day 30

6. Longest dress 36

7. Well-Dressed Afghanistan 42

Kangas An East African garment for women (TRC Gallery October 2009 - February 2010)

Maasai women wearing kangas (Kenya 2008; photograph by permission of Yulia Holko)

A kanga is a large cotton cloth worn by women along the whole of the East African coast, especially in Kenya, Tanzania and the island of Zanzibar. Its characteristic feature is the short text printed on the cloth. Kangas are also worn by some women in Oman, due to long standing, historical connections between the various countries. Kangas and similar garments have been part of the East African, Swahili dress code since the late 19th century. There they are still regarded as an essential item of a woman’s wardrobe. They are worn on a daily basis in and around the home, as well as for important occasions such as weddings and funerals. But their designs, colours and texts are not static. They are constantly being modified and adapted to the current political and economic situation and customer demands. Throughout the decades kangas have adopted textual and decorative elements from African, Arab, Indian and European sources. As a result, modern kangas reflect the international nature of Swahili culture.

Kanga designs A kanga is a rectangular cloth of c. 110 x 150 cm. Kangas are normally purchased in pairs. A basic kanga design has three basic elements, (1) a broad boarder (pindo), (2) a central pattern (miji) and (3) a message printed just above the lower edge of the pindo. The origin of this design layout is unknown, but it is possible that it derived from the long lengths of printed kerchiefs (leso) from Portugal that were imported in the 16th century. These kerchiefs were sewn together to create larger cloths. There is still a type of cloth called a leso available in all of the kanga ‘countries.’ This type is used in the same manner as kangas. The main difference between the modern kanga and a leso is that the leso does not have a message and the central panel designs tend to be made up of rows of simple, geometric motifs. Since the early 20th century the decorative border of the kanga always has a pattern that is different from that of the central panel. The central panel pattern ranges from simple geometric shapes to depictions of locally important events and buildings. The older kangas were decorated with designs made using large, wooden blocks. Since the 1960s more and more kangas were produced using either silk screen printing or roller printing techniques. The modern versions are usually made in Tanzania and Kenya for the East African market. Examples from India are often sold in Oman, but they are not as highly valued, as both the cloth and designs tend to be of a poorer quality.

Kanga messages The characteristic feature of the kanga is the saying in Swahili along the lower edge of the central panel. Swahili is used because this the common language of East Africa. The first messages seem to have appeared in the 1930s. They were originally written in Arabic script, but in the 1960s it became normal to use Latin script. All of these sayings contain messages about friendship, love, politics, in fact virtually anything. When Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008, a special Kenyan Obama kanga was produced to emphasis and celebrate the link between Obama and Kenya, via Obama’s father who came from here. Man selling Tanzanian kangas in Stone Town, Zanzibar (2004; photograph by Marloes van der Bijl)

Wearing a kanga During the late 19th and early 20th centuries many East African women wore their cotton wraps in different ways to indicate their social status. A slave, for example, would wear it under the armpits leaving the shoulders bare. In contrast, a free woman would cover her shoulders and sometimes her head as well. These garments are the origins of the kangas. Following the abolition of slavery in the early 20th century women started wearing their cotton wraps in many different ways. This tradition remains with the kangas. They are generally regarded as a very versatile and practical item. Women use the kangas in various ways: for carrying their baby on their backs, as bed sheets or towels and as sheets at night. In Kenya Maasai women often wear one kanga over the shoulders. In Zanzibar, one kanga is wrapped around the body in order to cover the chest and lower parts of the body. The other kanga is draped around the head and shoulders, acting as a veil to cover the head and hair for modesty. Nowadays in Zanzibar, kangas are also sometimes made into a blouse and trouser outfit. Women in the Ibra region of Oman normally wear a kanga as a head covering. The Swahili sayings of the kanga are no longer important here, as many women can no longer understand Swahili. Nevertheless, the bright African colours and patterns remain an important element of the Omani kanga.

The women’s market near Sur. Several of the women are wearing kangas (2005; photograph by Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood)

Further reading

Beck, R.M. 2000. “Aesthetics of communication: texts on textiles (‘leso’) from the East- African coats (Swahili),” Research in African Literature, 31(4), pp. 104-124.

Beck, R.M., 2001. “Ambiguous signs: the role of the kanga as a medium of communications, ” Afrikanistische Arbeitspaiere, 68, pp. 157-169.

Bogaert, P., 2002. The Krazy Book of Kangas, Zanzibar.

Hanby, J and D. Bygoott, 1985. Kangas: 101 Uses, Nairobi.

Bijl, M. van der, 2006. “Kangas: The voice of Zanzibari women? Its present importance among young women in Zanzibar Stone Town, Tanzania,” Khil`a: Journal for Dress and Textiles of the Islamic World, 2, pp. 1-22.

The lady seated to the left is wearing cotton wrap around garments that cover much of her body, including her shoulders and head. The (ex-)slave women around her are wearing cotton wrap around dresses under their armpits (c. 1900; by courtesy of the Zanzibar National Archive).

Oya: Turkish lace (TRC Gallery December 2009 – February 2010)

Daisies made from needle lace oya (TRC collection)

For hundreds of years Turkey has been famous for the production of decorative textiles, including a wide range of gold and silk embroideries of the highest quality. But there is also a ‘minor’ textile art that over the last few hundred years Turkish women have brought to a high level of design and technical skill, which is not so well-known. This textile art is generally called oya or Turkish lace. The term oya includes a range of lace techniques that are used to decorate garments, especially women’s headscarves, and a wide variety of household textiles such as sheets, tablecloths and towels. Most oya is made by women at home or in groups and although there are many contemporary magazines and books illustrating oya patterns and designs, the making of oya is very much a question of personal taste and contacts. Young girls usually learn the technique from their mothers, grandmothers and aunts, while the modern designs and patterns often come from younger female relatives, friends and by looking at what other women are making and wearing. The production of oya is a tradition that is very much alive and well in Turkey and there are thousands of enthusiastic oya makers. Oya is not only used in traditional ways, there are also many young fashion designers who are fascinated by it and use it in ‘new’ ways. Oya is also an important social and cultural link with Turkish women living in other countries. The swapping of designs and patterns, the wearing of oya, in all its different forms, help bring together women of the Turkish origins.

Many women, both in rural and urban settings, regard the making of oya as a means of making a little extra money. Some women make the oya on a commission basis, others sell their work at local markets or in the covered bazaars. Throughout the process personal contacts remain important as it is about finding a balance between the skill and creativity of the maker and the tastes of the client.

Techniques and designs There are four basic methods of making oya, namely (a) needle made oya (iğne oyası), (b) crochet oya (tığ oyası), (c) tatting oya (mekik oyası) and hairpin oya (fırkete oyası). The various techniques are often combined and additional items, such as beads, sequins and spangles, are used to create a range of different effects, which shimmer in the light. Normally, the hues and patterns of the printed cloth used for the headscarf is used as the basis for the colours used in the oya. Traditionally silk yarn was used to make the more expensive examples of oya, with cotton being used for ‘daily’ examples. Nowadays, many women use synthetic yarns. These modern threads come in a wide range of colours, which influence the style and appearance of contemporary oya. Some oya motifs are inspired by nature, others are more abstract. The natural designs include flowers such as chrysanthemums, daisies, roses, and, of course, that very Turkish flower, the tulip. Other forms include leaves of various shape, pineapples, butterflies and even miniature chilli peppers. A characteristic feature of oya is the use of two and three dimensional designs. Crochet, tatting and hairpin lace designs are normally regarded as ‘flat’ lace, while the spectacular three dimensional oya is usually made with a needle. This form of lace is unique and a tribute to Turkish lace making skills and creativity. Sometimes the oya is stiffened with starch in order to give a more dramatic effect. This means that whenever the headscarf needs to be washed, the oya has to be taken off, washed, starched, and then sewn back onto the headscarf. Traditional starches include egg whites, sugar and gelatine. Some modern oya is stiffened with nylon fishing thread. Most oya makers have their own ‘archive’, in the form of bags and bundles of loose pieces of oya. These archives contain designs that are waiting to be worked out, those which are finished, as well as variations in colours and materials. Nowadays, examples of machine made oya are available for sale, but most women prefer to wear handmade oya, as it is regarded as being more ‘alive’ and reflecting the creativity of the oya makers.

Scarf with oya embroidery (TRC-collection)

A brief history Although some types of oya have been made in Turkey for centuries, surprisingly it would appear that none of the original techniques are Turkish in origin. At the end of the sixteenth century various West European travellers to the Ottoman capital noted with surprise that the Turks did not wear lace.

The oldest form is needle-made oya and it is likely that it is a descendant of Italian needle laces, notably Venetian needlepoint lace. For hundreds of years, there were close trading links between Istanbul and Venice, and one result may have been that Italian lace techniques reached Samples of oya: mnemonic for the producer (TRC-collection) Turkey.

It is known from original examples that Venetian and other forms of needle laces used three-dimensional forms. It is also possible that oya developed from copying filigree, a jewellery technique. What is certain is that the European examples were to be surpassed by oya. Spectacular examples of oya, for example, were on display at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867. A noteworthy achievement for the oya makers as only the best products were chosen for such events. In contrast to the three-dimensional examples, the ‘flat’ forms of oya are comparatively modern. Two-dimensional crochet, for instance, became popular in Western Europe by the mid-nineteenth century and this technique soon spread to countries as far apart as The Netherlands, France, India, China and Australia, as well as Turkey. Tatting, another form of ‘flat’ lace, appears to have originated in Western Europe in the eighteenth century as a simple form of knotting embroidery threads to prevent them getting tangled. Soon the technique was further developed whereby the threads were wrapped around a shuttle to keep them safe and so tatting came into being. It was not until the 1870s, however, that picots (small loops) were introduced, which quickly became a feature of tatting and Turkish tatted oya in particular. Hairpin lace is a form of lacy crochet worked over an implement resembling a large, steel hairpin or even two-pronged forks. It would seem to be a late eighteenth century technique that was based on the hairpins used to keep the elaborate hairdos worn by women of the period in place. By the mid-nineteenth century hairpin lace had become an accepted form within the ‘flat’ lace making repertoire.

It would appear that these ‘flat’ techniques were quickly incorporated in the nineteenth century in the Turkish oya tradition. It is likely that the wives of merchants and diplomats as well as individual travellers were involved in spreading the various techniques to the Ottoman capital and elsewhere. It is also possible that some of these techniques were transmitted to the larger, cosmopolitan cities of the Ottoman empire via European pattern books and handwork magazines and books, such as those produced by the French company, DMC.

The language of oya Oya flowers have their own meanings within the Turkish regional traditions. Purple hyacinths, for example, were worn by girls in love, while yellow daffodils indicated that they knew their love was hopeless. Engaged girls and brides wore flowers that they knew from their gardens such as roses, carnations, violets and chrysanthemums to symbolize their position in life. A woman in her forties might wear a headscarf with a more sedate band of tulips. Older women would sometimes decorate their headscarves with wild flowers to symbolize their distancing from certain aspects of life and that they were aware of how quickly things come to an end.

Oya needle work (TRC-collection)

Sometimes a motif could be interpreted in different ways. A headscarf with an edging of red and yellow pepper, for example, could mean that a woman had had an argument with her husband. A band of red peppers, however, might indicate that she was not happy with her husband or that they had a good relationship that was full of heat and spice! Modern life brings its own range of messages to oya motifs. There is, for instance, an oya design that is named after the Turkish film star, Türkan Şoray. This type of oya is not only worn by fans of Türkan Şoray, but it can also mean that they love Istanbul. Türkan Şoray was born there and is known for the fact that she seldom left the city, even for attractive film contracts elsewhere. Another oya motif is named after the controversial singer, poet and actor, Zeki Müren (1931-1996). There is even an oya design named after the former Turkish prime minister, Bülent Ecevit.

Oya and Turkish dress Oya is used in many different ways, but one of the most well-known is as decoration around the outer edges of women’s headscarves. Sometimes these headscarves are small, square cloths with bold and colourful floral motifs. They are worn in a variety of ways, depending on the origin of the wearer and her age. In some regions of Turkey, these headscarves are still being block-printed, by hand, especially for the oya market. These headscarves normally have traditional flower motifs on them. There are also larger headscarves that are produced using roller printing techniques. They are intended for fashionable, urban markets and often have graphic and geometric designs. Again there are various ways of wearing these larger scarves, which reflect age and social differences. The importance of oya headscarves can also be seen in a tradition associated with Turkish weddings. A bride may be given a set of headscarves and household linen decorated with oya. The oya is usually made by the female members of her family. All of the headscarves and decorative items are wrapped in a white cloth, which, in addition to amulets and brightly coloured ribbons, is decorated with white oya. The use of oya, however, is not restricted to headscarves. Many Turkish women use oya in different aspects of their dress. It is currently fashionable among younger, urban women to deliberately wear oya as part of remembering and honouring a wide range of Ottoman traditions. Instead, however, of wearing oya headscarves over their hair the scarves are worn as shawls around the neck or wrapped around the hips. It is also fashionable to wear oya in the form of jewellery such as beaded oya earrings, chokers and necklaces. It is currently fashionable to wear a necklace with a matching single, but long earring. These and other new uses for oya mean that creative oya makers of all ages are working on new designs, patterns and forms. In addition, younger women who are not from oya making groups are being encouraged to take up this skill. Unlike many traditional forms of textile arts, the role of oya in the lives of Turkish women and their dress is by no means coming to an end. It is a living and thriving tradition that should have a long and constantly developing future.

Literature and web information

Akkent, M., en G. Franger, Das Kopftuch, ein Stückchen Stoff in Geschichte und Gegenwart – Başörtü, geçmişte ve günümüzde bir parça kumaş, Frankfurt am Main, 1987.

Bury Palliser, Mrs., History of Lace. Entirely revised, rewritten, and enlarged under the editorship of M. Jourdan and Alice Dryden, New York, 1984 (oorspronkelijke uitgave 1901).

Dillmont, Th. de, Encyclopaedie der weiblichen Handarbeiten, Mulhouse z.j. (een uitgave van DMC).

Earnshaw, P., A Dictionary of Lace, Ayelsbury, 1988.

Günay, U., Costumes historiques des femmes turques, Istanbul, 1986. http://www.turkishculture.org

Modern collar of oya needle (TRC-collection)

Embroidery in the Arab World TRC Gallery March - August 2010

The world of Islamic and Arab art is well-known for its beautiful calligraphy, its manuscript miniatures, the exquisite geometric designs on wood, its pottery and silverware, and so forth, but little has been written about another important aspect of Arab culture, namely its embroidery. For hundreds of years, embroidered textiles have decorated homes, public buildings, animals (especially horses), as well as men, women and children. Embroidery has played a role in the social and cultural life of communities, as well as influencing their economics and politics. The Arab world stretches from the Atlantic Ocean (Morocco) in the west, to Iraq in the east, and from the Mediterranean in the north to the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian Ocean in the south. The term ‘Arab world’ includes numerous different cultures that were brought together by Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. With the spread of Islam came the Arabic language, which became the lingua franca of all of the Arab lands and nowadays is spoken by approximately 360 million people.

What is embroidery? Embroidery is widely found in the Arab world and includes a wide range of styles, techniques, colours and patterns. But what is embroidery?

There are various definitions of embroidery, some of them are very precise and concentrate on the notion that embroidery is the art of creating patterns using stitches, made by a thread and a needle. Other definitions are more inclusive and state that embroidery refers to the art of decorating cloth using threads, but also other materials, such as beads, metal, glass or seeds, and in a variety of forms and techniques, not necessarily only using a needle. For the purpose of this exhibition embroidery is defined as the art of decorating a piece of cloth, whereby a needle and thread are essential, but not necessarily the only elements in creating a design or pattern. This means that stitching and other techniques, such as appliqué, beading, couching and patchwork, also come under the general, umbrella term of embroidery. Palestinian woman from Ramallah ca. 1910 Photo: Library of Congress

Professional and domestic embroiderers Traditionally there are two main groups of embroiderers: those working at home and those working in workshops. In general, men produced it on a public and ‘professional’ level, while women produced embroidery at home, usually for domestic use. For hundreds of years, there have been professional (male) embroiderers in the Arab world. In general, professional embroiderers produce prestigious items, animal trappings, as well as special garments for family festivals and weddings, and for public events including the two religious Eid festivals. During ‘quiet’ moments it was not unusual for professional embroiderers to stockpile small items of embroidery that were in popular demand.

Many women in the Arab world work from home to produce embroidered items and garments needed for the household or, more importantly for some groups as the dowry of their daughters or other, younger female relations. In many cases the quality and quantity of embroidery determined the girl’s status and her potential for making a ‘good’ marriage. An important aspect of embroidery, and its production in domestic settings, is its social function. By working together on embroidery, women were seen as being busy, while they had a social life with other females of a wide range of ages. In this way skills, techniques and designs were also passed down from one generation to another. It was not uncommon for an elderly woman, widow or the women of a poor family to take up embroidery as a means of earning extra money. Generally this was carried out at home, often on a commission basis. Although it did not produce a large income, it was respectable. Sometimes women acted as intermediaries taking embroidery to the markets or to potential clients in other parts of the city or town.

Coat from Bethlehem made for tourists, early 20e C (TRC collection) Photo: Joost Kolkman

Some foreign influences Embroidery in the Arab world has always been affected by outside influences, be they political, cultural, religious, economic or commercial. Several examples of such influences are given below, namely, the Turkish Ottomans, Indian sub-continent trade, East African beading, Christian missionaries, and numerous foreign companies, in particular the French company of DMC. Ottoman influence is most noticeable in North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and parts of western Saudi Arabia. The use of African style beading is more or less restricted to the western and south-western parts of the Arabian Peninsula. The influence of the Indian sub-continent is most strongly seen in the Gulf region. Christian missionaries and foreign companies (usually European) were most active in North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. Due to the extent of the Ottoman Empire, for example, Turkish urban embroidery styles consequently influenced embroidery throughout North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. In particular, and as discussed earlier, the use of cords and braids (passementerie), as well as metal thread embroidery, are popular in regions where Ottoman control was particularly felt.

DMC (Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie) One of the main foreign influence on the embroidery of the Arab world, especially in the eastern Mediterranean, was the introduction of European embroidery yarns and designs during the nineteenth century. The French firm of DMC, or Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie in full, was particularly important. DMC was set up in the mid-18th century. During the first half of the twentieth century, DMC became well known for the production of a wide range of embroidery materials, such as background fabrics and yarns, as well as a series of design booklets. The booklets became particularly popular in the Eastern Mediterranean, notably in what was then Palestine. DMC products exercised a strong influence on the development of embroidery in many parts of the Arab world. DMC remains to this day a well-established and popular company, providing all the required materials for embroidery. Many of the DMC designs can be found, in direct or slightly altered forms, on eastern Mediterranean, especially Palestinian, garments. DMC, however, not only produced pattern books for and from the Arab world, but they also published a series of books with embroidery designs from all over the world, intended for the European and American markets. These booklets included designs from countries such as Croatia, Morocco, Turkey and Yugoslavia. They were intended to make Western embroiderers more aware of what was happening elsewhere and thus to encourage them to include non-European, and for instance North African and Eastern Mediterranean motifs, into their own design repertoire.

Materials The type of cloth used as the background to an embroidery is of importance, not only with respect to its appearance and use, but on a more prosaic level also to its cost. In general, a costly embroidery was regarded as a reflection of the owner and his/her family’s social standing. The ground materials used for embroidery tend to be of cotton, linen, silk or wool, or some combination of these, such as mullam, which is made from silk and flax, or fustian (named after the medieval capital of Egypt, Fustat), which is made from linen and cotton. The Arab world has long been accustomed to having the ground materials for embroidery coming from a wide variety of sources. The range of materials, thus, often depended on the geographical location of the embroidery market. In the Maghreb, for

example, an important source of white cloth was Europe. In Morocco, white cotton was the most common material, followed by silk, while linen was rarely used. This situation changed again with the import of cheap Japanese textiles, especially cottons, which flooded the Syrian and Levant markets from late 1920s onwards. Nowadays most textiles are imported from various countries in eastern Asia, although some luxury, fashion silks are imported from Europe, notably Italy.

Embroidery threads An important element of any embroidery is the type of thread used. As with the ground cloth the type of yarn can change dramatically the appearance and use of an embroidery. The most widely used yarns are silk (floss and spun forms) cotton (perlé and mercerized), and the more costly, metallic threads (plate, bullion, torsade, passing). Nowadays, plastic lurex thread in a wide variety of metallic colours has virtually replaced ‘true’ metal thread.

Applied objects As with all aspects of Arab dress, the range of objects and items sewn onto garments for decorative and other purposes is always changing and developing. Bedouin embroidery, especially from the Sinai and the western coastal region of Saudi Arabia often includes a range of objects including amulets, glass and metal beads, buttons, coins, discs, chains, spangles and sequins, as well as shells, especially cowry shells. The coins used to be gold and silver and were part of a woman´s dowry. Nowadays gold or silver coloured discs are applied instead of coins. In the late 20th century it became common for metal zips to be opened up and sewn on the edges of sleeves or hems to add a decorative element. From the 1980s onwards, rhinestones (glass imitations of precious stones), became widely available and they can now be found on a variety of garments.

Embroidery stitches A wide range of stitches are used throughout the Arab world, and many of them, such as chain stitch, cross stitch, herringbone and stem stitch, can be found all over the world. Other stitches, however, have a more regional provenance. Quite often one type of stitch is combined with others in order to create a wider range of effects, such as couching a cretan stitch with a running stitch. Some of the most widely used stitches are: Back stitch, Blanket stitch, Button hole stitch, Chain stitch, Open chain stitch, Chevron stitch, various forms of couching, dot stitch, feather stitch, fly stitch, herringbone stitch, holbein stitch, plaited stitch, roumanian stitch, running stitch, stem stitch, split stitch, tent stitch, satin stitch, and long and short satin.

Embroidery, iconography and colour The range of designs associated with embroidery from the Arab world is wide and diverse. This variety reflects local preferences with respect to colours and designs, as well as the movement and influx of peoples and cultures, as a result of invasions, warfare, trade, migrations and the movements of ‘fashionable’ ideas. For example, in addition to local and regional variations, Maghreb iconography was influenced by Turkish, Andalusian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean trends. While in the Arabian Peninsula, influences and ideas come from, among others, Persian, Indian, and East African cultures. Because of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the western

Arabian Peninsula always had access to design ideas from the whole of the Islamic World. A wide range of geometric designs, simple to intricate patterns that cover large portions of a garment can be found. In contrast figurative designs are much rarer. In general, Islam discourages the use of figurative designs depicting living creatures, so few groups from the Arab heartlands use embroidery designs that directly represent humans or animals, but plants and trees are often found. In other regions where Ottoman, Persian, European (Christian) or Indian influences are strong, figurative motifs in the form of recognizable human beings, birds (especially hens, peacocks, phoenixes), and animals such as camels, may well be included in a design

Detail of a trouser for women from Oman (TRC collection) Photo: Joost Kolkman

Male and female designs There is a difference between the designs produced on domestic items and those intended for public viewing. In general, domestic patterns tend to be smaller and more precise, while those for public places tend to be much larger and bolder. In some areas of the Arab world there is a similar difference between the embroidery designs intended for use by men or women. Patterns on women’s clothing (private world) tend to be geometric, precise and reflecting everyday objects, while those on men’s clothing are much larger and bolder.

Colours The choice of colour is sometimes just as important as the embroidery designs. The colour used for the cording on urban Moroccan garments, for example, is deliberately chosen to contrast with the main ground colour. In the Siwa Oasis, Egypt, the main colour combination for women’s clothing is red, orange and yellow. These colours are

associated with both the sun and the colours of ripening dates, the main cash crop of the oasis and a symbol of fertility. In the Sinai, the Eastern Mediterranean and Syria, the colour red is traditionally regarded as one of the most important colours for embroidery worn by women. Among Palestinian groups in the early twentieth century, for example, red was seen as the colour of happiness and fertility (blood). During the 20th century Western influences have changed the choice of colours, patterns and fabrics especially in urban centres. This leads to a change of colour combinations and schemes.

Siwa wedding dresses

Much of the embroidery made in the Siwa Oasis, western Egypt, is intended for the wedding outfit of a young bride and thereafter worn by newly married woman. Until the latter half of the20th century many weddings lasted seven days. Seven or more of these outfits are made and worn on each day of the marriage celebration. They then become part of everyday dress of the married woman. The basic outfit for a bride from the Siwa consisted of decorative trousers, dress, mantle and shoes. Most of the garments were made and embroidered by the girl and her mother. This work started when the girl was very young. During the period of the ‘traditional’ 7-day marriage a bride wear an outfit consisting of trousers, a dress and a head cover. The outfits are coordinate, white trousers with a white dress, black with black. The head cover is always black. The garments are made decorated with floss silk embroidery, usually in red, orange, yellow, green and black. In addition, numerous mother-of-pearl discs and-or buttons are sewn onto the garments. These are called the ´eye of the sun.´ The way a button is sewn onto a piece of cloth can also be deliberately decorative. The majority of the buttons have four holes, and so far 18 different patterns have been identified. In addition, more decorative effects can be achieved by Siwa wedding dress (TRC collection) changing the colour or the thickness of the Photo: Joost Kolkman yarn used to sew down the buttons.

The trousers are made of white or black cotton and are very wide around the waist and hips. Each trouser leg is decorated with embroidered panels made up of squares, divided into four parts, and then sub-divided into eight squared. The basic Siwa dress is shaped like a huge ‘T’ shape. It has long wide sleeves with ‘shoulder’ seam reaches almost to the elbow and the sleeves fall in folds that are difficult to distinguish from the body of the dress. The front section of the dresses are normally embroidered in red, orange, yellow, green and black. Down the front of the dress is a long, opening with eight mother-of-pearl buttons. On either side of this opening are three richly embroidered squares with a seventh main square beneath. The form is based on a traditional amuletic necklace. The pattern on the body of the dress radiates from the middle in all directions, like the rays of the sun. Mother of pearl buttons and sometimes shells and a hand (‘Hand of Fatima’) are sewn on and near the ‘rays.’ In addition, small, isolated embroidered designs cover the dress. These designs may images of palm trees, leaves, dates, water, teacups, fish, as well as the sun and moon. A bridal head covering consists of a black silk cloth with embroidered stripes and a border of thick tassels at each end. Married women wear a covering with woven blue and white stripes, with embroidery across the middle. As a woman gets older the amount of embroidery is reduced to a small band.

Veil from South Sinaï (TRC collection) Photo: Joost Kolkman

Further reading

Balfour-Paul, Jenny, Indigo in the Arab World, Curzon, London, 1997.

Denamur, Isabelle, Moroccan Textile Embroidery, Flammarion, Paris, 2003.

Ellis, Marianne, Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt, Ashmolean Museum Publication, Oxford, 2001.

Golombek, Lisa and Gervers, Veronika, “Tiraz fabrics in the Royal Ontario Museum”, in: Veronika Gervers (ed.), Studies in Textile History, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 1977.

Kalter, Joannes, Pavaloi, Margareta and Zerrnickel, Maria, The Arts and Crafts of Syria, Thames and Hudson, London, 1992.

Völger, Gisela, Welck, Karin von, and Hackstein, Katharina (eds), Pracht und Geheimnis: Kleidung und Schmuck aus Palästina und Jordanien, Ethnologica, band 13, Cologne, 1987.

Weir, Shelagh, Palestinian Costume, British Museum Publications, London, 1989.

Embroidering woman in Palestina (ca.1900) Photo: Library of Congress

BADLA TRC Gallery August - October 2010

Detail of a Libanon shawl with badla decoration Photo: Joost Kolkman

Badla

Badla is an embroidery technique found in various countries from India to Egypt. It is made of a flattened metal strip that is wrapped around the warp and weft of a piece of cloth, or through the holes of net (tulle), to create a series of dots and knots. This technique is often used to decorate clothing, such as saris, dresses, head coverings and shawls, as well as bags, curtains, and even the saddle cloths and trappings used for elephants and horses. In India, Pakistan, throughout the Gulf region, and Saudi Arabia. It is usually known as badla. In Iran it is called khus-duzi, while in Egypt it is known as telli or tulle-bi-telli (“net with metal”), which includes the French word tulle meaning net. Although once much more popular, nowadays badla is still widely produced in western India and Pakistan, southern Iran, and Egypt. Many of the pieces currently found in the Middle East, especially the Gulf region, are made in India especially for the large export market. The badla designs produced in western India tend to be geometric or floral in inspiration. Sometimes, however, items made for the Gulf market also include familiar items such as wooden boats called dhow, which have been used for centuries in the Gulf region. In India, badla is usually made in metal thread embroidery (zari) workshops run by families; both men and women carry out the embroidery. In contrast, in southern Iran it is regarded as a form of domestic or cottage industry suitable for women. Individual women tend to make and sell their own work, especially at local markets such as the Thursday Market in Minab, Southern Iran. Iranian designs tend to be geometric in form and may include dots, stars and sun-bursts.

Dress from 1920s made of two Egyptian shawls (collection TRC) Photo: Joost Kolkman

A brief history Where and when the technique of badla originated is unknown. However, it is likely that it was developed in India during the late Moghul period (1526-1857 AD), and that it spread throughout the region during the 18th and 19th centuries. By the end of the 19th century the producers of badla could be found throughout the Indian sub-continent, Iran, Turkey, and the Middle East, including the Gulf region, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria. In India, most of the badla was and still is made in the west and north of the country, notably in and around the cities of Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Lucknow. In 19th century Iran, badla was associated with the Jewish community, who used the technique to decorate garments such a women’s blouses (pirahan), headcoverings (chargat), as well as special wedding chadors (head and body coverings), with a series of simple dots and geometric designs. By the end of the twentieth century, such chadors are still being made, but they have become very expensive and new ones can only be purchased on a commission basis. In late 19th century in Egypt and Syria, badla was used to create intricate geometric patterns on long lengths of cloth used for head and face coverings, which were called shambar in Syria. Their use by urban women, however, had virtually died out by the 1920s. In particular the Middle Egyptian town of Assyut has long been associated with the production of badla. The influence of this product can be seen in the traditional dresses from the Bayriya Oasis in Egypt, which, during the early 20th century, were decorated with small amounts of badla around the front yoke. This form of dress, however, had just about disappeared by the latter half of the 20th century. In the 1920s and early 1930s, dancers and singers in Cairo often used badla to Bridal veil decorated with badla Iran (collection TRC) Photo: Joost Kolkman decorate their costumes; a practice that helped to give this technique a bad reputation in Egypt. It was seen as being only suitable for peasants, prostitutes, dancers, and of course, (Western) tourists. As a result it never became very popular among the urban elite.

Materials The basic method of creating a badla design is by working a series of small knots. Because badla is not worked under tension, all that is needed to create a design is the material for the background, a needle, fine thread and the badla strip.

Badla strip: Until the mid-20th century the main materials used to make badla strip were gold, silver, copper and brass. Sometimes cheap base metals (usually copper) were plated with gold or silver, because the pure form of these metals were too soft to use, and because they were less expensive yet had the appearance of these precious metals. Nowadays, commercially produced plain and coloured steel, as well as metallic looking and shiny plastic strips are often used. In Egypt, kitchen aluminium foil is sometimes cut up into fine lengths for this purpose.

Cloth versus net : The ground material is normally either a soft, slightly open weave cloth or a simple, hexagonal net or diamond shaped net, although some of the nets used in Iran are more complex. As a generalization, if the badla is worked on cloth it probably comes from India or very occasionally Iran. Examples on a hexagonal net usually come from Iran, while examples worked on a diamond net are probably Syrian or Egyptian.

Indian badla techniques At the beginning of the 20th century, the term badla in India referred to a strip of metal (lamella) to be used for embroidery. There were three types of badla strip: (a) Dewali: a broad strip; (b) Kasore: a thin and light strip, and (c) Kamdani: a strip used for sewing onto cotton or silk. Nowadays the term badla has become more general and it is often used to describe the metal thread, the particular style of metal thread embroidery and the finished result as well.

The following description of how badla is worked is based on the processes used in an embroidery workshop in Ahmedabad, India, in 2000. The metal strips are bought in bundles by weight from the Indian city of Surat. Each strip is c. 2 mm wide and 30 cm long. The designs are drawn on butter paper and then at regular intervals holes are made in the paper with a needle that follow the lines of the desired pattern. The butter paper is placed on the cloth and then a small bundle of cotton fabric or raw cotton is dipped into kerosene and then into zinc oxide (white for coloured fabrics) or indigo powder (blue for white fabrics). The butter paper is removed and the design is outlined on the cloth. The badla embroidery can then be worked using the dotted design as a guide. A badla strip is attached to a loop in the end of a length of sewing thread, which has been threaded through the eye of a needle. The cloth is held in place between the fingers and stitching commences. When the badla work is finished the cloth is placed, right side down, on a hard flat surface, usually hardboard. The reverse side of the cloth is then rubbed with a large cowry shell, smooth stone, or similar object. This process flattens the badla tight to the cloth and at the same time polishes the metal.

Step 1 Step 2

Step 3 Step 4

Badla knot Indian style Drawing: Tineke Rooijakkers

Step 5

 Dots: small dots (fardi) are the most commonly found form of badla. These can vary in size and shape. The patterns range from individual dots to intricate patterns in groups.  Sequins: sometimes sequins (tiki), in the form of small, flat discs, with or without a hole in the centre, are placed on either side of the fabric and the metal thread is then wrapped around them, so holding both sequins in place. They in turn help to make a sharper and clearer shape.  Eyelets: an eyelet can be made by working the metal strip around a central point. This point becomes a hole when the metal thread is pulled slightly.  All-over design: in some areas of India strips of badla are used to create a flat, all- over design that resembles a satin stitch. This style of work is called hazara butti (“a thousand lights”).

Iranian badla techniques A very similar technique to that found in India is used in Iran for creating badla designs. However, in Iran it is more common for the ground material to be a hexagonal net.

Badla knot Iranian style Drawing: Tineke Rooijakkers

Egyptian badla techniques

The method of creating a dot is slightly different in Egypt, as it is worked on a diamond-shaped net. The metal strip (c.2 mm wide) usually comes wound on cones. A length is cut off and then threaded through the long, flat eye of a needle. The strip is threaded into the mesh in a criss-cross manner and then flattened with the fingernails and the end is cut off. When the design is completed, the cloth is removed and placed between rollers in order to flatten the metal thread and secure the dots in place. In Egypt badla is known as tulle-bi-telli, although more frequently it is being referred Badla knot Egyptian style to as Assuit [sic] work. Drawing : Tineke Rooijakkers

This is because much of it is made in commercial workshops in and around the Middle Egyptian city of Assyut (Assiut). The characteristic feature of Assuit cloth is the use of a diamond-shaped net. The older examples use a soft net made out of silk, cotton or flax, while the modern forms are much harder and made of man-made thread, which is often starched. The colours generally associated with Assuit cloth are generally black or, less commonly, white. However, within the last decade or so, a much wider range of colours have come into use including purple, maroon, dark blue, light blue, lavender, orange and red. A wide range of designs can be found on Assuit cloth, including geometric patterns, such as triangles, stars, and sun-bursts, as well as stylized motifs representing foliage, trees, people (usually females, which is locally called the bint or ‘girl’ design), hearts, and even camels. Nowadays, these textiles are frequently used on coats, dresses, shawls and scarves. The Assuit workshops are thriving because over the last few decades cloth decorated with badla has been experiencing a revival due to its popularity with folklore and dancing groups, especially in the West.

Badla and the West The rise of Western tourism and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 led to an increased awareness of Middle Eastern culture, including the range of textiles and clothing forms. This interest in the Middle East was heightened following the discovery in November 1922 of the Tomb of Tutankhamun. For the next few years much of fashionable Europe and America went into a frenzy of Egyptomania. Everything from buttons to complete buildings were decorated with ancient Egyptian motifs.

Photo of Annar, Tombo Studios

Not surprisingly, some of the dresses worn by the ‘flappers,’ the “Bright Young Things” of the 1920s, who flouted as many conventional social rules as possible, were also made using Oriental and in particular, Egyptian textiles. One such dress can be seen below. It is made from a very long Assuit shawls that was folded and then sewn together in such a way that one end forms the skirt hem at the front, while the other end creates a short train at the back. It has been made out of a black cotton/silk net with silver embroidery. The net is decorated with a series of interlocking geometric designs based around a diamond trellis work. The use of ‘exotic’ Egyptian and Middle Eastern textiles, and Assuit cloth in particular, can be seen in various films from the early 20th century onwards. Two films in particular are notable for the main female actresses wearing badla cloth in various scenes, namely, the 1917 version of Cleopatra directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring the silent screen vamp, Theda Bara as Cleopatra, and the Cecil B. DeMille‘s epic, Samson and Delilah (1949), with Hedy Lamarr as Delilah. Nowadays, telle, or ‘Assuit cloth’ and ‘Assuit embroidery’, as it is more commonly referred to in the USA and Europe, is frequently used by various folkloristic dance and belly dancing groups in the form of shawls, hip wraps, bras, dresses and coats. Many dancers use the Assuit shawls and dresses provided by the producers in Egypt without making any alterations. However, some groups adapt the cloth to their own styles. Once such designer/dancer is Anaar from Tombo Studio, USA, who describes her work as being a mixture of “romanticism, Belle Époque, Pre-Raphaelites, exotic cultures and the sensuality of the Femme Fatale.”

‘Silent screen vamp’ Theda Bara as Cleopatra in the movie Cleopatra (1917)

Further reading

Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh, S.A., Male and Female Circumcision among Jews, Christians and Muslims, Warren Center, Pa; Shangri-La Publications, 2001.

Artun, E., Türk Halkbilimi, Istanbul 2005

Atɪl, E., Levni and the Surname: The Story of an Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Festival, Istanbul 1999

Claerhout, A.G., Günaydɪn Anadolu: Tradities van Turkije, Antwerp 1988

Dekkers, W., C. Hoffer & J.P. Wils, Besnijdenis, lichamelijke integriteit en multiculturalisme. Een empirische en normatief- ethische studie, Budel 2006

Dessing, N.M., Rituals of Birth, Circumcision, Marriage and Death among Muslims in the Netherlands, Leuven 2001

Dunsmuir, W.D, & E.M. Gordon, ‘The History of Circumcision’ in: BJU International 83.1 (1999): 1-12, see also http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.leidenuniv.nl

Göktaş, U., ‘Sünnet Âdetleri’ in: Dünden Bugüne Istanbul Ansiklopedisi, 8 vols., Istanbul 1993-1995, vol. 7, 113- 114

Koçu, R.E., Türk Giyim, Kuşam ve Süslenme Sözlüğü, Ankara 1967

Özdemir, A., & K. Frank, Visible Islam in Modern Turkey, London & New York 2000

Schmitz, R., Rituele besnijdenis van jongens in Nederland, Utrecht 2001

Şahin F., U. Beyazova & A. Aktürk, ‘Attitudes and Practices Regarding Circumcision in Turkey’ in: Child: Care, Health and Development 29.4 (2003): 275-280

The Thob `Ubb The longest dress in the world? TRC Gallery August - October 2010

The thob `ubb is a unique dress within the Arab world. It is huge, nearly twice the height of most women who wear this style of dress. One of the stories associated with the dress is that during the Ottoman era, women wore it in order to hide small items of value, such as jewellery and money, from the local tax collectors. Given the social rules of the time, it would have been a very brave, or foolish, man who tried to search a woman. Even if someone had been attempted this deed, it is unlikely that he would have been able to find anything in all the garment’s folds! On a more prosaic level, the large folds of the dress have a functional value. Air is trapped in the between the layers of cloth, which remain cooler than the surrounding air. However, it is likely that the huge dimensions of this dress have more to do with ostentation than comfort. The large folds and extended sleeves are a very visible demonstration of how much material is used. The more cloth the higher the wearer’s prestige. Alas, as with the ‘giants of olde,’ this form of dress has virtually vanished and is no longer worn on a daily basis.

Long or double dress This extra large and long dress has various names, such as the ‘double’ or ‘folded’ dress (thob ‘ubb), and the ‘long’ dress (khalaga). In some places it is also known as a berame. The thob ‘ubb comes from the western region of Jordan, and in particular the Jordan Rift Valley (el-Ghor). It is also associated the cities of Salt, el-Kerak, Dorf Abu Àlanda, as well as from Bethlehem and Jericho. This type of dress can also be found in parts of south-western Syria. In particular the “long dress” was worn by villagers and semi-settled Bedouin groups, such as the Adwan, Moab-Adwan, Òbaydeh and Taàmreh. Traditionally these Bedouins moved between Bethlehem and Jericho and both sides of the Jordan Valley, hence the use of this garment in a relatively widespread area.

Embroidery and appliqué at (a) a dress in the Ta`amreh-Bedoeïenen/Kerak-style; (b) a dress from the region around Jericho and the Abu-`Alanda-region (c) a dress in the Salt-style.

Materials In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, dresses of this type were often made of a light blue, cotton material. By the 1920s they were more commonly made from a black cotton material (tubayt), a black sateen material (malas), or a black crepe (abu safarti). In some cases, the dresses were made out of a patchwork of cloth, new material, lengths from old garments, small fragments, and so forth. These ‘patchwork’ dresses were worn on a daily basis and by poorer women, while dresses for special occasions or worn by richer women used the same type of cloth for the whole garment.

How they are made There are various variations in this style of dress, but the basic garment is made out of a central panel, which is folded in half. Then side panels are added, as well as horizontal bands, a skirt and hem section. Sometimes the lower hem section is made out of a different and heavier material as it suffered from the most wear. The sleeves of the ‘long’ dress are long and triangular in form (iradin). In the early twentieth century these sleeves were very large, but gradually got smaller over time.

This drawing shows the structure of the thob ‘ubb from Salt in the collection of the TRC

Decoration Dresses of this type come in two basic forms, those for daily uses which were normally plain or had a minimum amount of decoration, and those that were specially embroidered for festivals and special occasions. Different groups had different forms of decoration. The long dress from the el-Kerak and Bethlehem regions, for example, tend to be the most heavily decorated with bands of embroidery around the neck opening and down the central front panel. There is also embroidery near the seam lines with the

sleeves, on the sleeves themselves, and in vertical and horizontal bands along the lower skirt section. Dresses from the Jericho and Abu-`Alanda regions are normally decorated down the front with narrow lines of embroidery, usually 12 narrow bands and a central thicker band descending from the neck line. These dresses also tend to have much smaller sleeves than those from the el-Kerak, Bethlehem or Salt regions. Salt dresses are normally decorated with inset bands on the sleeves, vertical bands on the lower, skirt section, and in horizontal bands along the lower hem. All of these bands are worked in a light to medium blue material. In general Salt dresses have a minimum amount of embroidery, usually concentrated around the neck opening and in a line down from the neck opening. Most of the embroidery is concentrated along the seam lines on the dress and sleeves and consists of a small satin stitch worked in long, narrow lines.

Map of the region

There are also changing fashions in the form of decoration. Those from the Jericho region during the 1920s and 30s for example, were embroidered down the front with a simple patterns in vertical rows or ziz-zag patters in white, or white and green. From the 1930s onwards, and especially in the 1960s, designs based on DMC pattern books became more popular. In the late 1960s and 1970s dresses started to be decorated with vertical branches with predominantly cross stitch motifs, often in red. These designs followed the fashion of the ‘normal’ dresses (thobs), worn by Palestinian and Jordanian village women.

Wearing the ‘long dress’ These huge garments were normally about three metres long and thus over twice the size of the human body. Girls started to wear this dress from about the age of twelve onwards. The garment was put on like a ‘normal’ dress and then a belt (shuwayhiyyeh), made of sheep or goat hair, was wrapped around the waist. The material of the dress was then pulled up and draped over the belt. The excess material was allowed to fall in three layers of folds (`ubb).

Some women wore the long dress by draping one sleeve over the head and fixed in place with a wide head band (`asabeh). The second sleeve was pulled up and then placed over the opposite shoulder. The lower half of the sleeve was allowed to fall down over the arm. The excess material was used to carry small items, especially when shopping. The use of sleeves as a headcovering can be found in many regions of the Arab world, such as the thobs worn by some women in eastern Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and Oman. The other sleeve was allowed to hang loose, or was knotted to the dress at the back so that the wearer could easily work. Other groups, such as the women from the Moab-Adwan tribe, used a separate cloth as a headcovering, but again with a head band (`asabeh), to keep the cloth in place. With the passing of time the sleeves gradually became smaller and were eventually sewn or tied behind the shoulders, and no longer worn as a form of headcovering. They literally became more and more decorative, rather than functional.

Bedouin women from the region of el- Kerak. The woman left wears her thob `ubb under a coat (April 1930; Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-17418-00074)

Further Reading

Kalter, Johannes. The Arts and Crafts of Syria, Thames and Hudson, London, 1992.

Rajab, Jehan. Palestinian Costume, Kegan Paul International, London and New York, 1989.

Saca, Iman, Embroidering Identities: A Century of Palestinian Clothing, Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, 2006.

Stillman, Yedid, Palestinian Costume and Jewelry, Museum of New Mexico and the International Folk Art Foundation, Santa Fe, 1979.

Völger, Gisella, Welck Karin von., Hackstein, Katharina, Pracht und Geheiminis: Kleidung und Schmuck aus Palästina und Jordanien, Köln, 1987.

Weir, Shelagh, Palestinian Costume, British Museum, London, 1989.

Well-dressed Afghanistan TRC Gallery November 2010 - March 2011

Detail of an embroidered dress for a girl from Pashtun, (TRC collection) Photo: Joost Kolkman

Afghanistan developed out of a Pashtun kingdom that was founded in the middle of the eighteenth century. The Pashtuns form an ethnic group that still constitutes the majority in the modern Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The country as we know it today, was created in the nineteenth as a buffer state between the British Indian Empire to the east and the Tsarist Russian realm to the north. This was the time of what is often called “The Great Game,” in which Britain and Russia both tried to dominate the highlands of Iran and Afghanistan. After Britain and Russia had decided to divide their mutual spheres of influence, the borders of modern Afghanistan were eventually laid out by officials from both countries, and these lines cut straight through the land of the Pashtuns. The majority of the Pashtuns, therefore, now lives in Pakistan. Today the borders of Afghanistan enclose a large number of other groups. Afghanistan is, in fact, a country that is home to more than fifty different ethnic groups, many of them with their own language and cultural characteristics, including a wide variety of textile and dress traditions. The somewhat artificial configuration of the country, however, does not mean that modern Afghanistan is a loose amalgamation of ethnic groups. Despite a civil war that started in the late 1970s, Afghanistan may one day develop into a more politically homogeneous state, because of the history shared by its inhabitants, their many common cultural characteristics, and the continuous threat from neighbouring countries.

Map of Afghanistan situated in Asia

Afghan people The number of people living in Afghanistan is difficult to calculate, but it is assumed to be around thirty million. The main ethnic groups are (in alphabetical order): the Baluch, Hazaras, Nuristani, Pashtuns, Tajiks, Turkmens and Uzbeks. Each has its own language, culture and way of dress. Many people, especially in the capital Kabul, tend to wear Western style garments, but overall there is a strong tradition of wearing regional and ethnic dress. Dress is often an important marker of ethnic identity, and people wear their ‘ethnic’ dress with pride.

Hamid Karzai and Afghan unification A good example of an attempt to create an Afghan national dress is demonstrated by the present Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. Himself a Westernised Pashtun, when he accepted the position of President in late 2001, he chose to wear clothing that would make clear that he was president of all the peoples of Afghanistan, rather than a Pashtun leader. Instead of the normal Pashtun costume, he opted to wear the trousers and shirt worn by the Pashtuns and other groups, with the predominantly Uzbek chapan (a coat with very long sleeves) He also likes to wear the karakuli headdress, which is worn all over Afghanistan by the rich and influential people. In 2002, Afghan people were still laughing about this outfit, because it was completely made up and ‘fake’, as it combined garments from various different regions and groups. But as one elderly Pashtun from Kandahar noted: “he may look ridiculous, but the foreigners like it and they therefore bring in the money.”

Garment forms In Afghanistan there is a basic outfit for men, women and children. It consists of trousers gathered at the waist, a loose-fitting shirt or dress and some form of head covering. This is an old combination of clothing, which dates back to the early medieval period and the introduction of Islam. It is found all over this part of the world and is regarded as an Islamically acceptable form of clothing that covers most of the body. Over the centuries, however, numerous variations on this theme have developed. These differences reflect the ethnic and cultural origins of the wearer. Some garments are familiar to those who watch the Western media. Some garments are ubiquitous such as a skullcap, for example, which can be

Afghan boys and men in Uruzgan Photo: Willem Vogelsang found among all groups and both genders. However, the shape, size and decoration of the caps signify with which group the wearer is associated. An Uzbeki cap, for instance, worn in the north of the country, looks very different from a Pashtun cap from the southern town of Kandahar. Certain garments have a special social significance. The turban, for example, is an important garment for men. Among the Pashtuns and Baluch, for instance, a boy may

mark his passage into manhood by being allowed to wear a turban. Similarly, a girl will move from wearing a simple head covering, such as a scarf, into a more complex and larger form once she is of a marriageable age or married. Head coverings are prescribed for all women in Islam, and therefore most women in traditional and rural Afghan communities wear variations of a large or small rectangular headscarf/body covering, commonly called a chador. They are usually made out of fine cotton or a synthetic material. A variation of the chador is the chadari, in the West commonly known as the Afghan burqa, which is composed of a close-fitting cap from which finely pleated, coloured silk, cotton or rayon falls, completely enveloping the body, with only an openwork embroidered grid over the eyes. Contrary to popular wisdom in the West, chadaris are not worn by all Afghan women, instead this garment is related to urban life.

Afghan embroidery Afghanistan is surrounded by many lands and cultures and the materials, designs and colours used by the Afghan people for their embroidery reflect the central and important location of their country in Asia. Each ethnic group has its own way of living, which is reflected in their traditional embroidery. In general the production of embroidery is carried out by girls and women at home. By the end of the twentieth century there also was a significant number of men carrying out embroidery, but this is usually machine embroidery produced in tailor’s workshops. Embroidery is used in Afghanistan to decorate a wide range of objects. It is used for house decorations (table cloths, mats, towels, curtains and so forth), for animal trappings (notably the decorative blankets for horses), as well as for the clothing of both men and women. In general, women’s clothing tends to be more elaborately and Detail of an embroidered coat for a boy - North Afghanistan colourfully embroidered than that (TRC collection) Photo: Joost Kolkman of men. Some of the most famous embroidery for men, for example, comes from Kandahar, but the colours used are rather subdued. One of the most widespread uses of embroidery is for the small skullcaps worn by men, women and children. Each group has its own style of cap and form of

decoration, with many variations, designs and colours that can be related to different villages, gender, and so forth.

Materials and stitches A range of different types of silk, cotton and wool yarns are used for embroidery on whatever fabrics are available. Metallic threads, spangles, sequins, mirrors and metallic braids are incorporated into the designs. In addition, beads and large mirrors are used for Pashtun women’s dresses, while beads, coins and shells are often found on the dresses worn by nomadic women. Pashtun and Baluch women also include small mirrors (shisha) in their works; an idea that originates in northern India. A relatively limited number of stitches are used and these are closely related to the various ethnic groups. Some of the main forms are: blanket stitch, slanting blanket filling, brick stitch, chain stitch, cross stitch, herringbone stitch, holbein, ladder stitch, lattice stitch, satin stitch, long and short stitch, and Romanian couching. Some of these stitches are used to cover large areas of cloth quickly with bold, floral designs, while others are used to create intricate, geometric patterns.

Motifs and designs Afghan embroidery offers a great variety of motifs and designs. Each region and group has its own particular motifs, such as the sun and stars; geometric motifs (circles, squares, triangles, rosettes; Greek fret patterns); foliage based motifs such as almond leaves, melon stalks, pomegranate, as well as flowers such tulips and pimento blossoms, which represent fertility. Stylised animal elements, such as rams horns, ‘lions tails’ also occur. Sometimes objects such as amulets and even teapots are included. In some areas embroideries also include figurative motifs such as animals, birds and very occasionally human beings.

Detail of headwear of a bride–Turkman (TRC collection) Photo: Joost Kolkman

Main ethnic groups and their clothing There are more than fifty officially recognised ethnic groups in Afghanistan, each with their own history and cultural characteristics, including specific clothing traditions.

Baluchi dress: The Baluch live in southern Afghanistan near the borders with Iran and Pakistan. Some Baluch are nomadic or semi-nomadic. The main outfit for men consists of the shalwar kamez from Pakistan, which is made up of trousers (shalwar) and a long shirt (kamez) with a central front opening. The headgear consists of a snugly fitting cap (topi) and turban (pag; sometimes called a lungi). Baluchi caps are often made of cotton with fine silk or cotton embroidery, in floral or geometric patterns. They sometimes incorporate minute mirrors (shisha). The front of the topi is often shaped, because the Baluch are Sunni Muslims and require their foreheads to touch the ground when praying. Baluchi turbans are normally wrapped in numerous, large rolls and the final appearance is quite different from the turbans worn by Pashtun men. Women’s outfits all over the Baluchi world consist of ankle length trousers (shalwar), which are gathered at the waist; an ankle-length, loose fitting dress (paskh), and a large shawl or outer cover (chadar). A feature of Baluchi women’s clothing is the embroidery, which once was largely hand worked, but in contemporary times made by machine.

Hazara dress: The Hazaras claim to descend from the Mongol army that occupied the lands of what is now Afghanistan in the thirteenth century. Indeed, the (Persian) language spoken by the Hazaras still contains many Mongolian words. The Hazaras occupy the central part of the country. Hazara dress for men traditionally consists of trousers, a cotton shirt (qamis; pirahan), long and short kaftans, waistcoats (waskat), coats (macew) and a cap (kapi). A belt (kamari) or cloth sash was often wrapped around the waist. Wealthier men may wear a turban (lungota) over the cap and a shoulder blanket of cotton (sal), or a soft fulled woollen material (sal-i hazaragi) depending on the season. A traditional outfit for a Hazara woman consists of trousers, a calf-length dress with long, full sleeves, very wide at the waist, plus a head covering. Sometimes a waistcoat is worn, which is decorated with buttons, beads, silver coins and seashells. The head cloth was sometimes folded into a thick, flat pad on top of the head, with the ends forming a sort of veil at the back of the neck. Modern Hazara dresses normally have sleeves with narrow cuffs and they end at the knee or halfway along the calves. Festival versions tend to be made out of purple or red velvet.

Nuristani dress: The eastern part of Afghanistan was once part of Nuristan (“The Land of Light”). The area was formerly known as Kafiristan (“The Land of Non-believers”), which stretched into present-day Pakistan. The name was changed to Nuristan when the inhabitants were converted to Islam in the late nineteenth century. Nuristan is a mountainous region and very cold in the winter, and both factors have influenced the range of clothing worn by both men and women. Nowadays Nuristani men tend to wear Western style garments or the shalwar kamez from Pakistan. A distinctive feature of modern Nuristani dress is the pakol, a headcovering often also called a Nuristani or Chitrali cap. The pakol is usually made of fulled woolen cloth and consists of a flat crown with a rolled brim. Nuristani women used to wear trousers and a shirt with a front neck opening. These shirts were often made out of dark coloured silk or cotton and decorated around the neck opening with metal thread embroidery. Modern Nuristani women’s

outfits consist of a waisted dress with collar, with similarly coloured trousers and a large chador.

Pashtun dress: The Pashtun constitute an ethnic group that lives along both sides of the modern Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The traditional man’s outfit includes trousers (partug) with a drawstring (partugghakh), a knee-length shirt (kamiz), and a waistcoat (waskat). The Pashtun headgear is normally a cap (khwalay/rakhchina), often with a turban (pagray/lungay/langota) on top. The outfit is completed with a large, rectangular blanket (tsadar [thin] or patu [thick]) worn over one shoulder or slung across both. The blanket is multi-functional and can be used for warmth, to sit upon and as a prayer mat. Pashtun women tend to wear a ‘standard’ Afghan outfit made up of trousers (partug), a dress with long sleeves and full skirt (kamiz) and some form of head covering (shal, chador). The trousers are usually made out of a contrasting colour to the dress and a common colour for the trousers is mid-green. Festival dresses are usually made out of silk or velvet in rich colours, especially deep purple. During the hot summer months, many women prefer to wear printed cotton and rayon fabrics in bright colours. A feature of Pashtun dresses, both urban and nomadic, are the beaded panels at the shoulders and along the seam line between the front bodice and the skirt of the dress. These are usually made of multi-coloured glass beads. It is also common to have roundels (gul-i pirahan in Dari) on the shoulders, chest panel and waist.

Group Afghan tribal elders Photo: Hans Stakelburg

Kuchi dress: Kuchi is the popular name for the, mainly Pashtun, nomads and semi nomads that can be found all over the country. In the past, they could move freely across the borders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, but since the early 1960s border restrictions have limited their movements to within Afghanistan. Kuchi men normally wear trousers and a knee-length shirt. These are usually in white. The Kuchi headgear

for men is a cap covered with a large, white turban. The outfit is completed with a large, often white blanket that is draped over one or both shoulders (sharay). Kuchi outfits for women are similar to those worn by (settled) Pashtun women, but in general the colours tend to be darker. A Kuchi outfit consists of trousers with tightly fitting ankle cuffs, a dress and a head covering of some kind. Kuchi dresses have long and very wide sleeves, with very full skirts. The front of the bodice, skirt and sleeve hems are decorated with metallic laces that are couched down. Such dresses are also adorned with amulets, pendants, tassels and trinkets.

Tajik dress: Tajik is the normal name for the non-Pashtun, non-Hazara, Persian (Dari) speaking population of the country. Many live in the main cities and in the northeast and west of the country. The basic man’s outfit consisted of trousers (tomban) with a drawstring (tikke) and a knee-length shirt (kamiz). The Tajik man’s headgear normally consists of an embroidered cap (kolah). The outfit worn by Tajik women consists of trousers, dress and head covering. Tajik women’s trousers usually have straight legs and are made of white or pastel coloured satin, cotton or a synthetic material. Tajik dresses tend to have long sleeves and longish skirts. In general, they are not decorated with embroidery or metallic lace. Instead emphasis is placed on the use of different types of fabrics, often woven or printed with geometric and floral designs. Tajik head coverings (chador) are normally about two yards in size and made from georgette or gauze and decorated with lace, crochet or needlepoint borders. In some areas of northern Afghanistan some Tajik women wear an outfit that is similar to Uzbek forms. These include narrow ikat trousers, worn with a shiny, ikat dress. Tajik women usually plait their hair into numerous long strands.

Turkmen dress: The Turkmen are a Turkic group who speak a form of Western Ghuz (Oghuz) Turkic. Apart from Afghanistan, Turkmen also live in Iran, Turkmenistan and other parts of the former Soviet Union. The basic costume for an Afghan Turkmen man traditionally consists of a pair of loose cotton trousers (balaq) and a shirt (koynek). Over these a tight-sleeved robe (don) of striped silk is worn. These garments are held together at the waist with a sash (qusaq). A man's headgear consists of a small skullcap (bork), sometimes with a turban or a cylindrical, black sheepskin hat (telpek). The basic dress of a Turkmen woman consisted of under trousers (balaq), a dress (koynek), and a headdress of some kind. In addition, some groups also had a face veil (yasmak), a sash (sal qusaq, bil qusak), an indoor coat (cabit or kurte), and for outdoor wear, a second coat (chrypy). An important feature of Turkmen dress for women is the quantity of silver and more recently gold jewellery. Most of the jewellery is worn on the head, down the front and back of the upper torso and on the lower arms and hands, where it is very visible and people can see the social and economic status of the wearer.

Uzbek dress: The Uzbek are a Turkic people of Central Asian origin, and they live primarily in modern Uzbekistan, but there are large populations in northern Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. A feature of both male and female Uzbek clothing is the use of ikats and embroidery. Uzbek dress for men is basically a Westernized outfit consisting of a shirt with trousers. However, on special occasions, an Uzbek festival outfit is worn consisting of shirt and trousers, over which is worn an ikat or embroidered coat and an imposing cap (telpek). There were two main types of outfits traditionally worn by Uzbek women in Afghanistan, the first consists of a pair of ikat trousers and an ikat dress. The head covering for girls usually consists of a small cap,

often in velvet. The headdress of a married woman is slightly more complicated and consists of headscarf or a cap covered with a large shawl, often of white or a pale colour. On special occasions a coat is worn over the dress, which is made from either ikat cloth or a plain material decorated with embroidery. The second, more conservative, outfit consists of baggy trousers and a wide dress embroidered with large, colourful floral motifs. This is worn with an open fronted coat, which has a defined waist. The main outer garment is a long coat with false sleeves that is draped over the shoulders. The outer coat is often embroidered, but not quite as vividly as the dress. A large shawl (chador) is used to cover the head and upper body.

Detail of an embroidered cap – Uzbek North Afhanistan (TRC collection) Photo: Joost Kolkman

Chadari versus burqa` There are few garments that have become global icons and are recognized throughout the world. The Scottish kilt is one, as are the Japanese kimono and the Native American headband with feather(s). During the period of the Taliban in Afghanistan (1996-2001) the Afghan chadari, or burqa as it is also known, has also become a global icon. For many in the non-Muslim world the chadari is a symbol of the oppression of women and their rights, a view that became even more widely voiced after the tragic events of 9/11. For others it is a romantic garment that wafts in the air as the wearer walks; a colourful, visual device used to great effect by the Iranian film maker, Mosen Makhmalbaf, in Kandahar (2001). Yet Muslim women in what is now Pakistan and northern India have being wearing this style of garment for over four hundred years, while a closely related version of it has been worn in Afghanistan for about two hundred years. These garments were worn because of a long-standing local custom for Muslim women to be totally covered when in public. Not to wear such a covering was seen as indicating a woman’s (and thus her family’s) lack of respectability, honour and social status. These garments afforded many women protection from the prying eyes of men. At the same time the

chadari gave some women the opportunity to live a secret life well away from family, friends and neighbours, as is attested to by a Persian saying from the early nineteenth century: A Caubul wife in Boorka-cover, was never known without a lover. The difference came in the late twentieth century when Afghan urban women were forced, rather than required by tradition, to wear these garments by the Taliban on the grounds that it was an Islamic requirement: a view that was not shared by all Afghan men and women. The penalty inflicted by the Taliban on a woman who was not totally covered in a chadari could range from a beating to death.

Burqa or chadari? The two names, chadari and burqa have been used for this style of garment for a long time and burqa is probably the older of the two. Basically, burqa is the Pakistani term, while chadari is used in Afghanistan for two closely related garments. However, most Westerners refer to it as a burqas for both forms. In reality a burqa from Pakistan consists of a cap, a cape section (body covering) that incorporates an eye grid and a separate panel lower down at the front. The cap, face veil section and panel are usually decorated with embroidery. This type of garment does not have the tight, pressed pleats of the Afghan version. Instead, the ‘pleats’ or rather folds of this garment are normally made by gathering the excess material of the chador on a draw thread, and then sewing the material to the cap. The folds are created by working several rows of running stitches or by smocking the cloth so creating a honeycomb effect The Afghan chadari consists of a cap, body covering and separate face veil panel. In contrast to the burqa described above, the panel with an eye grid is attached to the cap and there is no separate, inserted panel lower down. Around the upper part of the chador there are hundreds of narrow pleats that are gathered together and then sewn onto the cap. It is these pleats that give the garment its voluminous nature. The cap and panel are normally decorated with embroidery. It is this type of chadari that has become a global icon and famous throughout the world.

Festivals and sport In Afghanistan, family and public festivals are often celebrated by the giving and wearing of new garments. The Eid festival at the end of the Ramadan fast, for example, is celebrated by wearing brand new outfits. People pay visits to their family and friends, exchange gifts and together enjoy the food.

Wedding outfits: The guests at a wedding tend to wear new clothing with traditional forms. The female guests wear al their finery and jewels. Brides traditionally wear red or green clothing, although many modern brides wear white dresses based on Western fashions. Brides and grooms often change clothing several times during the day. In Kabul and other Afghan cities the main celebrations take place in large wedding halls, full of glitter, where sometimes more than a thousand guests are entertained; but men and women are sitting in separate rooms!

Naurooz clothing: Naurooz marks the first day of spring (around 21st March) and is celebrated in many parts of the Iranian world and Afghanistan. It is a pre-Islamic celebration that includes various traditional elements, including the end of the Old Year and the beginning of the new; the temporary return to earth of the deceased, but also the moment that all sins are forgiven. For children it means that they receive gifts and

generally have a nice holiday. It is normal for people to wear new clothing for the festivities.

Buzkashi clothing: Buzkashi (literally “goat grabbing”), is a traditional Central Asian sport played by men on horseback. In Afghanistan it is especially popular in the north of the country. The aim is for the riders to grab the carcass of a headless goat or calf from the ground while riding a horse at full gallop. A ‘goal’ is scored when the carcass is pitched across a goal line, target circle or vat. Games can last several days. The competition is generally very rough as riders try to make each other’s horses trip in order to thwart scoring attempts. Riders wear heavy padded clothing and head coverings in order to protect themselves from the others players’ whips and boots.

Schoolgirls in Afghanistan Photo: Hans Stakelburg

Further reading

Boom, Joeri, Als een nacht met duizend sterren, Amsterdam 2010.

Clammer, Paul, Lonely Planet Afghanistan, 2007.

Dam, Bette, Expeditie Uruzgan. De weg van Hamid Karzai naar het paleis,. Amsterdam 2009.

Dupree, L., Afghanistan, Princeton 1973, revised version 1980.

Hosseini, Khaled, De vliegeraar van Kabul,. Amsterdam 2003.

Hosseini, Khaled, Duizend schitterende zonnen, Amsterdam 2007.

Omrani, Bijan, et al., Afghanistan. A Companion and Guide (second edition), 2010.

Velde, Peter ter, Feijten, Eric, Kabul & Kamp Holland: Over de stad en de oorlog, Schoorl 2008.

Vogelsang, Willem, Afghanistan. Een Geschiedenis, Amsterdam 2002/2008.

Vogelsang, Willem, Afghanistan, Amsterdam 2010.

Vogelsang, Willem, The Afghans, Oxford 2002/2008.