Palestinian Costume 0710302835, 9780710302830

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Jehan S. Rajab

Palestinian Costume

KEGAN PAUL INTERNATIONAL London and New York

First published in 1989 by Kegan Paul International Limited PO Box 256, London WC1B 3SW

Distributed by International Thomson Publishing Services Ltd North Way, Andover, Hants SP10 3BE England Routledge, Chapman and Hall Inc 29 West 35th Street New York, NY 10001, USA

The Canterbury Press Pty Ltd Unit 2, 71 Rushdale Street Scoresby, Victoria 3179 Australia

©Jehan S. Rajab, 1989 Produced by Worts-Power Associates Designed by Malcolm Harvey Young Set in Bembo by Paragon Photoset, Aylesbury and printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome, Somerset

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism.

ISBN 0 7103 0283 5

I dedicate this volume to

Tareq Sayid Rajab who helped in so many different ways and to the people of Palestine, Syria and Jordan whose sense of colour, artistry and tradition inspired such a variety of textiles, costumes and embroidery and so enriched life.

Contents Preface Acknowledgements Introduction The Nablus-Jenin Region Galilee The Bethlehem Region The Jerusalem Region The Ramallah Region The Hebron Region Majdal — Isdud-Jaffa - Bayt Dajan The Gaza Region The Bir Seb’a and Sinai Region Palestinian Costume Today Silver Folk Jewellery of Syria, Palestine and Jordan Traditional Embroidery Motifs from the Levant A Few Common Stitches A Short Glossary Bibliography Index

9 13 15 21 33 37 50 57 66 76 86 90 105 109 134 144 145 153 156

Preface The embroidery illustrated in the three volumes of folk costumes from Palestine, Syria (in preparation), and Jordan (in preparation) represents just a small part of the beautiful work done by the fellahin (settled Arab farmers) and the Bedu (Bedouins) of those countries. Because it was worked on perishable articles such as clothing or household items, little remains that dates back further than about the mid-nineteenth century. In this modern consumer age it tends to be forgotten that until very recently full use was made of every article until it either wore out or was recycled. Most costumes were passed on to younger siblings. When they outgrew a dress it might then be turned into wiping rags and pot-holders. Silver folk jewellery was not usually passed on from mother to daughter. Every bride in the Arab world received on marriage new jewellery (perhaps made from old jewellery melted down) that represented her financial security which was why it needed to be new, not already worn down by use. In Christian Europe churches and monasteries were frequently the repositories of old silver and textiles, but this was not generally so in the Muslim world, there being no monasteries or priesthood. Space is used differently in a mosque and while in some places there might be a collection of old and valuable carpets there would be little in the way of other textiles. It is calligraphy, woodwork, tiles and metalwork that remain to tell us something of the glories of the Arab past. Clothing and textiles from the courts and towns have occasionally sur­ vived longer than those from the villages. Many early Ottoman costumes and pieces of embroidery were preserved in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, having been placed in embroidered wraps at the end of a reign. Although the labels appear to have become displaced, this splendid collection has told researchers a good deal about changes that took place in design, colour and fabric and thus something about the social conditions of the time. This is just as applicable to folk costume, which reveals so much concerning the lives and circumstances of what was the bulk of the population. Folk costume reveals the cultural and historical features of a society and provides

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Palestinian Costume

evidence of its creative urge. Apart from its practical purpose costume also possesses deep inner meaning at a subconscious symbolic level. In spite of their often limited financial resources and facilities village people achieved a life style rich at the level of the inner being if not always at the physical one. Fine woodwork, pottery, weaving and embroidery were produced, and village architecture often had a superb, aesthetically pleasing simplicity of form and function. On an intellectual level there was an immensely rich store of moral and humorous folk tales as well as poetry, music and dance. The Bedu were finely adapted to their necessarily nomadic life in a very harsh environment. It was not possible to carry much in the way of worldly goods so their creative urges were channelled into weaving, embroidery and poetry. Language and poetry were developed to their limits, forming a heritage that the Bedu bequeathed to all Arab peoples and many non-Arab Muslims. Clothes are functional articles that have to meet the needs of a working life. They are influenced by the environment and were in the past affected by the availability of natural materials. Village women wove, dyed and embroidered their clothes and sometimes those of their menfolk. In some Syrian villages girls prepared elaborately worked cuffs for their bride­ grooms’ shirts and trousers. In Palestine the girls made tobacco bags for the bridegroom and his close male relatives. In return the tassels of the bride’s veil were often made by the groom. Every village had its own traditions within the larger one. In one place the custom might be for a woman first to wear a nose ring upon marriage, while in the next village girls might wear one from the age of ten. As an earlytwentieth-century writer on the Arab world commented, ‘What is true in one place is quite the opposite in another.’ Until about the turn of this century this was a fair statement as regards costume, and a village could be identified by its dress. As elsewhere in the world, many small towns and villages were proud of their individual customs. In Arab countries the Islamic tradition was the overriding one and this naturally affected the minorities living within that world. Their contribu­ tion to the arts was an important one, especially in the area of textiles and jewellery. In spite of its schisms Islam is a more unifying religion than most and its far-flung domains did and do belong essentially to one civilisation.

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Preface

There were well-developed lines of communication, with people moving about performing the Haj (pilgrimage to Makkah), trading and of course taking part in wars and invasions. Nevertheless until the advent of modern communications many people must have remained near to their birthplace for much of their lives. This is perhaps a partial explanation for the rich diversity of folk costume. Articles of clothing were frequently works of art in themselves and from that point of view at least the world is a far poorer place without such traditional costumes. Two points about Arab society need to be stressed. The first is that the history of the Arab countries has its roots in the Arabian peninsula so that a short outline of some of the major movements of the Arab peoples is necessary for an understanding of the social life of which costume is a part. Geographically speaking the land mass of Arabia extends to Greater Syria to the north and Iraq to the north-east. The territory forming Palestine and Jordan was the southern part of Greater Syria and was known to the Greeks as Philistia, and as such was distinguished from Phoenicia (now Lebanon) and Syria proper. Some time around 3000 bc (roughly contemporary with the early Kingdom of Egypt) a great Semitic migration from the centre of Arabia took place; the migrators were known as the Ammonites and had present-day Amman in Jordan as their capital. The Babylonians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Hebrews and biblical Canaanites all had their origin in the Arabian heartland. From the north of Hijaz in Arabia came the Nabateans who constructed Petra in Jordan. They were notable merchants and traded the frankincense and myrrh so prized by the ancient Egyptians and Romans. The rise of Islam provided the largest and most significant movements out of Arabia. The Muslims spread northwards and westwards, to the furthest point of North Africa as well as to and beyond the borders of China. Thus the civilisation of Islam was enriched by many different cultures, absorbing them and evolving its own distinct qualities. These qualities permeated all aspects of life and a unity of design and life style developed that can be seen throughout the whole Islamic world. The second point to be observed about Arab society is that broadly speaking it is made up of three sections. There are the town-dwellers who live in the sophisticated commercial and administrative centres. These people are naturally open to foreign influences and it was from the cities that

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Palestinian Costume

the first nationalistic feelings arose. Then there is agricultural society (the fellahin) which was the source of food supplies. Village people did not generally own great numbers of cattle, for water in these arid and semi-arid zones was too valuable to be wasted on grazing. The Bedu, the third section of society, owned and grazed the animals that were required for trade, wool, fat and meat. The Bedu characteristics of independence, individuality and pride were perhaps a moderating counter-influence to city effeteness and decadence. The towns, villages and Bedu were therefore dependent upon each other, despite the intermittent warfare and the tensions between them. The study of the costumes and embroidery presented in this book has been and still is both absorbing and pleasurable. The search for records leads one into many interesting byways, where one comes across some fascinat­ ing people and learns many an interesting fact. An example is the comment in certain nineteenth-century books about the unkempt state of many of the buildings in the various cities. This was not so much a lack of civic responsi­ bility, but because Ottoman tax officials, upon seeing a well-maintained building, would tax it much higher. Often the interiors were oases of comfort, with cool tiles and sparkling fountains. The reader might wonder why Syria, Palestine and Jordan are to be grouped together in a trilogy. There are two reasons: the Tareq Rajab Museum has a good collection of costumes from these countries, and they were all once part of Greater Syria. As has already been mentioned the countries of the Arab world are all culturally interrelated. At one point, one book on the three countries was planned, but there was simply too much material for this to be possible. Lebanon should really have made a quartet, but unfortunately the museum has little of its textiles or costumes even though it was famous for its weaving and sericulture. In addition due to Turkish and then European influence there was comparatively little costume embroidery. There is still much scope for research and one book can never satisfactorily encompass even one aspect of a culture. It is hoped that those who read this book will share the pleasure of learning a little about the long and interesting traditions it describes. Jehan S. Rajab Kuwait

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Acknowledgements One of the most agreeable things about working on folk costume books is the varied and interesting people one meets in the course of research. One gets the opportunity to visit villages and towns on a more personal level, so meeting the kind, always hospitable and generous inhabitants of the Arab world. It is my pleasure to thank for their help and advice not only the many ladies, of town and village, I have spoken to but the following people who took time and trouble in many ways in connection with this book:

Mr Abdur Rahman Nimur Al Uraidi who has not only been so generous with information but always looked out for costumes for the museum as well. Mrs Widad Kawar of Amman, Jordan, who has one of the finest collections of Palestinian costume in the world and probably knows more than anyone about them. Madam Suhair Khair of Al Azem Palace Museum in Damascus who spent much time showing me their costume collection. Mr Faisal Saleh of Suk el Hamidyeh in Damascus for his interest, knowledge and advice. Mr Ahmad Subhaini of Damascus for his help. Dr Ali Attiyeh of the Kuwait Ministry of Education and Mrs Haifa Chehine Naqib, Headmistress of the New English School, Kuwait, who both read the typescript and made many constructive comments - any mistakes are entirely my own. Dr and Mrs Abdul Kadar Hussain, and Mr and Mrs Mawiyya Al Kadi, who advised and also put up with continual questions. Dr Youssef Sulaiman Fadhal Al Sabah who gave some excellent advice and assistance, as did Mr Ali Habib Kahil and Mrs Menwa Shanti. Ms Jennifer Wearden of the Textile Department in the Victoria & Albert Museum for her prompt help on a number of occasions. Very special thanks go to Mrs Beverly Al Shami not only for struggling with much of the typing but for the work she did with producing the

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Palestinian Costume

traditional motifs. Mr Mohammed Sofdar also gave typing assistance even when the pressure of other work was great. It is impossible to name everyone who was of assistance but to all of them I give my thanks. All photographs are by Tareq S. Rajab unless otherwise acknowledged. Plate 34 is reproduced courtesy of the Trustees of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. All costumes except those in Plates 34, 74, 75 and 78 are from the collection of the Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait, as is all the jewellery pictured.

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Introduction

In Palestine are produced, oil, cotton from dwarf shrubs, raisins, carob pods, mulham stuffs (of silk and cotton), soap and towels. (Al-Maqdisi, in ad 985/6)

The folk costumes of Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean region and the Arab world were of astonishing variety, and those of Palestine, in their diversity and richness, must rank amongst the most beautiful. Palestine was a major crossroads of civilisation, a part of the Fertile Crescent where man had his beginning and a holy place for three religions. Accordingly it was subject to the influence of many other civilisations as well as to invasion from all quarters. As mentioned earlier, from 3000 bc there had also been regular migrations northwards from the Arabian peninsula. By the seventh century ad Islam and the Arabic language were spreading throughout the entire region, providing an overall unity of thought and culture. The reasons for the diversity of costume are numerous. A Palestinian once questioned on why each village or tribe had had its own version thought it might have been because so many invaders, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Crusader and Turk, had passed through. Certainly each group must have left something of itself behind. The influence of the invader can be seen in, for example, the costumes and embroidery of those East Euro­ pean countries which came under Ottoman domination. But innumerable

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Palestinian Costume

other factors play a part in the make-up and heritage of a country. Lack of communications probably contributed, but it should be remembered that the Islamic world was always a mobile one. Not only did people move about for reasons of pilgrimage, invasion and trading activities, but scholars and craftsmen gravitated towards centres of power. Sultans and emirs were not merely soldiers but patrons of the arts who invited the best craftsmen to work in their capital. They were often skilled calligraphers and poets them­ selves. One Ottoman sultan was a master goldsmith, another a master gardener; Shah Jehan, the Mogul emperor, was an expert on gemstones. The annual Haj to Makkah brought pilgrims from all over the world with its consequent mingling of peoples and spreading ofideas. In addition, villagers and nomads were always proud of their smaller traditions which developed within the larger one. The human spirit always seems to retain a certain individuality, and this is particularly true of the Arabs. They tend to be rugged individualists even though somewhat constricted by society. It is possible too that in the distant past costume played a part in distinguishing between warring parties. The climate and religious and other beliefs also played their part. Before the advent of Islam the basic outlines of Middle Eastern garments were loose and flowing and the religion encouraged a continuation of that style. Islam laid some emphasis on modesty of behaviour and appearance for both men and women. Aside from being suitable for frequently harsh climatic conditions, such garments did not reveal too much of the figure so preserving decorum in appearance and conduct. Male costume during the Islamic period was fairly sober and uniform and did not usually have the range of colour and embroidery of the women’s. In general men’s clothing has consisted of long underpants, a tunic and an overgarment often with a belt. A waistcoat might also be included. On the head was placed a skullcap over which were worn a variety of tarboosh, headcloths and turbans. Both men and women covered their heads this being considered both respectful and modest as well as a protection against the sun. In Palestine the Qumbaz, an ankle length wrapover garment (see Plate 60) of striped silk or cotton was worn by the fellahin. This was belted with a variety of full cummerbunds of wool in winter or cotton in the summer. Later on these tended to be replaced by leather belts. During the

16

plate i Hebron-area married woman’s costume. The araqiyyeh (hat) is of embroidered cotton, the rim {dur) decorated with arches. Around the top are sewn twenty Maria Theresa dollars. Suspended from the back is a safifeh — two long strips of material embroidered at the lower ends. These were used to bind the hair in. This hat has a black chin cord, but normally a silver chin-chain with coins would have been used. The ghudfeh. (head-veil) is very finely embroidered {see close-up, Plate 52) and is finished off with a thick fringe of tassels. A dress with an appliqued pattern down the front is ajillayeh; one without is usually called a thob.

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Palestinian Costume

Ottoman period, some four hundred years, the townsmen wore mainly Turkish type clothing. The Bedu dressed in the long shirt-type tunic or in some cases a shorter mid-calf one, their heads being covered by the kuffieh (headcloth) with an ’agal to hold it in place. The ’aba or large shoulder mantle was placed over the tunic. This could be of a fine fabric or a rough heavy wool which was also used in the desert to wrap up in on cold winter nights. A rather different type of dress was used by the Druze and some other rural males in Palestine, Syria and Jordan. This was the full black trousers with black braid decoration down the sides. Fitting tightly to the lower leg the fullness was from the waist with heavy pleats between the legs. A shirt was tucked into the trousers, a large cummerbund wrapped around the waist and the outfit was complete. A headcloth or turban of some description was always worn. Bedu, townsman or fellahin all wore costumes that distinguished them, but it was more the small details that differentiated them - the fineness of material, the embellishments or the way the costume was worn. Embroidered garments for women were often a part of the social struc­ ture, as was the wearing ofjewellery, and much importance was attached to the embroidery on these costumes. A prospective bride was assessed not only on her general character, her health and her looks; her embroidery was examined and commented upon, for its execution revealed her personality. Young girls began to learn their stitches between the ages of six and ten years old. After the day’s work had been done but while the light was still good the women would gather outside their doorways to sit and talk and work on their embroidery and help the small girls with their first stitches. They were expected by the time of their wedding to have finished their bridal dress, cushion covers for their new home and other items such as the tobacco bags mentioned in the Preface. Embroidery has persisted amongst Palestinians until this day, although many of the old motifs and patterns began to go out of fashion in the 1920s or thereabouts. A long-time resident of Palestine maintained that after World War I everything changed - new motifs were introduced and many foreign elements appeared. This was doubtless true, but there also seems to have been another period of change, during the late 1930s and the 1940s, to which faster communications, social change, newspapers and magazines all

18

Introduction contributed. However, enough remained at least until the early 1940s to distinguish the different styles in the Bethlehem, Ramallah, Hebron, coastal and Bir Seb’a areas. In each of these places there were usually one or two villages that were noted for their fine work and so had great influence on the surrounding villages. It was not unknown for a young girl to be sent to a place with a reputation for fine embroidery so that she could learn from the people there. Naturally she applied what she had learned in her own manner and different interpretations of what are really the same basic designs would appear. Some designs are very old, others seem to be fairly new. As women gained access to magazines one might try a new pattern, and others would copy it if they liked it. The Alsace company DMC was said to have included patterns in some of its packages of thread, and certainly there are bird and animal designs which might have originated from that region. Palestine is approximately the same size as Wales and according to the Baedeker guide of 1875 the population was then estimated at roughly 650,000 people. Society, as elsewhere in the Arab world, was made up basically of town-dwellers, fellahin and Bedu. The towns were the centres of commerce and trade and were accordingly the most open to foreign ideas and influences: during the Turkish period town-dwellers wore mainly Turkish-type clothes and when European influence spread they changed to Western attire. Embroidery was not an important feature of either of these styles. The majority of the population were fellahin who lived in villages and did the finest costume embroidery of all. The Bedu also embroidered their costume and were often influenced by village fashion. As noted earlier, because Palestinian embroidery was mainly worked on functional items such as clothing little remains that dates back further than the mid-nineteenth century. Unfortunately those who visited Palestine do not seem to have paid much attention to the inhabitants and what they wore. There are few written accounts before the early twentieth century; yet the embroidery that has survived is evidence of a very long and rich tradition. It is possible that every village - there are estimated to have been some 700 — had its own individual manner of dress. There was a prolific folklore of stories and moral tales as well as songs for every occasion. Something of this rich tradition can be glimpsed in conversation with elderly Palestinian ladies, who are often fountains of knowledge about their villages and the details of village life.

19

‘Arab sheikh smoking" (on the Red Sea coast) — c. 1848 (from The Oriental Album, drawn from life by E. Prisse, Esq).

plate 2

3 Two cushion covers on a mat - British Mandate period. The mothers of the bride and groom might work some cushion covers for the young couple. The background mat is an example of the work the women did, dyeing and making trays, mats and baskets for household use.

plate

J

The Nablus-Jenin Region In the Nablus-Jenin region there seems to have been little costume embroidery. One reason for this is presumed to be that agricultural conditions were difficult and women had to help the men in the fields far more than was usual. Women everywhere were in charge of house and children. They made pottery for storage bins, water jugs, small pottery bowls and egg pans, and cooking pots. In Jerusalem on a Friday many women came in from the village of El Jib to sell their clay pots, which were considered particularly good for cooking in. Another craft that all women engaged in was basketry, making all kinds of trays and containers. Young girls made coiled baskets from the corn straw which they gathered at harvest time. The women often dyed the straw and then plaited it in attractive coloured patterns. In addition many would sell their own produce such as eggs, milk and vegetables in the local market. If besides all this they had extra work in the fields, the women of Nablus-Jenin would have had little time left for costume embroidery. A proverb in such districts says that, ‘Embroidery means a lack of work. ’ Shelagh Weir (1970) mentions a woman from a village near Nablus who married into a village in the Hebron Hills where the costumes were heavily decorated. When she visited her relatives wearing the embroidered Hebron dress they laughed at her and asked why she wasted time and money on such unimportant things. This would certainly imply that embroidery was not part of the social structure of that area. However, just because little costume embroidery was done it should not be thought that the women had little interest in their clothes, which were carefully designed using different colours and fabrics and attractive stripes. In the village of Silfeed near Nablus, as in most other villages, dress material for the bride was provided by the prospective groom, after he had sent over the carved and painted wooden chest in which she would keep her costumes and personal items. He also had to present specific pieces of jewellery to the bride, as well as dress material for the future mother-in-law. The costumes were then made up by a professional woman dressmaker in

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Palestinian Costume

4 View of Nablus -1857 (Photo: Egypt and Palestine Photographs, Frith, 2 vols, 1857). plate

the village. When the author enquired if the dressmaker was ever a male the answer was a shocked ‘No, never.’ Another professional made the hats worn by married women. In the nineteenth century these were called taqteebeh and seem to have looked much like the so-called smadeh (see Glossary) of the Ramallah area. However, the horseshoe-shaped hat with the bride-wealth coins sewn round it {see Plate 5) had gone out of fashion by the early twentieth century and instead the women wore a taqiyyeh. This small slightly pointed hat was of material in ‘many colours’ and was em­ broidered richly by the hat-maker, with reds and yellows preferred. It was

The Nablus-Jenin Region tied under the chin by two long black cords at the end of each of which hung one gold khamasia (gold Ottoman coin). Among the materials of the kisweh (trousseau) given by the groom to the bride might be some of the bleached silk material woven in Majdal on the coastal plain. It was made up into a Qumbaz Rosa, an outer garment that was worn belted with a zunnar (sash) of white and blue silk stripes. The villagers called this dress khams telafa khams miiye (five thousand five hundred) and it recalls the Safed costume of a striped and chequered material in blue and gold shades, which for some reason was known as the tis’iniyye (‘ninety’). (Safed is an important town in north Galilee area - Palestine.) In villages around Nablus, where the bridegroom was able to afford it, the bride would receive enough material for an engagement dress, for one for the Laylat al Henna night and for four dresses for the wedding day. The many changes of dress on the wedding day were found also in many villages in Morocco, where the bride on her wedding day changed as many as seven times into different gowns. The bride might also be given material for twenty new dresses to start off her married life properly. The ‘henna night’ was a celebration that took place not only in villages in Palestine but in many other small towns and villages throughout the Arab world, usually on the evening before the actual wedding. The bride’s female relatives gathered in her house to help apply the special patterns in henna on her hands, arms, legs, and feet. Often a woman who specialised in this would prepare the mixture and paint it on the bride. As repeated applications are necessary to give the right depth of colour it took the whole evening and the bride was entertained by the women singing appropriate songs, one of which was: Ya Salaam Sellim! The rose of the garden (has) opened. Talk oh bridegroom The rose of the garden opened.

Throughout the evening into the early hours of the morning the bride’s friends danced and clapped to amuse her as the henna was carefully applied and reapplied. Sweet scented incense was passed around at intervals. Every village had numerous songs for every conceivable occasion and there were

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Palestinian Costume

women who were known for their extensive knowledge of them, and who no doubt invented new ones as they were inspired by the occasion. On the wedding day the bride was ceremonially taken to her new home in the bridegroom’s house. With local variations the wedding day rituals were similar all over the Arab world. The bride spent the morning with her female relatives bathing and preparing her trousseau for the journey to her new home. In the old days and until the advent of the motor-car the bride in Palestine would travel from her father’s house to her new home on a bridal camel or horse. Colourful cushions and trappings decorated the camel, and sprigs of olive or lemon branches were placed amongst the cushions for this was considered to bring good luck. The Bedu used the howdej (camel litter), and it could be seen in some villages as well. There is an early-twentiethcentury photograph of a bridal procession swaying through an unnamed village carrying the bride. Sitting beside her in the howdej is a woman who seems to be playing the oud (a stringed instrument). More usual perhaps was the small boy or girl who would ride with the bride, symbolising the couple’s wish for their first child to be, respectively, a boy or a girl. The bridegroom too spent his day with his friends and family, bathing and being dressed in his best clothes. The wedding guests would eventually assemble, in their finest costumes, at the groom’s house to await the arrival of the bride and her procession. All villages had their particular manner of conducting the various cere­ monies though the main features were basically the same in every Arab country. If the bride was from another village a procession escorted her. The women clapped and sang as they walked and their songs would be punctuated by the ululations ofjoy characteristic of the Arab world. This is a truly thrilling sound made by placing the hand over the top of the mouth and trilling rapidly with the tongue. As the procession made its way to collect the bride there was clapping and singing interspersed with these trills of joy at particularly exciting or important moments. Now and again the mounted men would stop and race their horses or men would line up and perform a sword dance. Eventually the procession would reach the bride’s home and there would be a long - sometimes very long — wait while the bride finished dressing, and her relatives then refused to allow her to leave. This showed how unhappy her family were at losing her, and in turn it was

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The Nablus-Jenin Region

5 Grinding the wheat — c. 1900. The silver bracelets the two women are wearing are typical' of the period. They were usually made of good-quality silver and were always worn in pairs. Very occasionally the bracelets are engraved with the plate

names of their makers. Khalil was a well known silversmith, as was Samour, and the museum has a pair by each man. Note the smadeh (coin head-dress) of the woman in white. (Photo: Underwood & Underwood, London and New York.)

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Palestinian Costume the convention for the bride to look unhappy and downcast at having to leave her loving home. When the bride was finally arrayed in her wedding dress a shambar (head-veil) was placed over her head and face and a coat on top of the veil. (This was the only time that a village woman would be veiled, though she would always cover her head - as did the men also - either with a cloth or with a married woman’s hat, depending on the area.) During the early nineteenth century villages tended to belong to one of two factions known as Qays and Yaman and brides would wear a red (qays) or a white (yemari) veil accordingly. In many villages the bride also wore three large ostrich feathers attached to a circlet round her head. As she moved off on the camel or horse the feathers would wave and sway with the movement and the original idea was to divert the evil or envious eye. A bride’s make-up on her wedding day is of importance anywhere and Palestine was no exception. A particularly charming custom which seems to have been general in many villages was that of decorating the face with small flowers, ‘moons’ and palm trees. When these patterns had been painted on, gold leaf was carefully torn up and pressed all over the face until, as the author was once told, ‘the face glittered and shone like the moon’. The bridal procession eventually moved slowly off, with a pitchfork dressed in bridal clothes carried in front to divert the evil eye. Sometimes the bride held a sword before her as well. (In Muslim, Christian and Jewish lore swords hold off malevolent spirits. Pieces of jewellery shaped like belt buckles fastened by small daggers were to be seen not only in the Levant but in the eastern Mediterranean countries such as Greece where they performed the same purpose.) In theJebel-el-Arab mountains in southern Syria a bridal procession could take several days to reach its destination. As it passed through the streets the head of a household might come out and invite the whole party to a feast and the invitations were always accepted. As in Palestine the motor-car put an end to many traditions but gave rise to some new ones as well. The bride’s car is now decorated with fluttering ribbons and rosettes and will drive her in her finery slowly around the streets of the town. Other cars filled with relatives follow behind tooting their horns at intervals. Nowadays, in the towns at least, the hall of a hotel might be hired for the reception. At one end of it there will be a raised dais with two ornate

26

The Nablus-Jenin Region chairs on it surrounded by flowers. On these the bride and groom will sit in front of the guests. When the bride arrives she is escorted in by the women with a great fanfare. They sing and trill loudly and help her into the chair arranging her dress carefully and attractively so that she can be seen to the best advantage. In some places the couple now arrive together, in others the groom arrives shortly after his bride. Dressed in his best, either traditionally or in a smart suit, he is accompanied by all his male friends and relatives who lead him up to the dais. When the couple are finally seated all the guests young and old come up to shake hands and congratulate them. Palestinian women will sing their songs, young girls dance before the couple and food is offered to all the guests. In some Arab countries such as the Gulf states there are female bands who sing wedding songs to the accompaniment of drums and tambourines with strong Arab/African rhythms. The young girls dance joyfully tossing their long hair about until they are tired and others take their places. These weddings are mainly or completely women’s affairs, the men except for the groom being excluded from this part of the ceremonies. Each country still practises the same basic traditions with local differences and with an often agreeable combination of the old and new. A wedding in which both parties came from the same village was obvi­ ously a simpler occasion; nevertheless a. fantasia (tour round the village) was made on a camel so that people could sing and dance and let off their guns in celebration. Multiple weddings within the village were always extremely popular for that meant more songs and rejoicing, making for an even more memorable occasion. The bride’s entry over the threshold of her new home was celebrated as in Europe with many customs designed to ward off evil, bless the household and ensure domestic bliss. When inside and seated the bride remained looking downcast and unhappy. Although everyday cooking was a woman’s job men would cook for occasions such as weddings when very large and heavy pots were used. After the feasting there was more singing and dancing and here the bride’s mother might play a prominent part. It is the custom in many East European and Arab countries for the guests to present small sums of money to the bride and groom, which helps give a good start to their married life. In these closeknit communities the honour is returned when other weddings take place.

27

Palestinian Costume

For the week after the wedding the bride and groom remained at home dressed in their best and ready to receive guests. Then life returned to normal until the birth of the couple’s first child. Children were greatly desired and considered a blessing by everyone. Sons were needed to pass any property to and help with the work. Girls were much loved as well but they married into another household and so for practical purposes they went elsewhere and ‘built up another family’. The bride was watched with interest by the other women and signs of any unusual discomfort noticed. When she became pregnant and perhaps had unusual food cravings these were satisfied if at all possible. Once the child was delivered safely it was named, if a boy by the father and if a girl by the mother. It might also be called after an unusual event that took place around the time of the birth. For forty days after the delivery the mother was given special broths to strengthen her. She was massaged and bound around the waist to tighten the muscles. The child was also swaddled for a period ranging from forty days to some months. A general practice was a daily rub with olive oil and salt for the benefit of its skin, and as the villagers said, ‘its character — those who do not get salt and oil become impudent, those who get salt and oil become modest.’ (Granqvist/1947:98). After the birth of the first son the parents become known as ‘Abu or Um ------ ’ or Father and Mother of whatever the child’s name is. This was also a useful term for if one knew just the first son’s name the parents could always be spoken or referred to in that manner without social offence. The women of the town of Nablus wore long-sleeved costumes of a blue or black material with cashmere sashes wound round their waists. They also wore, probably during the summer, a dress of white linen with interwoven striped bands of red, green and a little yellow running over the shoulders, back and front and across the big wing sleeves. A small amount of patch­ work and embroidery in running-stitch decorated the chest area. The dress although simple in comparison with the heavily embroidered ones from the rest of Palestine was outstanding in its freshness. The clear red and green stood out against the slightly off-white background. As Nablus was an important town and a wealthy one, the market there offered a choice of material. According to some, in the early twentieth century Manchester cotton was available together with much red and yellow material, as well as

28

The Nablus-Jenin Region French fabrics which were well liked by the women of the town. An account of a head-dress worn by the Nablus women in 1864 is provided by a Mr J. Mills {Three Months’ Residence in Nablus’): ‘They wore a “saffeh” or a small head-fitting cap with a network of silk hanging down the shoulders and widening as it descended so that it almost covered the back. This was sprinkled with small round gold coins, “a unique shower”.’ This in 1864 cost, according to Mr Mills, around £40 and so was a very valuable piece of the bride-wealth. The people of Nablus must have been relatively wealthy for besides agriculture they manufactured a soap from olive oil which lathered very well and was keenly sought after everywhere. Much of the olive harvest went into the making of this soap. In 1913 some 3oo,ooolb of oil, olives and soap were exported. Olives and the olive harvest were of the greatest importance in Palestine and there was a whole folklore built around them. Provided the harvest was a good one harvest-time became a time of general rejoicing, families were reunited and weddings took place. People could enjoy a brief happy break from their everyday toil. A favourite tale about the olive tree concerns the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). When he died all the trees except the olive went into mourning and wept away all their leaves. All were most indignant about the olive with its leaves still healthily green and fresh. Only one wise old man knew better and went to the olive tree to ask why she alone was so different. ‘How is it that when all are weeping for our beloved one you show no grief?’ ‘Ah, ’ replied the olive tree, ‘it is not the deepest feeling which displays itself. I have no tears, my leaves are green and fresh, but my heart is broken. Break my wood and you will see that this is so.’ And so it was, for the olive tree blackens and dies from the heart outwards. Miss M. E. Rogers, who seems to have been a long-time resident of Palestine and was the sister of a vice-consul there, had this to say about Nablus (1882):

It is said that there are no less than eighty springs of water in and about Nablus, each having its special name. The water is conveyed from these springs to the mosques and other public buildings and to private houses, and then irrigates the gardens in and around the city. Many of the streets

29

Palestinian Costume

have little channels of clear water running through them. After being thus utilised, the streams on the western side of the city are allowed to unite and form a stream which turns seven mills and flows towards the Mediterranean, those on the eastern side irrigate the gardens east of the town, and then, with a rather abrupt fall, flow towards the river Jordan.

She continues: At this point we enter the bazaars, which are better built and kept in better order than those ofjerusalem. Those, however, in which vegetables and prepared foods are sold are rather difficult to traverse during certain hours of the day. Turkish soldiers hurry by, some of them carry large metal dishes containing a melange of chopped vegetables or deep earthen­ ware plates filled with still cold pottage made of peas or beans and garnished with slices of lemon floating in oil; others push their way through the crowd with bowls of steaming soup held at arm’s length before them, which very effectually clears the way. There are small arcades especially devoted to the sale of tobacco, others which are filled with the refreshing odour of green lemons, oranges, citrons and shad­ docks. The long narrow bazaar, where dried fruits, olives, rice, cheese and butter are sold, leads to a Christian church of the 12th century, now converted into a mosque called Jamia el Nasr, the Mosque of the Eagle. Making a detour through a street almost blocked up with camels, we pass into the principal bazaar, the finest arcade in Palestine. Here Euro­ pean goods are displayed, such as Manchester cottons, printed calicoes, Sheffield cutlery, Bohemian glasses for narghilehs, and crockery and trinkets of all kinds from Marseilles. But the brightest shops are those in which Damascus and Aleppo silks, embroidered jackets, and crimson tarbushes appear, with stores of Turkish pipes and amber rosaries from Stamboul, and glass bracelets from Hebron. An opening in this arcade leads into the old Khan on the north side of the city, the Khan of the Merchants (Khan Tujjar). It consists of an extensive square space enclosed by a two-storey range of buildings. A stone stairway leads to the terraced roof, from where there is an interesting view in every direction. The chief trade of Nablus is in wool, cotton, olive oil and soap of excellent quality. There are no less than twenty soap factories in the

30

The Nablus-Jenin Region

6 Harvesting the olives. The olive was of the greatest importance to Palestine. Before the advent of electricity it was used to light the lamps at night; there was also a considerable soap industry. As might be imagined the fellahin had many stories and traditions connected with the olive tree and its oil. They made a tisane of its leaves which they drank for fevers, and to this day some will drink plate

a small glass of olive oil first thing in the morning for their general health, skin and hair. Harvest time in Palestine was picturesque for it had its special songs and celebrations and if the harvest was good it was a time for general rejoicing. It was a time for weddings and for families to come together for the festivities. (Photo: Palestine in Picture, Heffer & Sons, 1929.)

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Palestinian Costume city. A native of Nablus will sometimes offer a present of soap to friends living in a less favoured district, saying, ‘I bring you soap made of the purest olive oil that your face may shine upon me’; or "I bring you some soap that your heart may be clean towards me. ’ At Nablus goat-skins in great numbers are converted into khirbehs for carrying water. Some­ times the floor of this khan may be seen half covered with the inflated skins laid out for seasoning. Returning to the arcade, we pursue our way westwards through narrow bazaars, where smiths, carpenters, weavers, tailors and shoemakers may be seen at work; then, turning southwards, we traverse tortuous lanes and gloomy streets, arched at intervals and built over in many places, till we reach a passage on the slopes of Girizim, where flourish all ‘the precious fruits brought forth by the sun’. Oranges and lemons, figs, apricots, pomegranates, mulberries, wal­ nuts, grapes and almonds follow each other in due season, and hedges of cactus afford the cooling fruit commonly called the prickly pear.

Miss Rogers also mentions the village ofJenin which lay not so far away, as ‘an important town of about three thousand inhabitants, beautifully situated just where the mountains of Samaria meet the plain of Esdraelon. The grey stone houses and the mosque with its whitewashed domes and tall minaret stand in the midst of fruit gardens surrounded by hedges of prickly pears.’

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Galilee At one time embroidered costumes were worn in both Upper and Lower Galilee but they seem to have almost disappeared by the turn of the twen­ tieth century. A Canon Mansour writing in 1908 noted that embroidered coats and costumes were worn by all until the mid-nineteenth century but that most people then adopted the Turkish style of unembroidered baggy trousers and unembroidered long coats. In the 1860s H. B. Tristram saw what surely must have been these extravagantly worked gowns in the villages of El Bussah and Isfia and said: ‘This robe was plain, patched [appliqued] or embroidered in the most fantastic and grotesque shapes, the triumph of El Bussah milliners being evidently to bring together in contrast as many colours as possible.’ 7 Lake Tiberias. A scene on Lake Tiberias early in the twentieth century. At nearby El Hammeh were springs that were very popular for outings and cures. Groups of women from all over Palestine and further afield would arrive for visits and picnics. Jan MacDonald, a lady who lived in Palestine for many years, wrote (1938) that she noticed many women from Gaza, Safad, Majdal and elsewhere. ‘They sit’, she said, ‘in the Baths for hours semi­ draped, while those from Central Europe shock everyone by sitting around stark naked!’ Many pilgrims from Central Europe and Russia came to visit the Holy Land, some of them having walked the entire way. (Photo: Palestine in Picture, Heffer&Sons, 1929.) plate

33

Palestinian Costume

A few Lower Galilee women were still to be seen wearing these coats until early in the twentieth century. From those that remain in museums and collections it seems that the Galilean woman used a larger repertoire of stitches than in other areas. Cross-stitch, satin-stitch, hem-stitch and stem­ stitch as well as applique were all put together in a geometrical arrangement giving an impression of great variety and colour. The Galilee wedding coat, which was extensively appliqued and embroidered, must have been one of the most beautiful costumes of all. Whereas in Syria such a coat was called a jubba or durra’a in the Galilee region it was a jillayeh. A long white chemise

Galilee coat (?) -possibly early British Mandate period. This coat is thought to be an everyday coat from the Galilee district. Richly embroidered and appliqued coats (Jillayeh) were worn at weddings and other festal occasions. After the mid nineteenth century the people of Upper and Lower Galilee began to wear Turkishstyle costume which had little or no embroidery. A few of these so-called everyday coats can still be found but thejillayeh is now very rare. It is thought that some women continued to wear these coats in Upper Galilee until perhaps the early part of the twentieth century. plate 8

9 A young girlfrom Nazareth- c. 1900. This photograph was part of a series made by a firm called Underwood & Underwood. The ‘plates’ were boxed and sold with a pair of special glasses. When one looked through these the effect was three-dimensional and landscape scenes were particularly successful. During the late nineteenth century these ‘packages’ were very popular with the general public. Common subjects were the Middle East, the Alps, Scandinavia and the Far East. (Photo: Underwood and Underwood, London & New York.) plate

10 Scene at Lake Tiberias. (Photo: Underwood & Underwood, London and New York, 1900.) plate

Palestinian Costume

was worn underneath, and the ends of the everyday version would be hitched up into the belt or sash when the woman was at work, so showing the tight embroidered trousers beneath. On everyday coats there was little or no embroidery, but sometimes on the inner front opening might be found a small amount, or a little colour-contrasting applique {see Plate 8). This feature is frequently found on the Syrianjubba, the idea being that as the woman walks the corners are thrown back to reveal the embroidery or applique. An old lady in Syria told the author with a sweet reminiscent smile that, ‘They used to walk down the village street with their embroidered coats on so that the other people could see the work on them,’ and, by implication, admire the beauty and industry of it. A notable feature of traditional dress all over the Middle East is the practice of costume layering. A woman’s wardrobe was basically much the same as a man’s. It consisted of long underpants (sirwal) — sometimes as in Galilee with richly embroidered trouser cuffs — and one or more shifts or underdresses. This was followed by the overgarment (thob'), a jacket and in many places a shoulder mantle {’abaya) that might be much like the male version but sometimes with more embroidery. A variety of caps, hats and headscarves were always worn, those for unmarried girls being simpler and less ornate than for the married woman. In Palestine particularly there were a number of beautiful and striking embroidered caps on which were displayed silver and gold coins, beads and small silver objects. The coins were part of the bridal wealth and were put on just before a woman’s marriage. The fellahin and Bedu went barefoot a good deal of the time, as did many eastern Mediterranean country people. They were however very fond of the red and yellow leather boots that came from Damascus and delighted in wearing them on festive occasions. Other cheaper footwear and sandals were worn in the field and if walking in difficult country. The townsfolk wore embroidered Turkish-type footwear, while high wedge-heeled wooden clog-type shoes were used when visiting the public baths. These last were often small works of art with mother-of-pearl patterned inlay all over them. In houses, large or small, or in the tents of the Bedu, shoes were removed at the entrance, especially before walking on rugs or carpets and this is a custom still widely practised to this day.

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The Bethlehem Region The town of Bethlehem and the nearby villages of Bayt Jala and Bayt Sahour were not only unique in their style of embroidery, which was different from that of the rest of Palestine, but were also unusual in that the women who did the embroidery were professional and would work both to order and for the general market. Bethlehem’s speciality was a form of couched work in silver and gold thread. The curvilinear designs were filled in with satin-stitch in glimmering silk threads in brilliant reds, yellows, fuchsia, greens and purples. Every pattern had a name, such as ‘leaves’ or ‘round pattern’. There were comparatively few designs and the names were not subject to the same flights of fancy as in other parts of Palestine. The real beauty of the work lay in the curving, curling trails of leaves and flowers all massed together in a rich, luxurious yet completely refined manner. The Tareq Rajab Museum possesses a somewhat unusual head-veil (see Plate 17) with both ends heavily decorated in floral satin-stitch. There are sequins scattered over the design and some of the little Bethlehem birds are perched at the top. The effect is that of looking down into a brightly coloured garden in the sunlight. The piece de resistance of the Bethlehem embroiderer’s work was the chest panel (qabbeh), in which the material is completely covered by rioting leaves and trails of flowers (see Plate 13). The sides and sleeves of the Bethlehem dress are inset with red and yellow heremsy silk from Syria, which has been embroidered as well. Such was their skill that the embroiderers made no outlines on the material but worked freehand. Jackets were much worn, both long and short ones. This was most likely a Turkish military influence which spread to many countries under their domination. The Bethlehem woman wore an everyday jacket made from a material woven in Bethlehem, which was also a weaving centre. For special occasions a taqsireh (short jacket) with couching in gold and silver thread was used (see Plate 21). The traditional colour was red but later on blue and purple velvets became popular. Sometimes a jacket with couching in yellow thread is seen; these were probably for brides who could not afford to buy one with the embroidery in silver or gold thread.

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11 Thob melaka abu wardeh — early twentieth century. Along with Safad and Maj dal, Bethlehem was an important weaving centre that produced many fabrics popular throughout Palestine. These were often made up into wedding dresses. The thob melaka or (‘royal dress’) apparently came into fashion in the last half of the nineteenth century. This material was made of an indigo cotton weft with warp stripes of red, orange and green silk. The centre, front and back, of the dress was a solid-black indigodyed cotton. In another Bethlehem material the black panel is replaced by green and the dress known as thob ikhdari (‘green dress’). By 1920 thob ikhdari was almost out of fashion. Another dress, thob melaka abu wardeh (‘royal dress with flowers’) was similar but had small woven flowers in some of its stripes. This dress was not at first used by the Bethlehem brides but by brides from surrounding villages who plate

12 Back of a thob melaka abu wardeh. The last 12 in or so of a melaka length of material had silver or gilt thread woven into the fabric. This metallic thread was imported from Germany or France. The brocaded part was always used for the back panel (diyal) of the dress. Inset in the sleeves were three triangular silk panels (saw’id), usually green, orange or red. These were heavily embroidered with Bethlehem couching (shughel belt lahm). The silk was originally imported from Syria but later came from such

came in, with considerable ceremony, to buy the wedding material and who wanted to copy Bethlehem fashions. Bethlehem’s distinctive embroidery was a colourful form of couching. This was placed on the sleeves, the sides of the dress and the qabbeh (chest panel).Silver and gold thread was used in addition to brilliant-coloured silks in shades of green, cerise, red and purple. The flower infills were of satin-stitch and the borders were often fishbone. Each panel was embroidered and then fixed to the dress.

plate

countries as Belgium and Egypt. As Bethlehem was a mainly Christian-Arab community the cross would often be worked into the embroidery; in the dress illustrated here, crosses can be seen in the motifs on the benayeq - the silk insets down the sides of the dress and on the sleeves.

13 Detail of a Bethlehem qabbeh. The little birds embroidered on the velvet material at the top of the qabbeh (chest panel) are a feature of Bethlehem embroidery. The design on the qabbeh is known as ‘flowerpot’ (kuwwar) and is probably a variation on the tree-of-life motif. The flowers have brilliantly coloured silk-thread petals worked in satin-stitch. The yoke of the dress was often of velvet (makhmel) which was a luxury material and so used sparingly. The yoke might also be made of a cotton material and served the purpose of protecting the main material from the hair. plate

14 Thob ghabani — early British Mandate(?). This wedding costume was popular in villages such as Malha, Abu Dis and Lifta, which lay on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Ghabani was a cotton material woven in Aleppo in Syria and embroidered there in yellow or gold-coloured silk threads in floral-patterned chain stitch. The insets on the sleeves and the sides of the dress and the qabbeh (chest panel) are all from Bethlehem. These would be bought to order from the Bethlehem embroiderers. The bride then made up the dress herself. This material is still made in Syria and is very popular for kaftans, head­ scarves and table-cloths. plate

Palestinian Costume

The Bethlehem married woman’s hat (called the shatweh, see Plate 16) was also interesting as there seems to have been a change in fashion around the turn of the twentieth century. Before that it was a head-fitting hat with coins sewn across it in rows (see Plate 23). For some reason it grew in height and came to be perched on the head, held in place by a chin-chain. One wonders if part of the reason for the change was that Bethlehem people became wealthier and needed more room on which to place their bride-wealth? Whatever the reason it perched rather than sat on the head and when the Bethlehem woman went out to market she completely covered it with a filmy white head-veil that was tucked into her chin-chain. By the 1930s the chains were out of fashion and the young married woman used ribbons instead. The shatweh was made of linen which was quilted, padded and beautifully embroidered down the sides and back and on top. It would be made by a woman who specialised in making them and just before the wedding the bride would add the coins from her dowry. As has been mentioned, Bethlehem was a weaving centre, and many of the dresses worn by the women were made from local textiles, though naturally other materials were available. The Bethlehem district was sur­ rounded by cornfields and the women must have made a wonderful splash of colour when out wearing their best dresses of striped silks in reds, greens, yellows, cerise and purples. Canon Tristram (1882) describes an everyday Bethlehem dress as: ... a long blue or striped gown, girdled at the waist, with very wide and long pointed sleeves. The front of this gown above the waist is always more or less ornamented with embroidery or applique work of red, yellow and green cloth. Over the gown those who can afford it wear a bright red short-sleeved jacket, reaching to the waist or knees. When the women are at work indoors they often fasten back the long sleeves of their gowns and wear small headveils. The Bethlehem wedding dress of the mid-nineteenth century was woven of alternating stripes of red and green silk with a yellow silk stripe on the sleeves. The seams were joined by Cretan stitches. Some time during the last quarter of the century what became known as the ‘royal’ fabric (thob melakd) made its appearance. This was woven of an indigo cotton weft and

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The Bethlehem Region silk warp stripes of red, orange and green. The centre front and back of the dress were a solid-black indigo-dyed cotton panel. Another favoured material was the thob ikhdari or (‘green dress’) in which green replaces the black panel of the previous dress. Thob melaka abu wardeh (‘royal dress with flowers’) was similar but had stripes of small red woven flowers. This material was first worn not by the Bethlehem woman but by women in the surrounding villages who were attempting to imitate Bethlehem fashions. All these fabrics were woven into standard lengths of about some 5-6 yd. At the end of each length was 12 in or so in which silver thread or Lurex was woven through the cloth. This part, called muqassab (‘brocaded’), was always placed on the bottom back panel of the dress. The Bethlehem thob was a full-length slightly fitted somewhat A-line costume with its pointed wing sleeves either wrist or elbow length. Wound around the waist was a sash (zunnar) of red atlas silk (from Syria) with a yellow stripe. The outfit was completed, if the bride could possibly afford it, by the embroidered taqsireh (jacket). The bride did indeed look most elegant and attractive in her ‘queenly’ dress and jacket. After the wedding festivities were over these clothes were carefully placed in wooden chests. They were then worn only on special occasions such as the two ’Aid festivals or, in villages like Bethlehem which were mainly Christian, for Christmas and Easter. They might eventually be passed on to a daughter or the embroidery removed and placed on new material. Two of the main Muslim festivals of the year are ’Aid al Fitr and ’Aid al Adha. The first one marks the end of the month long sunrise to sunset fast that is incumbent upon every healthy Muslim over the age of puberty. Its purpose is self-discipline and spiritual cleansing as well as thought for those less fortunate than oneself. As Ramadan (the month of fasting) moves back eleven days each year the fast can be hard especially during the hot summer months. On the first day of ’Aid everyone rises early, dresses in their best clothing and the next two or three days will be given over to visiting the mosque, exchanging greetings and general relaxation. ’Aid al Adha, the big ’Aid, follows two months later and marks the conclusion of the Haj or Pilgrimage to Makkah as well as commemorating the sacrifice by Abraham of his son Isaac (Ishaq) to God. When God saw that Abraham intended to do his will and make the sacrifice he commanded him to instead kill a sheep.

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Palestinian Costume Plate i 5 Bethlehem bride - early twentieth century. This photograph shows the bride wearing the shatweh (Bethlehem hat) decorated with gold and silver coins from the bride-wealth. The zenaq (chin­ chain) holds the hat in place. The white veil was draped over it when outside the house. The taqsireh (jacket) is richly embroidered in gold thread. The dress might be a nineteenth-century one and could have been passed down from mother to daughter.

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16 Shatweh. This shatweh (Bethlehem hat) has three rows of silver coins, below which is a row of token coins. The hat is edged with gold coins dating from the Ottoman period (ad 1808, in the reign of Mahmoud II). There is multicoloured crossstitch and couching down the sides to the small flaps into which the chin-chain was hooked. At one time there may have been two triangular silver pieces (hijab-amulets) attached to the flaps as well. The chin­ chain is made up of five silver chains often with crescents dangling from them. The sign of the crescent moon and the number five used to be considered strong protection against the evil eye. Chin­ chains of many types were worn all over Palestine. By the 193 os the silver chain was going out of fashion, at least in Bethlehem, and the hats were held in place by ribbons. Eventually people stopped wearing the shatweh altogether. plate

Plate 17 Bethlehem head-veil probably early twentieth century. An unusual Bethlehem head­ veil made of undyed cotton and embroidered with silk thread a delightful and lively piece of work. The winding flowers seen along the top of the crocheted edging also appear on Bethlehem jackets and are known as ‘round patterns’. There are six little birds at the top of the embroidery; these often appear on Melaka dresses. Silver sequins are sewn all over the embroidery.

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Palestinian Costume Plate 18 Ta ’amere lady - 1931. This charming snapshot was taken between Bethlehem and Jerusalem in 1931. The lady must be of the Ta’amere tribe who were a semi-settled people living around that area. She is wearing the ‘long dress’ (khalaga) which can be as long as 10-12 feet and is worn as a double skirt. It was worn in Jericho as well as Salt in Jordan and by some of the tribeswomen. The long sleeves were usually draped over the head and fixed in place by the ’asabeh (head bandeau). With the passing of time the sleeves became gradually smaller and came to be sewn or tied behind the shoulders, so becoming merely decorative. (Photo given by Dame Violet Dickson of Kuwait.)

People visit each other and are anxious to settle any disputes they might have had with neighbours, for it is not considered good to hold grudges. In Palestine it was also a woman’s festival and was when a married daughter might expect to receive gifts of money and clothing from her father’s household. Christmas and Easter were the two main Christian festivals, while both Christian and Muslim observed a number of other holy days. The celebration of Nebi Musa (the Prophet Moses) was another important Palestinian Muslim festival that began at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Led by the mufti ofjerusalem the people walked or rode in procession to the Tomb ofMoses that lay to the south ofjericho. There they might remain for up to a week praying, as well as feasting and camping around the sanctuary. Food was provided by a religious foundation. They returned home in

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The Bethlehem Region plate 19 Bethlehem or Bethlehem-area market-place — early twentieth century (?). Because of the shatweh, Bethlehem women did not carry baskets on their heads, as did other women. They carried things on their shoulders instead. (Photo: JerusalemDamas, Ch. Lellmand, pub. Ancienne Maison Quartain, Paris.)

20 BaytJala (a village near to Bethlehem) — by Rachel’s tomb. Bayt Jala, along with Bayt Sahour, was well known for its ‘Bethlehem’ couching work. The woman in the photograph is wearing an embroidered jacket. (Photo: Palestine, Priess and Rohrbach, pub. Sheldon Press, 1926.) plate

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Palestinian Costume plate 21 Bethlehem wedding jackets. Wedding jackets (taqsireh) were richly worked with silver and gold thread. Every bride wanted to be able to wear one at her wedding. Longer and plainer jackets were worn as ordinary wear. Jan MacDonald writes (1938) that she spoke to some women from a place in ‘north Palestine’ who had all bought rolls of some bright material from a travelling merchant and made themselves brightly coloured quilted jackets. The wearing of jackets probably originated with the Turks. There are a multitude of names in Arabic for jackets which are used interchangeably and sometimes confusingly. A few common names aresalta, mintiyan, damer, andsidriyyeh. (In Egypt, the last usually refers to a vest-like waistcoat worn by men.) The bluejacket in the picture is thought to be from Baytjala.

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The Bethlehem Region 22 Thob - Bethlehem material. This interesting hand-sewn Bethlehem-material dress is presumably an everyday one and there are no signs of a qabbeh (chest panel) ever being attached. The black panels are a quite tightly woven cotton weave, while the wardeh (flower stripe) is a looser cotton/silk weave. The sleeves are of yellow, orange, green and brown silk, now faded. There is little embroidery except for some applique and silk-thread embroidery on the top ends of the sleeves. The diyal (back panel) is of woven alternate red and black stripes with eight pairs of some silvery thread running across. plate

procession and once again their clothes were placed in the chest until the next festival. The material for the wedding dress and jacket were amongst the most important items that had to be provided by the bridegroom. He also gave various gifts of material to his future mother-in-law and bought the jewel­ lery for the bride, which then became part of her bride-wealth and was her property to do as she pleased with — and to which she might eventually add if she made money from the sale of her own embroidery work. There was considerable ceremony when members of the bride’s family, accompanied by the groom’s, went into Bethlehem to purchase the material and other items. Special songs were sung by the women all the way in, and

47

Palestinian Costume

‘Women ofBethlehem’ early twentieth century (?). The shatwehs the ladies are wearing fit quite closely to their heads and have not yet become the tall ‘flowerpot’ style that came into fashion in the twentieth century. Their

plate 23

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jackets are lightly embroidered with flowers and are rather similar to the one the Druze bride is wearing in Plate 97 when she was photographed around the turn of the twentieth century. (Photo: Sarraffian Bros, Beirut.)

The Bethlehem Region on the way back great was the joy when they met other members of the families waiting for them: As they came over the brow of the hill with the material and embroideries all wrapped up in a pink bridal veil, there was great joy and the women sang on the way to Artas (a village outside Bethlehem): God knows - today is our outfit a green and ‘royal’ dress have we bought for the bride to whom we are betrothed! Ten jackets have we bought for the beloved ones in order to appease her. (Hilma Granqvist, 1935/42)

Bethlehem embroidery was not only popular in nearby villages but eventually gained such favour in southern Palestine that the materials pro­ vided by the groom often had to include one or more melaka dresses with their embroidery and sometimes the taqsireh as well. Bethlehem styles and embroidery gave a very luxurious touch when added to the already superb work on the costumes of southern Palestine.

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The Jerusalem Region The city of Jerusalem and its environs are a problem to those interested in Palestinian costume. Besides being a religious centre it also became in 1887 the cultural and administrative headquarters for southern Palestine. Probably because of that and because it received so many foreign pilgrims, its fashions were rather eclectic, taking features from many parts of Palestine. A description of Jerusalem, again by Miss M. E. Rogers (1882), gives something of the old city’s atmosphere with its mixture of people: This is the harvest time for the people ofJerusalem. Not only is every khan, convent, and hotel crowded, but tents are pitched outside the walls, while in all available open spaces within the city the poorer pilgrims make themselves at home, cooking their simple food in the open air and resting at night under the stars. Men, women and children, wrapped in their travelling rugs, crowd together in family groups till they are hardly distinguishable from their baggage. A favourite site for a bivouac is the open space just within the Jaffa Gate; but the pilgrims who select this spot must move at a very early hour in the morning, to make way for the peasants who come from the neighbouring villages with daily supplies of fruit, vegetables and poultry for Jerusalem . . . Dusky women of Bethany Siloam in long blue or white gowns, with bright-coloured kerchiefs tied round their heads bring large baskets full of cucumbers, tomatoes and onions and other garden produce, while from more distant villages, especially Bethlehem and Artas, troops of donkeys come laden with enormous cauliflowers and turnips - guided by boys in white shirts girdled with broad red leather belts. The pleasant looking Bethlehem women, wearing crimson and yellow striped or blue gowns with long white linen veils carry baskets of grapes, figs, prickly pears, pomegranates and apricots or whatever fruit is in season. Sometimes this market-place is almost blocked up with melons, or oranges and lemons from Jaffa and in the early summer roses. Hotel­ keepers and servants from the various convents come here to make their

50

TheJerusalem Region

24 Entrance to the outer court of the Holy Sephulchre, Jerusalem. This photograph shows something of the variety of costume in Jerusalem. People came into the city not only from all over Palestine but from plate

all over the world. In 1887, Jerusalem also became the administrative centre of Palestine, thus adding to its cosmopolitanism. (Photo: Palestine, Priess and Rohrbach, pub. Sheldon Press, 1926.)

bargains, and turbaned greengrocers and itinerant vendors of fruit come to buy their stock for the day. Soon the place is crowded, and the bustle of buying and selling begins. No purchase is effected without a consider­ able amount of contention. The seller does not usually price the goods, but waits for an offer. The first offer is always absurdly low. The seller then names an exorbitantly high price. For instance, a dignified-looking shopkeeper wearing a white turban, will offer three piastres for a large basket full of tomatoes. The girl in charge answers indignantly, ‘I will carry my tomatoes back to Siloam rather than take less than fifteen’. ‘Oh thou most greedy of the greedy, I will give no more than six’. - ‘Oh possessor of a tightly closed hand, I will not take less than twelve. How

51

25 Jerusalem-area thob abu qutbeh. The terms qutbeh and shaqqa are used for dresses made up from patches or strips. This dress is rather similar to the one in Plate 28. It is seamed in alternate coloured silks using Cretan stitch. The qabbeh (chest panel), sides and sleeves are Bethlehem embroidery, pieces of which were sold in the streets of Jerusalem. plate

26 Jerusalem-area thob abu qutbeh - British Mandate period. This dress is reputed to have come from Bethany which was a village close to Jerusalem. It could have come from any of the other villages surrounding the city. The striped material is a handwoven silk from Homs in Syria. Note the striped dress worn by the woman leaning against the wall in Plate 30. plate

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27 Jerusalem thob - British Mandate period. This dress is made of a black cotton sateen and has a fine qabbeh (chest panel) embroidered in the Hebron manner. The seams are joined by Cretan stitch which changes colour at regular intervals.

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28 Jerusalem thob- early British Mandate period. This dress is made of alternate strips of red and green silk seamed together with Cretan stitch. The qabbeh (chest panel) with its long silk tassels is the main piece of embroidery. It is Bethlehem work, which the embroiderers would bring to sell in Jerusalem. Ma’an in Jordan favoured a similar but much longer dress with very little embroidery. plate

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Palestinian Costume plate 29 The Pool of Hezekiah from the tower of Hippus, Jerusalem - 1857. (Photo: Egypt and Palestine Photographs, Frith, 2 vols, 1857-)

shall I buy the rice for my mother if I give away the fruits of her garden?’ Finally she obtains seven and a half piastres for her tomatoes, and goes away perfectly satisfied, having argued with pertinacity for the half piastre.

Miss Rogers goes on to describe the various bazaars with their Aleppo silks and Swiss-muslin-coloured veils which were popular at that date, until she passes one of the many shoe shops: It must not be supposed that this is the best shoe-maker’s shop to be found in the city. There is one not far off where rows of large red boots, the pride of the Bedouin chieftain, and red slippers and shoes of all sizes, may be found, and another in which may be purchased delicately made Damascus socks of yellow kid, like boots to be worn by ladies under their yellow shoes. It is one of the greatest delights of the Fellahin to put on a pair of new shoes, and especially to see all his family newly shod for a fete day.

She also mentions some of the small cafes that abounded in Jerusalem:

All that is absolutely necessary is a nook in which a fire can be made for the preparation of pipes and coffee, a supply of coffee cups, narghilehs,

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TheJerusalem Region plate 30Jerusalem market scene—

early British Mandate period. A posed but pleasant photograph ofjerusalem women selling or bringing in their vegetables for sale in the big market there. Note the jackets (one of which seems to be quilted) especially that of the woman leaning against the wall. The Tareq Rajab Museum possesses in its collection a very similar Jordanian one with the Byzantine-type motif. (Photo: Palestine in Picture, Heffer & Sons, 1929.)

and long pipes, and a few rush seats; but the proprietor adds greatly to the attractions of his establishment if he can supply a board for the game called dameh. In the evening a story-teller may generally be found entertaining a group of smokers.

The long pipe (galliouri) was about 3ft in length and seems at one period to have been almost as popular as the nargileh (water pipe); tobacco was grown especially for it. Women are pictured smoking the long pipe as well as the nargileh, though it was mostly the older ones who did so. A popular dress in the Jerusalem area was one called the thob abu qutbeh (‘dress of pieces’, see Plate 28). This was made from big patches of red and

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Palestinian Costume 31 Jaffa Gate, near the Tower ofDavid, Jerusalem -1904 (hand-coloured photograph). An interesting view with many varied costumes. There are two women in rnilaya (bottom left); behind the one in white is a man in the brown and white striped bisht (shoulder mantle). In the centre is a man in a qumbaz and red fez. The fez was still much worn at that period. Thomas Cook the travel firm was in operation as well! plate

green silk or velvet and its embroidered qabbeh (chest panel) might well have come from Bethlehem. There were streets in Jerusalem where the women from Bethlehem and Bayt Jala came in to sell their embroidery. A dress that was particularly popular in villages like Lifta and Malha which lay on the western outskirts of the city was the thob ghabani (See Plate 14). This was made of material woven in Aleppo and embroidered using chain stitch in floral motifs usually in a golden or beige colour. The qabbeh, the sides of the dress and the sleeve insets were decorated with Bethlehem work and it was a very attractive costume. Apparently, too, the Jerusalem women were fond of using up bits of their husbands’ old striped qumbaz (long gowns) and would place one of these pieces on their new material so that it ran up from the hem on the sides of the dress ‘like a flame’. As can be seen, costumes in and around Jerusalem borrowed from here and there and never quite pro­ duced a specific style that could be called the Jerusalem style. Nevertheless the many different combinations of materials, and the use of stripes and embroidery went to make up many an attractive if eclectic costume.

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The Ramallah Region Another important embroidery centre with a distinctive mode was Ramal­ lah. The Ramallah thob with its cross-stitch embroidery in red silks was characterised by neat and somewhat restrained patterns. The people of Ramallah apparently originated from Shaubak in Jordan some three hundred years ago. Although it was once thought that they might have

32 Ramallah-area thob early British Mandate period (?). This white linen thob with its arrangements of motifs is typical of Ramallah-area embroidery. The qabbeh (chest panel), which is worked straight on to the material, has the V-shape called kaus (‘arch’) in Ramallah and gelayed (‘necklace’) elsewhere. The tooth-petal rosettes either side of the neck opening are qamr frangi (‘foreign moon’). plate

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Palestinian Costume plate 33 Ramallah-area costume — British Mandate period. This photograph was amongst those found in an old snapshot album. The lady seems to be standing outside the door of her house. Her dress would appear to date the photograph to the 193os. It is quite similar to Plate i in Shelagh Weir’s book Palestinian Embroidery.

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The Ramallah Region

34 Ramallah-area thob — late nineteenth century. This dress is made of undyed handwoven linen. The colours of the embroidery threads are brick-red, and pale, dark and bright green, together with touches of purple, mauve, brown and black silk thread. The binding round the neck is plate

striped silk in yellow and magenta. The ‘key of Hebron’ motif (miftah khalil) is the vertical decoration up the front of the dress. Compare this costume with the slightly later one in Plate 32. (Photo courtesy of the Trustees of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.)

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35 Ramallah-area winter thob. The pattern on this winter thob of black linen is similar to both Plate 33, which is a white summer thob and to Plate I in Palestinian Embroidery by Shelagh Weir. Some of these dresses from, probably, the 193 os period have straight sleeves, the triangular ones being altered to the more fashionable straight shape. Note the Bethlehem couching on the sleeves. See also Plate 78 for the modern version. plate

plate 36 Ramallah-area thob British Mandate period. This white linen thob is a good example of the work of the villages around Ramallah which were influenced by the latter’s style but preferred more embroidery down the sides of their costumes. The tree motif seen on the sleeves and up the front of the dress is saru (‘cypress tree’); the large quatrefoil pattern is ‘the pasha’s tent’ (khem el basha), which is known in the Ramallah area as ‘moon with feathers’ (qamr bl­ uish). On top of the ‘pasha’s tent’ is ‘kohl pot’ (mikhaleh) or another version of ‘flowerpot’. The neck is carefully appliqued with red cotton.

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The Ramallah Region 37 Ramallah-area khirqa. This head-veil (khirqa) from Ramallah is linen embroidered in cross-stitch using the classic Ramallah-area motifs. The two lengths oflinen are joined in the middle by the ‘key of Hebron’ (miftah khalil) motif The three patterns on either side are ‘moon with feathers’ (qamr biriish). Straight above them to the left and right are ‘flowerpot’ or ‘kohl pot’ (mikhaleh). The star designs are ‘moons’, in this case ‘moon of Ramallah’ (qamr ramallah) followed by an ‘S’ within a diamond within a square. This for some reason was called either ‘rose and leech’ (ward wil-’aleq) or ‘worm in the eye of the apple’. Between the ‘moons’ the central bottom motifs are ‘tall palms’ (nakhleh "ali), which are very typical Ramallah-area motifs and are frequently repeated on the central bottom hem panels of dresses. These motifs are generally worked in cross- and double cross-stitch. plate

brought their style of embroidery with them this seems unlikely. It is far more probable that they copied motifs from those around them in the Ramallah area, became masters of the craft themselves and ended up influencing other villages with the excellence of their work.

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Palestinian Costume

38 Ramallah-area khirqaearly twentieth century. This khirqa (head-shawl) is made of undyed hand-woven linen, the two pieces centrally joined by Cretan stitch. The plate

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other main motifs are ‘The key of Hebron’ (miftah khalil) ‘cypress tree’, ‘kohl pot’ (mikhtfleh) and ‘tall palms’ (nakhleh. ’ali).

The Ramallah Region

The Ramallah jillayeh (wedding dress) of the late nineteenth century seems to have been a very richly embroidered costume in dark indigo-dyed linen. It was open from the waist down and worn with embroidered trousers underneath. This style, with its short straight sleeves, may once have been widely distributed between Ramallah and the central coastal plain, but by the end of World War I it had for some reason completely disappeared. The few remaining nineteenth-century jillayeh show a spec­ tacular use of red silk embroidery, with cross- and double-cross-stitch covering the whole of the back and front of the skirt with the ‘tall palms’ (nakhleh ’ali) motif. Sometimes this motif is picked up and used on the sleeves as well. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a latenineteenth-century Ramallah-area thob of white linen with the embroidery running in a narrow band down either side of the central panel, and similarly on the back where the two bands are joined by a broader band of tall palms {see Plate 34). This motif is one of the most distinctive of motifs used in the Ramallah district and is to be found on the head-veils (ghudfehj as well. According to Jan MacDonald (1938) a typical Ramallah dress was made up of twenty-one separate pieces and was called the mutarraz (‘embroidery’): She embroidered the mutarraz and nobody saw her do it. She even put velvet between the shoulder pieces. Ye that would have embroidered roses on your sleeves, A mixture of loveliness and thorns You fascinate me with your designs. May God keep your husband. And may you always be petted. The smadeh (horseshoe-shaped hat, see Plate 5) had by the 1930s become known as the Ramallah head-dress. It was probably once worn all over Samaria. The story is that when it was worn in Nazareth in the nineteenth century the tourists and other travellers stared at it so much that the women were embarrassed and gave up wearing it. As has been mentioned, the women of nineteenth-century Silfeed seem to have worn a similar type called by them taqteebeh. By the twentieth century they too had dropped the taqteebeh and wore a taqiyyeh, a smaller slightly pointed hat that was not at all like the smadeh.

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Palestinian Costume

39 Ramallah-area thob (back) - British Mandate period. The patterns at the bottom of the central panel are ‘cypress tree’ (saru) ‘moon with feathers’ (qamr bi-riish), and ‘tall palms’ (nakhleh ’ali). The ‘key of Hebron’ (mifiah khalil) is worked down the top of the sleeves. The yoke is Bethlehem couching on velvet and might have been added at a later date.

plate

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The Ramallah Region

40 Ramallah-area thob c. 1920-30. This is indigo-dyed linen with mainly red silk embroidery. Compare this with Plate 35. The dress has had its wing sleeves removed and short ones with Bethlehem embroidery inserted. The close-up shows the back panel with the ‘tall palms’ (nakhleh ’ali) motif. All the outlining borders are ‘feathers’ (riish). plate

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The Hebron Region Hebron or Al-Khalil al-Rahman (‘Friend of the Merciful’) is traditionally one of the oldest towns in Palestine. Al-Khalil is recognised as the home of the Prophet Abraham and his wife. The cave in which the prophets Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and their sons were buried is revered. After the Muslim conquests the great Masjid al-Khalil al-Ibrahim mosque was constructed over the cave. Throughout the centuries Al-Khalil has attracted pilgrims from all over the Arab world. As a result the water supplies became

41 View of Hebron -1904 (hand-coloured photograph).

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The Hebron Region

42 Hebron-area jillay eh — early British Mandate period. The front skirt panel of this dress of appliqued silk has motifs that are sometimes known as ‘tree of love’ (shajarat el-hubb) in the Ramallah area but are a variation of‘palm tree’ elsewhere. Generally speaking the Hebron-area yoke was much larger than in other districts. This one is made of striped atlas silk from Syria. The motifs are similar to those from the Ramallah area with the eight-point star, the V-arch as well as ‘feathers’ (riish) and ‘cypress tree’ (saru). Hebronarea dresses can be distinguished by the arrangement of the motifs, which are worked vertically up the front and sides of the dress as well as the back. plate

insufficient to meet their needs and in the thirteenth century (AD) large water reservoirs were constructed. Jerusalem and Al-Khalil became known as the ‘Two Holy Sanctuaries’, like Makkah and Medina in Arabia, and the people of the town were and still are conservative and devout. Muslim rulers at various times donated land and property for the upkeep of Al-Khalil. During Umayyad times the domes over the tombs of Abraham and his wife Sarah were built, and skilled craftsmen were sent from Damascus to ensure that the holy places were properly maintained. In the Mameluke period the authorities set up, in memory of the Prophet’s generosity, a system of preparing and giving free food to the pilgrims.

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Palestinian Costume

Hebron-area jillayeh late 1920s. This wedding dress is made of material woven in Maj dal on the coast, The narrow sleeves and yoke are Bethlehemembroidered, with ‘apple branch’ (jirq el tuffah) appliqued along the lower arm edges. The underarm gusset has been strengthened by a bit of lighter blue linen and is decorated with cerise running stitch. The central pattern is made up of velvet patches machineembroidered and sewn on. The ‘lily’ patches have been handembroidered with silver thread while the cross-stitch embroidery continues right round and up the back of the costume. Although the family who owned it lived in the Hebron area they came from Gaza where dresses were of a much narrower shape and had straight sleeves. The qabbeh (chest panel) is a fine one„of the Hebron-area type. plate 43

It was the villages around Hebron, not Hebron itself, that produced some of the finest, most beautiful and exuberantly embroidered costumes of all. The Hebron town costumes were of a dark-blue material, covered by a veil worn down the full length of the dress with the two corners sewn together behind. As the women walked out in town the wind caused it to balloon out behind. They could see but not be seen. They also wore the milaya, which was a long and often decorative piece of material that fell to the ground and was gathered at the waist and brought up over the head. This was completed by a floral face-veil. A similar costume was worn in Damascus and it was probably Turkish in origin. According tojan MacDonald (1938), men often wore a red striped qumbaz (long gown, see Plate 60) to show they belonged to the Qays faction (seepage 26).

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The Hebron Region

44 Hebron-area ghudfeh early British Mandate period. The Hebron-area ghudfeh (head-veil) was made up of three strips of material joined decoratively. This head-veil of undyed linen has the typical Hebron-area arrangement of motifs. The main one is ‘the pasha’s tent’ (khem el basha). Note the opposing birds (probably pigeons) at the top of the embroidery and how a similar motif has been treated in Plate 78. The bridegroom sometimes made the tassels for his bride’s wedding ghudfeh. plate

The Hebron-area village dresses were cut in much the same manner as the Ramallah-area ones, with long sleeves usually made of indigo-dyed linen. They had, however, far more silk cross-stitch embroidery, which not only covered the whole front of the dress but also went up the sides and back in vertical motifs. On the more special costumes such as those for weddings, there was often applique work in red and green silk (heremsy) which was also embroidered. The yoke of the Hebron-area dresses was larger than those of any other place and this too might well be embroidered, especially in the early twentieth century. Otherwise the yoke was made of atlas silk from Syria called qamha hamra or qamha samra depending on whether the material had red or yellow stripes. It extended from the top of the back over the shoulder seams to the qabbeh (chest panel). The qabbeh was similar to the Ramallah one, a feature being the V-embroidered design. Unlike in Ramal­ lah where this design was called kaus (‘rainbow’), in the Hebron area it was

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Palestinian Costume

45 Hebron-area jillayeh early British Mandate period. This Hebron-area linen wedding dress must have come from a village such as Yatta, Bani Na’im or any of the other villages in the area which all produced beautifully embroidered dresses. The sleeves have insets of orange and yellow silk and are lightly embroidered. The central panels are of appliqued silk, but the embroidery is machine work. The triangles separating the tree panels are known as ‘apple branch’ (jirq el tnffah). The hem, as was usual in the Hebron area, has been finished with a fishbone stitch worked in alternating colours. plate

called qalayed (‘necklaces’). Often motifs on the qabbeh would be repeated on the back panel (diyaT) of the skirt. The wing sleeves had insets of Syrian silk (heremsy) and might be lightly embroidered as well. Another feature of these dresses is the fishbone-embroidered hem which was done in multicoloured silk threads at regular intervals. The skirt embroidery was mainly in reds with small amounts of white, green, yellow, purple and fuchsia and the general effect is of a luxurious and pleasing costume. During the 1930s, when use of Bethlehem couching was at its height, some of what can only be described as the most luscious of dresses were worked. The best handwork came from such villages as Dhahariyeh, Bayt Jibrin, Dawaime Idna, Bayt Omer, Yatta and Falujeh. The last village was much nearer to the coastal

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The Hebron Region

46 Hebron-area (El Dhahriyeh?) thob-c. 1920. This fine but worn and faded dress is reputed to have come from the village of El Dhahariyeh in the Hebron area. The material is from the Maj dal looms and the embroidery has been worked mainly in reds with touches of yellow and black. The motifs on the sides of the skirt are the ‘S’ or ‘leech’ (’aleq), ‘the pasha’s tent’ (khem el basha) and ‘moon’ (qamr). The dress probably once had triangular sleeves which at some point were removed and replaced with straight ones. plate

plain and was an influence in its own right on other coastal-plain villages. All these dresses were belted with a pink or blue wool zunnar, the older women favouring the darker colour. The Bethlehem weavers produced a pink wool sash with green and blue stripes at the ends especially for use in the Hebron region. There were two head-shawls that were distinctive in the Hebron region and these were the shambar {see Plate 51) and theghudfeh {see Plate 52). The shambar was originally worn all over the Palestine/Syria area and was made of a black silk or silk crepe material. The Hebron shambar was solidly embroidered in red cross-stitch for the last third of its length (at one end), and ended in thick tassels. The Syrian shambar was dyed red instead of embroidered at its ends although a small amount of embroidery might be

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47 Back of El Dhahariyeh (?) dress (see Plate 46). The diyal (back panel) is a particularly fine one made up of ‘cypress tree’ (saru) and ‘the pasha’s tent’ (khem el basha). The faded linen material of the side and back panels and the qabbeh (chest panel, see Plate 46) might indicate that they are older pieces being reused. Fine pieces of embroidery were often reused on new dresses and nothing was ever wasted.

plate

added along the edges. The ghudfeh was made of three long strips of linen or cotton joined at the seams by some decorative stitch such as Cretan or fishbone, not only was it richly embroidered but it was usually bordered at one end by a thick fringe. The ghudfeh was embroidered by the bride-to-be while the bridegroom sometimes made the fringe for it. Bayt Jibrin was one of those Hebron-area villages that produced exquis­ itely embroidered costumes {see Plate 48). It also had a considerable carpet­ weaving industry. Canon Tristram (1882) writes:

The industry of Beit Jibrin is carpet-weaving, and all around the Crusad­ ers’ castle we saw the tops of the houses covered with women at work

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48 Hebron-area (probably BaytJibrin) thob - 1930s. A wedding dress in the style of the 193os when Bethlehem couching became so popular. The qabbeh (chest panel) is embroidered with the ‘foreign moon’ (qamrfrangi) motif, and for some reason the little flower pattern round the edge is missing on the right-hand side. The back of the costume is also richly embroidered. plate

turning out, with the most primitive of looms, and using their fingers as a shuttle, strips of solid and substantial carpet. Outside, all along the pathways, on either side was a sort of public rope-walk, where both weavers and dyers were at work, carefully dyeing and stretching the threads before they were woven. Flocks and herds are abundant, and the shepherds are armed, not only with guns, but with battleaxes, for defence against the wolves, who are the depredators of the hills, as the Bedawin are of the plain. We met a weeping shepherd boy, who told us a wolf from a cave hard by had just carried off a kid before he could save it.

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49 Faluja-district (?) (south-east coastal area) head veil. A somewhat similar head-veil is illustrated in Plate 26 in Palestinian Embroidery (Shelagh Weir). Unfortunately little is known about this one and its previous owners. The main motifs are ‘cypress tree’ (saru) and the V-arch (kaus). In the middle at the left-hand edge of the picture there is a rather carelessly applied patch of‘tall palms’ (nakhleh ’ali) cut from another worn-out piece of embroidery. plate

50 Close-up ofHebron-area qabbeh. The yoke shows some of the Bethlehem work on velvet and the fishbone stitch that joins it to the sleeve. The qabbeh (chest panel) is outlined with feathers (riish) while the narrow vertical lines of little squares are often called ‘the baker’s wife’ (el farraneh). The eight-point star is a ‘moon’ motif. There is some effective machine work at the bottom of the qabbeh. Most of the dress is sewn and embroidered by hand. Embroidered chest panels are common to many areas of the world for it was considered that the chest was vulnerable to many ills such as the evil eye, bad luck and ill health. Triangles, small beads, charms and embroidery were used for protection as well as for ornament. plate

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51 Hebron-area shambar. The shambar (head-veil) would have been worn at weddings. It is made of a heavy crepe material the last third of which is heavily embroidered. A fringe and tassels are then added. In Syria there is a similar head-veil also known as shambar but the last third of the material is dyed red and has a strip of embroidery at the end and multicoloured tassels and a fringe. plate

52 Hebron-area ghudfeh. This is a very fine ghudfeh (head-veil), with the quatrefoil pattern made up of the ‘feathers’ (riish) motif, which is a popular one in the Hebron and Ramallah areas. At the bottom of the quatrefoil pattern are ‘arches’ (kaus) and along the top a row of finely executed ‘domes’. The seams are joined by satin-stitch. plate

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Majdal — Isdud — Jaffa — Bayt Dajan The town of Majdal, near the coast, should be mentioned for its weaving and dyeing. Its fabrics were renowned throughout the country for they were durable, not too expensive and attractive. The striped Majdal materials were distinctive and, while used all over Palestine, were particularly popular in villages along the coastal plain. The costumes here, though attractively embel­ lished, had less embroidery than in other areas. They were of a narrower shape, had V-necklines and full-length straight sleeves. The dark background with the strong stripes in a slightly shimmering purple, magenta or green provided a fine foil for the addition of a little judiciously placed embroidery. Majdal in the late nineteenth century was not only the administrative head­ quarters of the district of Ascalon but a flourishing country town. As a large weaving centre with perhaps some 500 or more looms it was populated by a 53 'Jaffa the beautiful’ - a viewfrom the sea, 1904 (hand­ coloured photograph).

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Majdal — Isdud —Jaffa — Bayt Dajan 54 A waterfountain on the road to Jaffa; possibly the Muslim shrine of Tabitha’s Well. This is an old photograph dating from around the turn of the century. It was probably taken by a Rev. G. Robinson Lees, who was Vicar of St Andrew’s Church in Lambeth. plate

hard-working and industrious people. It was surrounded by groves of olive trees, the plains were planted with cereals and it also possessed fig and walnut trees as well as date palms. As might be imagined the soil was rich, and the people were able to water their crops by means of many water-wheels, some being used in common by the whole town. The wells were often very deep and the water was brought to the surface by the water-wheel (naura) using camels or oxen, the heads of the families using the water taking it in turn to provide the animals necessary. In the 1930s Jan MacDonald (1938) described Majdal as ‘a sunny town’ and a happy hard-working place with no crime. According to a policeman she spoke to, this was because everyone had a job and was occupied. She obviously found it a delightful place and admired it, as she put it, ‘for its sturdy independence, for not being dependent on tourists, shrines or oranges’. She also commented on the women’s dress, noting that, in common with the rest of the coastal area, it did not employ much embroidery. The chief indus­ tries at that period were still agriculture, dyeing and hand-loom weaving, the last continuing until 1948. Among the favourite materials of the inhabitants were janna wa-nar (‘Heaven and Hell’), in which there were wide red and green stripes; jiljileh, which had a narrow purple stripe; abu miten, which had a stripe

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55 Jillayehfrom Bayt Dajan - late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The dress is indigo handwoven linen with applique patches of red, green and yellow silk (heremsy) from Syria on the skirt. There is atlas silk on the yoke and at the sleeve edges. The embroidery is mainly cross-stitch with the ‘waves’ (mwj) pattern on the qabbeh (chest panel) as well as on the back panel (see Plate 56) of the dress. The main motifs are the ‘amulet’ (hijab) triangles, with ‘cypress tree’ (saru). It seems possible that this type of split­ skirt dress, which was worn with narrow embroidered trousers underneath, was once a common feature in villages between Ramallah and the coastal plain. By the end of World War I the whole outfit had gone completely out of fashion. The embroidery is worked in silk threads dyed with natural dyes. plate

of purple between two red-pink stripes; and one called abu hizz ahmar which had an orange and purple stripe between two green ones. Sometimes the embroidery motifs were arranged in clusters of five — five cypress trees, five amulets (triangles) and so on - and this was because the number five was considered most efficacious against the evil eye. On the older costumes and Bedu costumes motifs are frequently grouped in threes, fives and sevens for they were also healing and holy numbers. Jaffa, Ludd, Ramleh, Safriyeh, Deir Tarif, are but a few of the important centres of the central coastal plain. Bayt Dajan, lying a few miles inland from Jaffa, was a particularly influential weaving and embroidery village to which

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Majdal — Isdnd —Jaffa - Bayt Dajan

others looked for inspiration (see Plates 55-8'). Nearby Jaffa ‘the beautiful’ is one of the oldest seaports in the world and stands on the ruins of many other ancient cities. One of the most prominent motifs used in the embroidery of this area is the orange blossom, for this is the home of the unique Jaffa orange.

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Palestinian Costume plate 57 Thobfrom Bayt Dajan -probably 1930s. As can be seen the Bayt Dajan dress has changed its style from the turn of the century {see Plates 55 and 56) and the influential Bethlehem work has become very popular. There is couching on the velvet yoke, and on the sides of the sleeves and the skirt. This might have been added to the possibly earlier embroidery work as there is a spray of couching down and slightly over the riish (‘feathers’) motif near the ‘orange blossom’. The ‘orange blossom’ motif (zahra-tilbortugal) is a popular one in the Jaffa/Bayt Dajan area for this is the home of the famous Jaffa orange. Bayt Dajan was a place of many orange groves and, according to Mrs Widad Kawar, the Bayt Dajan women learned the couching technique from a Bethlehem woman in the 193os who used to visit her groves there. This imitation Bethlehem work was called rashek.

The American Consul, writing in 1886 to an American assistant secretary of state about the superior quality and grafting techniques practised by the Palesti­ nian farmer, states: ‘I am particular in giving the details of this simple method of propagating this valuable fruit as I believe it might be adopted with advan­ tage in Florida. ’ Miss Rogers seems to have first arrived in Jaffa in 1855 and, writing some twenty years later, she says that the journey from Jaffa to Jerusalem by omnibus took only twelve hours. Of her arrival she writes:

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Majdal — Isdud -Jaffa - Bayt Dajan

I well remember my first ride on the Jaffa road. We had spent a short time in quarantine, and had been afterwards kindly entertained by Dr Kayat, the British Consul at Jaffa, and his family, in their pleasant bow-windowed house by the seaside, when, towards the close of a July day - our fellow travellers and the muleteers with the baggage being in readiness - we mounted and set out on our journey. An old man in a coat of many colours led my horse up the steep and narrow streets of stairs, through the crowded bazaars and out at the great gate north east of the town. It was about six o’clock. The open space outside the gate was in shade, for the sun was going down towards the sea, and here picturesque groups of the townspeople, seated on low stools or on matting, were enjoying their pipes, while others well mounted were galloping backwards and forwards. We rode towards the south east, along a broad sandy road, which led us to a bridle path between dusty hedges of cactus, the large fleshy thick-jointed leaves of which were fringed with yellow flowers, promising a rich harvest of prickly pears. In the fruit gardens on each side oranges, lemons, pis­ tachios, apricots, almonds and mulberries were ripening. The pomegra­ nate tree showed its scarlet flowers and acacias, locust-trees, tamarisks, olive and fig trees flourished while here and there a group of palm-trees laden with golden fruit towered above them.

The costumes of nearby Bayt Dajan were the subject of research by Shelagh Weir and Widad Kawar (1975) for a number of reasons. The costumes were interesting and diverse and quite a number are preserved in museums and collections. Though Jaffa and other villages in its environs had similar ones, those of Bayt Dajan were outstanding in execution. There were, as well, a number of special costumes for engagements, weddings and other celebra­ tions. Shelagh Weir and Widad Kawar realised that while there were marked regional differences in costume in Palestine the boundaries for these were ill defined. In addition there had, all over Palestine, been great changes in fashion between the turn of the century and 1948. They decided that the focus of research needed to be narrowed and so they chose the village of Bayt Dajan because of the outstanding work produced and its influence on other villages.

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58 Back of a Bayt Dajan dress (seeplate 57). The ‘cypress tree’ (saru) and ‘orange blossom’ (zahra-tilbortugal) motifs on the centre back panel of the dress are very clear and are arranged in a particularly Bayt Dajan manner. The villages around Bayt Dajan seem to have been much influenced by the excellence of its work. This dress was probably one of the costumes made by the bride as a part of her trousseau.

plate

The research was conducted in Amman, Jordan, amongst Bayt Dajan people living there and is an account of wedding customs in the 1920s. As in so many other villages the most splendid and highly embroidered costumes were connected with wedding celebrations. Shelagh Weir and Widad Ka war note that: . . . the principal and most expensive items in the kisweh given by the bridegroom were: three dresses in the Bethlehem style (Thob Malaka, Ikhdari and Jiljileh), a head veil (Shambar Asmar) of black crepe with a panel of red embroidery (made in Maj dal), and two girdles of Syrian silk (zunnar makruneh and zunnar kashmir). These items were part of the

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Majdal - Isdud -Jaffa - Bayt Dajan

kisweh in many southern Palestinian villages at this time. The kisweh also included simpler items: a plain red crepe veil (shambar ahmar), a white underdress (bayt al-sham) with simple patchwork decoration, and a longsleeved silk coat of narrow yellow and wider red stripes (atlas). The groom was obliged to provide the material for all these items unless specifically excused from doing so. A white dress (thob al-abyad al kabir or Big white dress), richly embroidered in the Bayt Dajan style by one of his female relatives, was an additional obligatory gift. In cases where the marriage was arranged in a hurry this dress might not have been finished. In such a situation a second-hand dress would be bought from another family or the bride would be given the cash value of the fabric and silks.

plate 59 Chinese-style head-veil from Bayt Dajan. From perhaps the late 1920s a Chinese-type shawl complete with deep fringe seems to have become popular in some districts of Palestine including the Bayt Dajan area. They are generally, though not always, machine-embroidered (as this one is) and copy Chinese shawl styles with brightly coloured overall floral designs. Generally they are a straight copy but sometimes they use only Palestinian motifs and become less ‘Chinese’. One wonders if perhaps a British woman or a Spanish nun had one that was copied by someone and the idea caught on? It became a style of head-dress that remained in fashion for some time, as can be shown by the fact they can still be obtained without difficulty. The background is a mat made by the women.

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Palestinian Costume

Unlike in the villages around Nablus where the bride did not make or embroider clothes herself, the Bayt Dajan bride contributed a number of articles of embroidered clothing. They were made and embroidered by her before she got married and embroidering costumes for their future life was one of the main leisure activities of young village girls. They would sit in groups during their free time talking and working. Shelagh Weir and Widad Kawar (1975) write:

The most important item a girl prepared was a blue linen dress (jillayeh) richly embroidered in predominantly red silks, with an opening in the front of the skirt (pre-World War I) bordered with red, yellow and green silk patchwork and short sleeves [see Plates 55 and 56]. The jillayeh was the principal and most important dress (shaykh al thob). However small a girl’s contribution to the trousseau she had to have a jillayeh. There were two types of jillayeh, the big jillayeh and the small one. The difference lying not in their size but in the type of embroidery in the rectangular panel at the back of the skirt. The big jillayeh was solid with silk embroidery whereas that on the small one had spaces where the material showed through between the designs. A girl had to have one or the other in her trousseau, and a girl with a rich and generous father might have one of each. In addition a girl usually prepared a white dress similar to the white one she was given by the groom (as mentioned above) but differing from it in the same way as the little jillayeh from the big jillayeh, that is in the type of embroidery on the back skirt panel. As with the jillayeh, she might have more than one white dress if her father could afford it. In addition to these richly embroidered dresses, she would also prepare a number of simple dresses (thob basitah) and a simple white head-veil (kurnisheh baydah) with a little embroidery for ordinary everyday wear. They were similar to the everyday dresses and veils she wore as a girl before marriage. She also prepared an embroidered bonnet (smadeh) with two long bands (laffayaf) attached at the back in which the hair was rolled into a bundle at the nape of the neck. It was considered essential that a bride prepare a new smadeh to wear as a married woman. Shortly before the wedding a number of coins would be attached to the smadeh.

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Majdal - Isdud -Jaffa - Bayt Dajan The girls also made, as in other places, a number of cushion covers decorated with silk patchwork, a kohl (eye-black) holder, a quilt and a mattress. Some brides also sewed a long nightshirt for their future husband and a tasselled handkerchief for him to dance with on the wedding night. As in most villages in the Arab world, the ‘henna night’ was celebrated in Bayt Dajan. This usually took place the evening before the wedding. The bride and her female relatives would gather at her house to prepare henna and apply it to her hands, feet and legs. There were special patterns used for a Bayt Dajan bride such as palms, arches and cypress trees — in other words designs much like those used in the village’s embroidery. The process took all night and the girls would entertain the bride by singing. Shelagh Weir and Widad Kawar (1975) provide this rendering of one of the songs, which alluded to the preparation of her trousseau by the bride:

For a long time have we embroidered the side panels Remember Halimeh when we were friends For a long time have we embroidered the breast panels Remember Halimeh when we were girls What did you wear little gazelle on your henna night? They clothed me in silk coats, the clothes of kings! The gazelle is often used in a literary and vernacular context to represent female beauty. The silk coat referred to in the last line was worn by the bride only on the wedding day and we have no record of it having been worn on the henna night as suggested by the song. At the time with which we are concerned the bride wore a simple everyday dress on that occasion. All the girls who attended the henna night were presented with scarves (mandil) bought by the bride’s father and were expected to give a small gift of money to the bride at the nuqut ceremony on the morning after her wedding night.

As new fashions came in, the Bayt Dajan women discarded their old dresses, turning to more modern designs. In the 1930s dresses with Bethlehem embroidery became extremely popular and the cross-stitch work with the addition of couching on the yoke and down the sides added a rather dramatic dimension (see Plates 57 and 58).

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The Gaza Region Along the southern coastal end of Palestine lies the ancient Philistia with Gaza, Isdud and Ascalon as its main towns. Majdal, the weaving centre that has already been mentioned, stands slightly inland from Gaza. A few

6o Qumbaz - (male). The qumbaz was widely worn by men in Palestine as well as in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. The most common materials in the Levant were striped silks, but in Iraq the qumbaz was usually plain brown or black. The garment opens right down the front and is fastened to one side of the centre and then belted. Originally a cummerbund (hizarn) was worn, cashmere in winter and silk or muslin hi summer; later leather belts became commonplace. Women also wore the qumbaz although the neckline would be lower and the sleeves slit to the elbow to show the undergarment. When working the women would hitch the end corners into their belts so showing the sometimes intricately embroidered trouser legs. At one time in the early twentieth century wealthy townswomen in Kuwait wore the qumbaz in brocaded materials from Syria or India. Although the qumbaz has been going out of fashion for a long time, a few men still wear it and it is worn on special occasions. plate

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61 Thob from the Gaza/ Isdud region. This dress is made of Majdal woven cotton material with orange, purple and green stripes of silk and cotton; this material is known as abu hizz ahmar. There are ‘cypress tree’ (saru) and ‘arch’ patterns. The patterns between the ‘arches’ are ‘cushions’ (mehkeddah) and ‘combs’ (mushut). They are all plate

arranged in the typical manner of the region. Gaza was probably an old centre of weaving. Gauze, (gazzatum in mediaeval Latin), the very thin transparent material woven of silk or cotton, is reputed to have originated there - hence its name. The Crusaders are supposed to have brought it back with them to Europe for their wives.

62 Back of a thob from the Gaza/Isdud region. A back view of a dress which has little embroidery on the front and the ‘combs’ (mushut) motif down the back. plate

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Palestinian Costume

kilometres southwards was the busy market-town of Khan Yunis. It was a centre for the Bedu of the Negeb desert and was described briefly by a certain Bimbashi McPherson (1983) who was there during World War I: We were soon over the Jordan, so to speak, and marched by moonlight to Khan Yunis - birthplace of Delilah - commandeered a garden of fig and orange trees surrounded by a fence of prickly pear, fed, mounted a guard and slept under the stars. Up betimes we spent an hour exploring this ancient city of the Philistines, its old bazaars and graves and narrow picturesque streets, photographed its extraordinary castle, watered horses, filled our haversacks with magnificent oranges.

The Gaza region is hotter and more humid than the rest of Palestine and was until 1948 a good fruit-growing area. Gaza itself possessed a small port which was an outlet for the grain - wheat and barley - that was produced in the Hebron and Bir Seb’a area. Fishing, pottery and rug-making were other occupations. Gaza had, besides its looms, a dyeing industry. The weavers would take their skeins of thread, rather than the prepared material, to the dyeing shops in town, where they were placed in large copper pans of dye. Eventually the skeins were rinsed in the sea, the salt acting as a mordant and making fast the dyes. Gaza and Majdal were two of a number of flourishing weaving centres in Palestine. There had by all accounts been a very long weaving tradition, though fine Syrian silks were also prized in many parts of the country for dresses and other articles of clothing. By the mid-nineteenth century Euro­ pean textiles began to flood the market and weaving began to go into a slow decline. Three types of loom were in use, the treadle, the vertical and the ground or mat loom. The ground or mat loom was used by villagers and the Bedu women who wove not only cloth for the tents, but rugs and a variety of bags and saddlebags. The treadle and upright looms were mainly, though not always, used by townsmen who were weavers by profession. Spinning, dyeing, and warping were all carried out by specialists. The fibres used were goat, sheep and camel wool, as well as some silk, cotton and flax. By the nineteenth century most cotton and flax in its raw state seems to have been imported from Egypt, while most of the silk, which was used mainly in embroidery came from Syria. The main weaving centres were Safed and the

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The Gaza Region areas around it as well as Nazareth, Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem and the nearby village of Bayt Jala. The people of Lake Huleh (now mostly drained) made mats for sale from the papyrus reeds. The men cut the reeds and the women wove them on upright looms which were placed vertically against their reed hut dwellings. The costumes of the Gaza part of the coastal plain, while using the motifs common throughout Palestine, were not so heavily embroidered as those of the Hebron locality. Striped Majdal materials were naturally the most popular while the cut of the dresses was much narrower than elsewhere. The necklines were V-shaped and the sleeves were the tight straight village ones. Gaza-region embroidery was distinguished by motifs of criss-cross scissors (muqass), combs (mushut') and triangles {hijab'). These were fre­ quently to be seen arranged in clusters of fives, sevens and threes. In the 193os when the popularity of Bethlehem couching was at its height a wedding jillayeh might have been appliqued and couched down the main front panel and the applique arranged in three or five mihrab strips (the mihrab was a motif shaped like the prayer niche of a mosque). The number five was considered efficacious against the evil eye and this was no doubt related to the Khamsa (Hand, see page 148) which also performed the same function. It is thought that the jillayeh of the nineteenth century with its centrally split skirt, and trousers may have been far more heavily embroidered than the twentieth-century version, but the less elaborate embroidery combined with the attractive Majdal materials with their green, cyclamen, purple and orange stripes certainly made for a very pleasant and harmonious style.

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The Bir Seb’a and Sinai Region The Bedu mainly inhabited southern Palestine, that is the Negeb and Sinai deserts centring on the small towns of Bir Seb’a and Khan Yunis. There has long been great variety amongst the nomadic tribes which have emerged from Arabia at various periods throughout history. They doubtless integrated

63 Thobfrom the Bir Seb’a area — British Mandate period. The Bir Seb’a area is mainly a desert zone with few villages, so it was mainly inhabited by Bedu tribes such as the Tayaha and Terabin. The dresses of the Bedu have much longer sleeves than those of the villages and are called abu erdan (‘dress with pointed sleeves’). The hems are finished with a fine slanting satin-stitch which is sometimes called ‘Bedouin stitch’. plate

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The Bir Seb’a and Sinai Region

64 Jacketfrom the Bir Seb’a/Hebron area - British Mandate period. Note the three rows of ricrac trimming. plate

with the local population and so may differ in ethnic origin, history and size, as well as in economic status, social standing and whether they herd camels or sheep or are semi-settled. Although it is well known that tribes some­ times settle and become farmers and householders it is not unusual for them to become nomadic again if conditions demand it. Their peaceful or aggressive intentions have depended upon the cir­ cumstances of the time, for the Bedu are nothing if not adaptable and their way of life can be considered a finely adapted response to the difficulties of life in arid and semi-arid lands. They were as necessary to the towns and villages as the latter were to the Bedu and a balance was struck that on the whole kept life running smoothly in these areas. However that balance could be, and often was, disrupted by politics. The nineteenth century was for many reasons a period of disruption and change especially where the Ottoman empire, decadent by that time, held sway. This was the time when larger Bedu tribes controlled many of the trade routes and levied taxes on those who passed through their area. The Bedu of southern Palestine were a nomadic or semi-nomadic people living by herding camels, sheep and goats. Some practised seasonal agricul­ ture, planting barley, wheat and lentils and returning to harvest the crops in due season. These crops were naturally dependent on the rainfall, which was irregular, and so the tribes’ main sources oflivelihood were their herds.

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Palestinian Costume

With the arrival of spring the tribes dispersed in different directions to their various pastures. It should not be thought that the Bedu wandered aimlessly. They moved in an area or direh which they knew intimately, preceded by ‘scouts’ who went ahead to report on conditions so that the tribe could move about to best advantage. If for some reason there was drought or other problems in a tribe’s direh then it was a case of either negotiating an agreement with the neighbouring tribes or else, if the tribe was powerful, of fighting its way through to another area. Particularly during the nineteenth century ghazu (raiding another tribe’s herds) was a popular pastime. People were killed at these affairs but on the whole little blood was shed and there were strict rules regulating their conduct. Women and children were sacrosanct and on the very rare occasion when one did get killed the perpetrator immediately lost his life.

65 Men wearing the bisht — early twentieth century. All three men are wearing the bisht, two of them the brown and white version. (Photo: Sarraffian Bros, Beirut.) plate

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66 Woman from the Bir Seb’a region — early twentieth century. The face-veil (burgo) is made of coins and can be seen quite well. The lady is wearing two silver bracelets: a twisted one and the broad-banded as-seb’a wiyat (see Plate 8g). These were made in Egypt for the Bedu market and some are still made and worn. Nowadays tourists also buy them enthusiastically. (Photo: Palestine in Picture, Heffer&Sons, 1929.) plate

Although the tribes moved off in different directions in spring this did not mean that contact between them was lost. The men often went on visits or else received visitors and there was a continual coming and going of people and exchange of news and gossip. A tent was generally made up of a man, his wife and children and perhaps an elderly relative. Groups of tents were made up of relatives or kinsmen, and it was only occasionally, during times of strife, that the tribes massed together under one powerful leader. The Bedu traditions of hospitality and generosity must originally have been born of the hardships of the desert. These ideas and traditions they passed to the rest of the Arab and Islamic world where they became ingrained and where what is surely one of the most civilised of concepts - thought for and generosity to others — is the prime consideration in human interaction. Bedu women have to work very hard for they are in charge of most of the daily tasks. Water has to be brought from the nearest well, though this job could sometimes be delegated to the children. Nowadays the water may be brought to the camp in a pick-up truck; in the past it was transported back to camp in goatskins (girbeh) on the back of a donkey. In the nineteenth century a portion of the market-place at Hebron was devoted to preparing these goatskins as carriers.

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67 Bisht —probably early twentieth century. The bisht (woollen shoulder mantle) was worn, mainly by the Bedu, throughout the Arab world from Syria to the Arabian peninsula. plate

68 Thob azraqfrom the Bir Seb’a area - early British Mandate period. This thob azraq (‘blue dress’) probably belonged to an older or widowed woman. The long bat-wing sleeves are typical and could be tied behind the shoulders while the woman was working. Motifs and styles of embroidery used by the Bedu were influenced by village ones, though they had some of their own as well. Nafnaf was a little desert flower which appears on the dresses. Until quite recently Bedu embroidery was far more geometrical than that of the villages. To a certain extent this is still true, though hand embroidery is not practised so much as before. Machine embroidery has taken over and much use is made of bright coloured ricrac trimmings. The dress shown here probably came from the Al Tayaha tribe. plate

94

Bir Seb’a and Sinai Region

69 Thob from the Bir Seb’a area — British Mandate period. This Bedu dress has had the long sleeves removed and replaced by short village-type ones. The embroidery goes right round and up the back of the dress, completely covering the material. It is mainly in red silk thread with touches of blues and greens. Very often yellow was added, not only because the colour was liked but against the evil eye. plate

70 Thob from the Bir Seb’a region. This type of everyday dress was worn by the Bedu from the Bir Seb’a to Sinai region. It probably belonged to a married woman as it was worked mainly in red threads. plate

Palestinian Costume Everyday cooking was also the domain of women. However, on the occasion of big feasts such as the Aid al Fitr and Aid al Adha (see glossary) at which many people were present and which required the use of very large and heavy cooking pots, the men would prepare the rice and do the lifting and carrying. Motoko Katakura mentions in her study of Saudi Arabian villages that at the Aid al Fitr the men would gather together to cook the meal. After serving the women the men divided into groups of ten to eat the rest. A daily and very important job in the Bedu household was the making of the thin sheaves of unleavened bread. The grain was bought in the towns and ground by the women in stone querns. The most sought-after querns came from the Houran in Syria a once volcanic region with very hard stone. The flour was mixed with a little salt and water and kneaded into dough. Small balls were broken off, shaped and tossed back and forth from hand to hand with great skill, the dough growing larger and flatter with each throw. It was then placed on a hot griddle and cooked rapidly on each side. Another important job was the making of yoghurt and cheese. The former was made by putting milk into a pan, bringing it nearly to the boil and then allowing it to cool for twenty-four hours in an undisturbed and warm place. Yoghurt from the previous day was added to provide the necessary bacteria to turn the milk. Yoghurt was and is eaten everywhere in the Middle East. A portion of the milk might be set aside to be turned into the clarified butter which was used in cooking, and another part might be made into cheese. Cheesemaking took place in spring when milk was particularly plentiful if the rains had been good and the pasturage flourishing. Yoghurt was placed in a muslin cloth and the whey allowed to drain away. What remained was salted, kneaded and made into small balls which were left to dry in the sun. Although these could be eaten dry they were usually reconstituted in hot water. Weaving and embroidery, and poetry might be termed the main arts of Bedu life, for as they were constantly on the move it was not possible to acquire many possessions beyond necessities. The women wove the tent strips. The tent was ideally suitable for the life style and environment: it was easy to put up and take down; and the poles used as supports made it flexible in shape, capable of being warm in winter and comparatively cool in

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The Bir Seb’a and Sinai Region summer, its flaps controlling the breezes. Dismantling the tent was tradi­ tionally a woman’s responsibility though men and boys would often give a hand. The tents were made of goat and sheep hair and were waterproof, expanding in wet weather and so preventing leaks. It is said that in the 1950s certain tribes in the north of Kuwait in the Arabian Gulf took to buying the new canvas tents then available and the women decided they no longer needed to weave. Within a year or two they had gone back to their looms for the new tents leaked badly, were cold in winter and hot in summer and were unsuited to long-term living (Dame Violet Dickson, verbal, 1960s). The exact size of a tent depended on the status of the person owning it. Very large ones would never be used for migration purposes for they were difficult to move from camp to camp. The strips of material were carefully sewn together by the women, and were raised on poles with the sides held out by long ropes. The tent was divided down the middle by a patterned tent curtain with the woven pattern generally facing into the men’s side. It was in the men’s section that visitors were received and tribal affairs discus­ sed. The central focus of this section was the fireplace with its ever ready coffee pots. Nearby was the mortar used for pounding coffee beans after they had been roasted over the fire. The pestle was beaten inside the mortar in many different rhythmic patterns, a sign that new coffee was being brewed and visitors welcomed. The author well remembers occasions on small farms when in the early morning the coffee maker’s beat began just as the sun rose and the world seemed bright with the promise of a new day and wonderful coffee! The women’s side of the tent was where the food was prepared and cooked, where weaving and sewing were done, and where bedding, cush­ ions, pots and pans and storage bags were all kept. It was from there that the women listened to what was going on in the men’s side of the tent. The women played a central role in the life of the camps and interjected loud comments on what was being said by the men. They were not above peering over to look at the guests and probably knew as much, if not more, than their men about what was going on in tribal affairs. They received their own visitors and so in a way had access to more news as they knew what was going on in the men’s world as well as the women’s. The women expressed their views freely, they were listened to with respect and their advice was

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71 Thob from the Bir Seb’a region — British Mandate period. The back of a dress showing the beautifully worked geometrical patterns that cover the material. plate

72 Thob from the Bir Seb’a region — British Mandate period. This is silk-thread embroidery on black cotton. This dress which is similar to that in Plate 70, has had its wing sleeves replaced with short ones. The main motifs are ‘cypress tree’ (saru) and ‘amulets’ (hijab). plate

98

The Bir Seb’a and Sinai Region

plate 73 Thob (back andfront) from the Bir Seb’a region/coastal plain (Deir el Balah?) -probably post 1950s. The material is commercial black cotton from Egypt or Syria and the threads are also cotton, very brightly coloured. It is not known exactly where this dress originated in the Bir Seb’a area but its patterns are not as geometrical as most Bedu ones. They include ‘flowerpots’ kuwwar and ‘the pasha’s tent’ (khem el basha). The vertical patterns in the centre back panel are a variation of‘tree with lions’ (shejara wa aleha subu’a), an old pattern that appears all over the eastern Mediterranean.

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Palestinian Costume asked. There was a definite division of labour between the men and the women. The women dealt with the children and cooking and were in charge of setting up and taking down the tents. As the women, in the past at least, generally wove the tent material and kept it in good repair it was considered their property. The men dealt with the animals and the outside world. The costumes of the Bedu, while retaining the basic loose shape of the Muslim world, were much fuller and bulkier and had longer, more pointed wing sleeves. These sleeves, which were tied behind the shoulders when the woman was working, were called abu erdan (‘dress with sleeves’). The material of the dress was always black or a dark blue. The Bedu were influenced by village patterns, though they interpreted them in a far more geometrical fashion. Palm and cypress-tree motifs appeared, as did the triangle {hijab), the scissors and a small desert flower that bloomed in the spring, the nafnaf. Stars, moons and scalloped squares were popular as well. A feature of many of these costumes was the red scalloped applique on the edges of the sleeves. The costumes were embroidered predominantly in red, with touches of yellow, blue, green, purple, orange and brown. An every­ day dress might be made of a fine black sateen and it would be noticeable that its qabbeh (chest panel) was a small rather narrow one. One comes across Bedu dresses that have, instead of long pointed sleeves, the short village­ type ones. Probably the long sleeves have been removed and replaced with short straight ones in order to copy village styles. In the Tayaha tribe the cross-stitch embroidery and its colour would indicate a woman’s status. Red was worn by the married women, and blue by the unmarried, widowed or perhaps divorced, while a mixture of blue and red embroidery indicated that the woman had remarried. The embroid­ ery completely covered the material, particularly at the back of the dress, and the costume included a distinctive goat-hair belt woven or plaited in multicoloured bands the fringed ends of which were allowed to fall down the front. From the belt hung tassels, beads, cowrie shells, buttons and coins. The Bir Seb’a area women loved their jewellery, and the face-veil {burgo’) was embroidered around the headband, while the veil itself, often made of an orange or black and white silk, was decked with coins from the bride-wealth {see Plate 75). Draped over this would be the abayeh (head­

100

The Bir Seb’a and Sinai Region shawl) of which the portion covering the top of the head was embroidered in red cross-stitch. In a description written by the Rev. C. Pickering Clarke of the Bedu of the Sinai area (1882), the women are reported as wearing a strange hairstyle. There are a few photographs of this rather extraordinary style. The Rev. Clarke writes: I have said nothing about the dress of the Bedawin of Sinai; nor have I pointed out our sheikh, that is, the petty chief who commands our Arabs, and who is responsible for our safe conduct. There he sits almost undistinguishable, no staff or sword of office. He does more work, I think, than the others, and the others seem to get more angry with him than with any one else. I notice, however, later on, that he can bring out a striped ‘abba’ which looks more silky than other ‘abbas’, and that he has a smarter turban. Well, these dignified Towarah are dressed in very poor rags. There is a white coarse surplice, or shirt, coming down a little below the knees, with very long pointed sleeves; this is fastened around the waist with a broad strong leathern belt; in the bosom of this shirt, or knotted up in the ends of the sleeves, the Arab carries any odds and ends of wealth he may possess. Most of them have a pair of sandals (the best are made of fish skin), though they do not always use them, perhaps hardly ever in the open desert. Generally they wear the turban and fez instead of the picturesque kefiyeh. The ‘abba’, a great straight garment about two and a half or three yards wide, with holes for the arms to come through, and usually a capote or hood attached, is stowed away on the camel, but always ready to hand for storm or cold. The women, who are (not strictly) veiled, are dressed in a long loose blue frock, with a large blue mantle to cover over head and all. Their chins are tattoed; and in the case of married women the hair is tied up into a kind of knot or horn in front, which is surmounted by a red bead, and seldom untied. The girls dress their hair in short curls over the forehead, across which is tied the ‘shebeikeh’, an ornament of red cloth with bits of mother-ofpearl sewn on.

It is interesting that this unusual hairstyle is still in fashion amongst the married Bedu women (see Plate 76). Nowthey also make use of multicoloured

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Palestinian Costume

74 Head-veilfrom the Bir Seb’a area. The head-veil is a rectangular piece of black cotton (or silk) with embroidery down the back. Triangles {hijab) and the ‘cypress tree’ (saru) motif make up the patterns of this one. plate

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Costumefrom Bir Seb’a. The Bir Seb’a woman loved above all silver ornaments, and her face-veil was mostly coins that fell over the top of her nose and curved round her cheeks. Her dress featured a goat-hair belt (ishdad) woven or plaited in multicoloured bands and wrapped several times around the waist with the fringed ends allowed to fall down the front. From it hung ornamentation in the form of cowrie shells, buttons, tassels and bits of silver. (Costume from the Folklore Museum at the Roman Theatre, Amman, Jordan.) plate 75

The Bir Seb’a and Sinai Region plate 76 Woman from Sinai area — modern. Note the kirby grips on either side of the forehead, and the ricrac trimming on the dress. The long head-veil is also decorated with ricrac trimming in geometrical patterns. (Painting by Tareq S. Rajab, 1986.)

kirby grips, wearing some ten or twelve grips on either side of the hair. Perhaps there is not so much hand embroidery as there was; instead the women obtain gaily coloured ricrac trimmings from the market and deco­ rate their abayehs (head-shawls) and dresses in geometrical patterns. As the women walk around, their shoulder mantles billowing slightly in the wind, they look very graceful. Their face-veils are still the ornate ones of old with

103

The Bir Seb’a and Sinai Region coins, beads and pendants sewn on to the basic material. The embroidery seems to be mainly machine embroidery, for the sewing-machine is time­ saving and can now be considered a normal part of the essential equipment kept in the women’s side of the tent. The young girls will dress their hair in curls over the forehead, or make a plait on each side of the hair parting which is worn slightly to one side of the head. Another old custom which is still much enjoyed by the young men and women of the tribe was very fully described by Jean Louis Burckhardt in his nineteenth-century writings. After dark had fallen in the early evening some of the young men or women would gather near one of the tents, line up and start singing. In due course those of the opposite sex made another long line opposite. One man would reply to the women in song (kazyde) while the other men clapped in unison and swayed to the rhythm. One or two of the girls would step out of line advancing slowly to that of the men and holding a long blue head cloth (mellaye') over their outstretched arms and bending slightly from the waist. As Jean Louis put it, ‘It was all very romantic and modest, ’ and as the young women advanced and retreated the men would encourage them, not by name for this was not allowed, but by implication using the words they called their camels with: ‘Walk faster!’ ‘Get up, O camel’, and so on. The more adventurous young men-no doubt those who were already in love - would place their kuffieh (head-shawl) on the ground ‘to represent food for the camel’ and the more daring girls would try to snatch it away. If the girl succeeded in getting it the kuffieh could only be returned upon receipt of a small gift. Jean Louis ‘lost’ his kuffieh and later presented the girl with a ‘pretty string of mother-of-pearl beads’, saying to her in Arabic that it was meant as a ‘halter for the camel’. The dancing and singing would continue for half the night and the songs, often extempore as the participants were inspired by the joy of the occasion, would tell of the beauty and other qualities of the girls who had moved out towards the men’s group. Jean Louis considered this mesamer one of the most enjoyable and romantic episodes in his travels as indeed one can imagine it must have been.

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Palestinian Costume Today The varied and beautiful costumes of Palestine and the many customs connected with the wearing and making of them all point to a very long tradition. It grew over the centuries, altering with changing conditions yet remaining full of vitality until the middle of the twentieth century when political events devastated an entire people. In spite of this the people remain and, although perhaps Palestinian embroidery is no longer a folk art and cannot be a part of the social structure as it was, it is in many respects still an on-going tradition. Before their Diaspora many Palestinians, men and women, achieved great distinction in the academic, scientific and educational fields and this continued - and continues - after it. At the same time women still take pleasure in embroidery and it has in many cases been a lifeline between destitution and provision of the basic necessities. Many of the women in the refugee camps have been able to put their considerable skills to profitable use. There are numerous organisations, not only on the West Bank, but in Jordan, Kuwait and Syria, through which embroidery is produced commer­ cially, including for the tourist market which snaps it up eagerly. Some costumes, especially those worked in the Hebron manner, take over one thousand hours of work to complete. Some are also made in a combination of machine and hand embroidery — as were some dresses in the twenties and thirties. Black, white and cream-coloured fabrics are still favourites though a shiny royal blue is quite common and an occasional bright yellow makes its appearance. Many of the old motifs such as the ‘cypress tree’ (saru) and the various moons, stars, roses and birds are still in use. However, motifs such as tallis which cover the material completely seem to have virtually disap­ peared. As in the past, the women will exchange new patterns, which will be copied widely if they are liked. Occasionally little human figures are placed on shoulders, sleeves and the backs of the dresses but they are not widely popular. Many older women and some of the younger ones continue to wear the embroidered thob and they are still widely worn on important occasions. 105

77 Thob - late 1960s or after. A black commercial sateen material embroidered in crossstitch with silk threads. The cuffs are embroidered with cockerels (dik), with two small human figures just above. There are further human figures on the back panel of the dress. The flower motif seems to be a relatively new one.

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78 Thob made by Sitt Rasmia - late 1986. This dress was completed in two months’ concentrated work. Normally it would take longer and one special dress took ten months to finish. The material is a Terylene-type mixture that Sitt Rasmia called smokin. Smokin is generally a black fabric much used for men’s evening and women’s best suits. The word is not Arabic and might have originated from the English ‘smoking jacket’. It is expensive material, suitable for counted-thread work such as cross-stitch. A length of 3.5m was required for this dress. The bird motif is ‘branch of pigeons’ (irq el hamam) and the colour of the silk thread is known as ‘blood of the zghouP. (The zghoul is a young pigeon.) Part of the right side (to the viewer) of the qabbeh (chest panel) is left open and neatly buttonhole-stitched, so making

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a useful pocket. The broad bird pattern on the left has been drawn forward to show how it has been worked down the length of the side of the dress, the pattern being repeated on the other side also. The shiny multicoloured couching on the qabbeh (chest panel) is very popular in modern work. The dress would be belted by a slim lightweight cummerbund, in this case called kashmir though not necessarily of cashmere. There are many names for a belt including imshad which means ‘to bind’. Belts were used not only to carry small items but to help press in or ‘bind’ the stomach.

plate 79 Thob-post 1960s. The sleeves are tied out of the way behind the back, but the arms are never left bare - a contrasting-coloured shift with long sleeves is worn underneath.

80 Thob - 1986. This is a striking combination of hand and machine work, an example of the skilled work done by Palestinian refugee women at the Family Care Association in Amman, Jordan. This is one of the organisations that help train girls and women in many useful occupations in Jordan. Dresses, wall-hangings, cushion covers, etc, are beautifully executed using old styles and motifs as well as very modern ones. Machine and hand embroidery are employed. Good-quality material is always used — linen from Ireland, black and white cotton from Syria and silk from France. An old man, originally a weaver in Majdal, still makes some of the Majdal striped material and apparently a little Bethlehem fabric is also still being woven. (Photo courtesy of Mrs Hanan Al Hassan of Amman, Jordan.) plate

Palestinian Costume Today

Sitt Rasmia is a middle-aged lady from Shu’fat, a village just outside Jerusalem. A lady of charm with a forthright manner, she continues to help work her land and to enjoy her embroidery. She possesses between twenty and thirty ordinary thob as well as some truly splendid ones for weddings and holidays. An everyday dress which she has recently completed is pic­ tured in Plate 78. The reader will immediately be impressed by the place­ ment of the motifs which is similar to the style that came into fashion around the late 1920s. The main motif is two birds facing each other on a tree oflife. It is a variation of a popular theme that appeared in Egypt in the tenth century (AD) and which spread, probably from Palestine, to the Greek Islands, Albania, Crete and ultimately Europe. Sitt Rasmia calls it irq el hamam (‘branch of pigeons’). She has embroidered her motifs in silk thread cross-stitch. When asked why she chose ‘brown’ Sitt Rasmia replied, with some indignation, ‘Not brown, the colour is “blood of the zghoul” ’ (a small pigeon), as indeed it is. The shiny multicoloured zig-zag couching on the qabbeh (chest panel) is a feature that was first seen in the late twenties and is now extremely popular. Sitt Rasmia maintains that the young women in her village still prefer to make their own dresses and buy little from the shops except fabrics and threads. She is always interested in new patterns but is discriminating about what she likes and thinks is suitable. Embroidery is still widely practised and, while rooted in tradition, is vigorous and capable of adapting to modern conditions. It remains to be seen what the future will bring. Whatever that may be, it is certain that the vigour and artistry of the people will find an outlet.

Leaves fall from time to time but the trunk of the oak tree . . .

(Samih al-Qasim, modern Palestinian poet)

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Silver Folk Jewellery of Syria, Palestine and Jordan The acquisition and wearing ofjewellery was part of the social structure in Arab countries, and while appreciated for its ornamental value jewellery had a number of other important functions. A young woman acquired most of her jewellery upon marriage and it became an aspect of her new status. Gold and silver coins were often used as a decorative element in jewellery, and these of course had their own monetary value that could be exploited if necessary. The amount of jewellery a bride received depended on the financial standing of the bridegroom, though certain specific pieces were always included. The dowry or bride-wealth would be negotiated between the two families and when it had been agreed the bride’s father would go and plate 81 Silversmith in Damascus - late nineteenth century (Photo: Jerusalem - Damas, Ch. Lelleland, pub. Ancienne Maison Quartain, Paris).

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Palestinian Costume 82 Men from Mansoura village (From Rob Roy on the Jordan,]. MacGregor, pub. MacDonald, 1888). plate

purchase the jewellery. In Muslim society once the woman has received the jewellery it becomes solely her property and she has the right to dispose of it in any way she thinks fit. Nevertheless, traditionally, the jewellery often forms the family’s bank balance. Turkoman women until very recently wore prodigious amounts of heavy silver ornaments not merely as necklaces, bracelets and earrings, but down their clothing back and front and on their head-dresses. They wore it at all times, even though it was heavy and like most nomadic women they had to work very hard. They enjoyed wearing it for it showed their status, and the affection of their family. Presumably, as it represented part of the wealth of the family, it was a demonstration of the husband’s trust as well as a statement of his generos­ ity and success. By wearing the jewellery a woman was making a public­ relations statement not only about her husband but herself as well, for she must be highly regarded to receive so much. Lack of money in nomadic or village society was nothing to be ashamed of but every husband gave his wife what he could as she was highly appreciated as his complementary other half.

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Silver Folk Jewellery 83 Wukayat el derahim. The Tareq Rajab Museum possesses two of these rather rare bridal head-dresses. Although this particular style does not seem to have been mentioned by early writers on Palestine, there are many such coin-covered hats throughout the Muslim world, as well as those called wuqa (wuqa means ‘protection’). This wuqa seems to have been worn only during the wedding celebrations. As it was valuable it would appear that most brides did not own one; nor was it a married woman’s head-dress. From research carried out by Shelagh Weir (1973) it might have belonged to the hamuleh (village) and was either lent or rented to the bride. The main body of the Museum’s wukayat is made of an indigo-dyed cotton (durzi) and has what must once have been a lining of rust-coloured cotton material (dendeki). Both these materials were woven in Palestine and were used as cushion covers. The embroidery (cross-stitch) on the crown and back of the hat, which is now very worn, was mainly in red silk thread with touches of green, beige, blue and, at the back, what seems to have been a fuchsia colour. The head-dress is covered, fishscale fashion, by some 2000 small silver Turkish coins. Around the top of the crown are sixty larger Turkish silver coins dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The earliest coin is from the reign of Mustafa III (ad 1754). There is a Russian kopek (ad 1864), as well as a coin from the reign ofjoseph II, Emperor of Austria (late plate

eighteenth century), who was a contemporary of Catherine the Great of Russia. There are a few Spanish coins, one dated ad 1720. There seem to have been a large number of different coins in Palestine during the nineteenth century which probably came from the various pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. Most coins have been sewn on with an off-white or rather coarse black thread. The two triangles hanging from the ear flaps have been sewn on, perhaps at a later date, with a tangle of white threads. The front of the head-dress is made of patterns of coral and blue-glass beads very reminiscent of the Bir Seb’a/ Khan Yunis hats of later (probably) date. Hanging from the bottom of the coral and bead patterns are little hands and crescents and two little leaf or lozenge shapes. In the past these all served to stave off the evil eye. There is a tradition that these hats were made in Bethlehem but so far there is not much evidence to support this claim. One old Palestinian lady called the rather similar patterns from the Ramallah area ‘snakeskin’ (jild hayya).

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Palestinian Costume

All this was just as true in Syria, Palestine and Jordan. In difficult times some of the coins were sold to help keep the family going. If the woman earned money, as did some of the village women from the sale of eggs or agricultural produce, then she might add to the amount of jewellery she already owned. She often received jewellery on special occasions such as births. There are tales told in Palestine of women who through careful management of their money succeeded in bettering the lot of their family. It was said that during World War I many Turkish coins were in circula­ tion, because many women had to support the family while the men were away fighting. Nevertheless some of the head-dresses on which many of these coins were displayed became heirlooms and were passed down from mother to daughter. When some special festival was approaching, Muslim or Christian, a passer-by might have been able to see piles of freshly scoured cooking pots drying in the sunshine. Perched on top, also drying in the sun, would be the freshly scrubbed hat of the lady of the house, its coins shining from the sand and lemon juice that had been used to polish them. A Palestinian friend of the author told her that her Ramallah grandmother had possessed a very fine smadeh with three rows of gold coins one above the other. The younger children of the family all looked forward to festivals partly because they were always allowed to help with the cleaning of the coins. Among the Bedu and in the more isolated villages jewellery was often bought from itinerant salesmen or the gypsies, perhaps being made on the spot. These gypsies (nawar) came through the villages at certain times every year - an event no doubt much looked forward to by the people. The gypsy women told fortunes and were skilled practitioners of the art of tattooing which was then favoured by both the Bedu and many villagers. Tattooing was common practice amongst the women, who considered it cosmetic, and used it as a ‘love charm’ and for therapeutic purposes. Men were very rarely tattooed as they thought it ’aib (shameful). Certain pieces ofjewellery had talismanic, protective and beneficial prop­ erties. They averted the evil or envious eye, which was firmly believed in throughout the Mediterranean area. The triangle shapes embroidered into costumes and those that appeared on the jewellery were all talismanic in origin and known collectively as hijab (amulets). Suspended from many

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Silver Folk Jewellery 84 A few of the bracelets worn in Jordan and Palestine. The two bracelets at the top of the photograph (seba’ wiyat) were made in Cairo and were very popular amongst the Bedu. The motif on the front is supposed to represent a toad or frog and it is known that this creature was considered to be a good-luck animal not only in Palestine, Jordan and Syria but also in North Africa. The bracelets with niello work on them were probably made during the 1920s by Armenians or Circassians.

PLATE

neckpieces or shoulder-chains were rectangular or square boxes. These held writings from the Qur’an, although sometimes the sealed ones were merely stuffed with wadding. In this manner jewellery combined decorative, pro­ tective and amuletic functions as well as being a display of weal th and status. The milky white agate beads sometimes worn by the Bedu were consi­ dered to help with lactation. Both Bedu and villager liked necklaces that incorporated strings of sweet-smelling cloves. These were sometimes quite complicated items of jewellery (see Plate 105), with strings of cloves alter­ nating with bead-covered triangles, glass-frit hands and eyes, silver baubles and coral. Cloves were appreciated for their perfume and were probably also thought to be aphrodisiac. In addition they played a part in the Arab pharmacopoeia. There were varied disc-shaped amulets with such inscriptions as Ma sha’llah (‘What God wills’) and the opening sentence of each sura in the Qur’an, Bismillah Rahman-er-Rahim (‘In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate’). The Ay at al Kursi (the Throne Verse) from the Qur’an

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Palestinian Costume

85 Bedu necklaces. The Bedu woman favours many beads of coral with little separators of silver, amber and agate. plate

plate 86 The arjeh of Syria and Jordan. This fine head-dress has beadwork round the head in a geometrical pattern. Ottoman coins are fixed to a woven strip of material. The maskeh (amulet) of niello work from which the tassels hang would probably have been made in Karak, Irbid or Amman in Jordan. The arjeh was usually worn on special occasions such as weddings.

Silver Folk Jewellery 87 Khamasiyat. The khamasiyat was a head ornament worn on the forehead in the Jordan valley and around the Bethlehem area. These were probably made in Jerusalem during the British Mandate period. plate

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Palestinian Costume 88 Silver bracelets. The top pair of bracelets (masriyemeh) were made in Cairo and are of a type very popular with the Bedu. They are now made for the tourist market. The bottom pair of bracelets (asatvir mina) were probably made by Armenians in Jerusalem. They have a hinge-and-pin opening. plate

contains the various names of God and so was most popular. Throughout the Muslim world men frequently wore a silver ring set with a carnelian because it was considered that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had worn a similar one. The carnelian had health and good-luck connotations as well. A symbol of considerable antiquity is the Hand of Fatima. In North Africa it is still very much a part of folk jewellery and can also be seen, along with the crescent, in Syria, Palestine and Jordan. The Hand (Khamsa~) has always represented blessings, power and strength and according to Aristotle it is ‘the tool of tools’. The hand carved on the doorway of that great Islamic building the Alhambra in Spain is the symbol of the five basic tenets of Islam: the Shehada (‘There is no God but one god and Muhammad is his Prophet’), Prayer, Zakat (the giving of alms to the needy), fasting, and the performing of the Pilgrimage (Haj). It can also represent the Prophet, his daughter Fatima, her husband and their two sons. Accordingly it is the potent sign that turns or deflects the evil eye. On many a Khamsa in the palm

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Silver Folk Jewellery

plate 89 Silver bracelets. These were made in Cairo and are of a type much worn by the Bedu. The Bedu lady from Bir Seb’a in Plate 66 is wearing one.

90 Silver bracelets. These are very similar to those worn by the lady on the right in Plate 5. plate

is an eye, a dot or a blue stone. This is the Eye that sees evil approaching while the Hand returns it to the sender. All the jewellery illustrated in the photographs is of types that were worn in Syria, Palestine and Jordan during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although many of the motifs are undoubtedly of ancient origin it is not certain how long they have been used in this form. Silver, unlike gold, deteriorates quite quickly. There is in any case comparatively little extant antique Islamic gold jewellery except perhaps from the Mogul period in India. Rulers were always in need of money to pay their troops and would melt down silver and gold plate as well as jewellery. An equally important point is that most brides in the Islamic world are given new jewellery upon marriage. It would be worn much of the time and as the years passed it would with continual friction gradually lose value. In a great many regions (Kashmir is one example) when the owner dies the jewellery is rarely passed on to a daughter. It is returned to the gold- or silversmith who melts it down

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Palestinian Costume

and makes it up again. To judge from the comparatively small amounts of gold Islamic jewellery found, and the even smaller amounts of silver that predate the nineteenth century, styles seem to have remained fairly consis­ tent over time, though there are distinctive national characteristics. Over the centuries jewellery must have been exposed to a considerable number of different influences. Pilgrims from all over the world congregated at the Haj, frequently paying their way in carpets and easily carried ornaments. These circulated and one will often find a Yemeni or Saudi ornament in Palestine, or an Indian piece in Saudi Arabia. Although the jewellery of the wealthy, as far as one can tell, was basically similar in style to that of the villager or Bedu it was naturally made of precious metals and stones. However, country folk are usually more traditional than town-dwellers and so perhaps silver folk jewellery, even though it rarely dates back much further than a hundred years, can still tell us about earlier preferences. Early in the twentieth century ‘foreign’ silversmiths settled in Jordan and Palestine. Working in Jerusalem, Amman, Karak, Nablus and Madaba were Circassians, Armenians and Yemenis as well as Syrians and Hijazis from Saudi Arabia. They all introduced new ideas and techniques. During the 1920s silver decorated with niello work (a form of black enamelling) became popular because the enamel would only take on a good grade of silver. The silver bracelets with niello are often called asawir cirkez (Circas­ sian bracelets). As with dyeing and glass-making techniques, silversmiths were jealous of their knowledge and kept their secrets within the family circle. Two of the techniques used by the silversmiths were hammering and repousse. In hammering (tariq), silver is hammered into sheets and then cut or bent into the required shape and soldered. The metal might also be engraved. Repousse (darab shakush) involves the metal being placed on a bed of pitch and then hammered with different-sized punches. The design appears in relief. One of the main sources of silver until recently was the Maria Theresa dollar which had a good silver content. This coin was immensely popular throughout the Arab world and forms a part of many pieces ofjewellery. It originated in Austria in the eighteenth century and was also minted for the Arab world during the British Raj in India. Ottoman Empire coins had a

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Silver Folk Jewellery

plate 91 Syrian chain. Hanging from the chain are seba’ayoun (‘seven eyes’), crescents, frogs and salamanders, together with assorted beads and stones. Frogs and salamanders are symbols of good luck and fertility not only in the Syrian region but in North Africa. The close up shows the blue, Muslim version of the seba’ayoun with, next to it, what might be the Christian version - the brown stone with a cross on it.

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Palestinian Costume 92 Belt. Belts such as this were worn not only in the Arab world but in East European countries as well. Amongst some of the Palestinian/Jordanian tribes the young and beautiful sheikha is supposed to have worn such a belt before the start of a battle. She sat high up in the howdej (camel litter), threw off her veil and loosened her long black hair and as the focal point of the battle inspired the young warriors to ‘do or die’ for her. This particular silver ‘buckle’ is approximately 31cm. long and 13cm deep. The rest of this belt is missing. The missing parts could have been either of leather or made from metal or silver pieces. plate

somewhat lower silver content and were used for cheaper jewellery. A variety of coins can be found in jewellery and this includes the Russian kopek which also had a good silver content. A rather spectacular headpiece was worn in Syria and Jordan, though not - as far as is known - in Palestine. The arjeh (see Plate 86) was constructed of heavy, round links of silver 2 in wide. It fitted round the head, with a third band crossing over and down to waist level at the back. This tail part was a well-woven length of material to which were sewn numerous gold or silver coins and which ended in a colourful swinging tassel. Attached to the silver round the head was a beaded band from which hung more small gold or silver coins decorating the forehead. In the Syrian version of the arjeh, clusters of gold coins curved out on either side of the cheeks. When the arjeh is first seen one thinks immediately of a similar headpiece worn in South India. There are in fact many versions throughout the Muslim world. It might be that this style originally came by sea to Arabia from India and spread with the expansion of Islam. The non-Muslim Chuvash of the mid-Volga region in the USSR wear very similar spectacular coin head­ dresses. The old ones were made up of Arabic-inscribed coins, beads,

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Silver Folk Jewellery plate 93 Jnad (shoulder chain Palestinian?).

94 Kirdan. This type of choker necklace is popular over the whole Islamic world. What appears to be a version of it is to be seen in Buddhist Tibet and Ladakh and might have been introduced by Muslim traders through Kargil. Kargil is a small town positioned between Srinagar (Kashmir) and Ladakh. As one leaves the town one enters into Buddhist Ladakh. Kirdan were worn by both village and Bedu women. They were made in Nablus (Palestine), Irbid and Kerak (Jordan) and in Syria. The example shown here was made in either Jordan or Palestine. The Hands of Fatima (Khamsa) are sand-cast. The name of the necklace changes in different places: sh’iriyya in Libya, jordani in Greece, and chamkali in Baluchistan. plate

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plate 95 The tantour (or shihabeeyeen) of the Druze. The tantour was a tall, silver, conical head-dress worn by married women until at least the late nineteenth century. It was replaced by the tarboosh a burgundy-coloured hat similar to the fez (the fez was smaller and rounder, and was worn by men). On the crown was a circular silver-worked disc from which hung gold coins or round gold pieces called jihadieh. Along the edges were suspended more gold coins or pieces of gold. Hanging from the centre of the forehead was a larger gold coin known as al shakkat. These were all part of the bride­ wealth and were sewn on. The whole thing was covered by al futeh, a white filmy piece of georgette some 2m long and occasionally embroidered along its edges. In Palestine the georgette/wte/z was kept in place by a stiffened ’asabeh-typc head bandeau. There have been similar forms of tantour worn not only in the Arab world but much further afield. The Christian women of Orfa (now in Turkey) are supposed to have worn a very similar head-dress. The Jewish women of Algeria seem also to have worn one in the nineteenth century. The hennin of mediaeval France and England, which was strikingly like the tantour, is often considered to have been brought to France through the Crusaders. The common factor in these tall conical women’s head­ dresses might be Mongolia and the Mongolian invasions of the Middle East. Mongolian women’s head-dresses were varied, exotic and often elongated. A Chinese general during the time of Genghis

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Khan spoke of a cap that the wives of the Mongolian chiefs wore. It was called a qu-qu, was made of wire and was about ‘three feet high and had the appearance of a bamboo. The whole is covered with purple velvet’ (MongolJewellery, Martha Boyer pp. 105-9). There has been a very long­ standing connection between the Arab and Chinese worlds stretching back pre-Islam through the silk route as well as by sea. The tantour was mainly worn in what are now Lebanon and Syria, and the examples shown here, which date from the nineteenth century, would have been made in one of those countries. The tantour is now part of the Lebanese national dress.

plate 96 Druze wedding procession. (From Eastern Manners and Customs, Nelson & Sons, London, 1868.)

97 Druze bride - late nineteenth or early twentieth century. This photograph, possibly taken by the nineteenth­ century photographer Bonfils, shows a Druze bride wearing a jacket quite similar to that of the Bethlehem women in Plate 23. Her thob could even be Bethlehem material. However, her jewellery suggests either Lebanon or Syria, as does her head-veil. The Bonfils family first left France for Lebanon in i860 and they took many remarkable and technically excellent photographs of the Arab world until perhaps the early twentieth century. plate

123

98 Fish amulet-probably late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The fish is a very old Middle Eastern motif and was once a fertility symbol. It has continued to be worn but its symbolism seems to have long been forgotten. This fish amulet may have been made in the Levant, or could possibly have come from Turkey. plate

99 Hijab. This hijab (amulet) is a silver box with niello decoration. It is from either Jordan or Palestine. plate

124

Maskeh. This is a maskeh (amulet) with Arabic inscriptions and magical numbers. These were often made to order by wandering silversmiths. Cloth merchants, shoemakers and gypsies (nawar) all visited the less accessible villages with their wares. plate ioo

plate io i Part of a chin-chain — Palestinian. The chain is of a type that first became popular during the Roman period.

125

102 Ramallah-area silver chin-chain. From the chain are suspended Ottoman coins and a Maria Theresa dollar. plate

103 Jnad. A jnad (silver shoulder chain) was worn over the shoulder and down the hip. Some were worn in pairs. Thejmzd was also popular in Oman. plate

126

104 Shnaf. These shnaf (nose-rings) are from (clockwise, starting top left) Saudi Arabia, Negeb/Sinai region, Negeb/Sinai region, probably Negeb/Sinai region, probably Iraq. plate

buttons and shells. The women of Agianna on the Island of Evia in Greece wore a bridal head-dress called a kremeza with a coin-covered ‘tail’. The name relates to the crimson dye of Arabian origin. One of the necklaces used in this village is also interesting because it is almost an exact copy of the Arab kirdan (see Plate 94). In Agianna and elsewhere in Greece it was called a jordani, the ‘j’ being pronounced like ‘y’ in the English ‘you’. The choker­ type necklace is in this case a strip of material with small oblong silver ornaments sewn on side by side at regular intervals. Dangling from these are coins, crescents, and small hands as well as, in mainly Christian Greece, the cross. The kirdan were worn not only in the Levant but throughout Islamic regions. There are a number of these choker styles but it can sometimes be hard to tell exactly where they were made. A version seems to have reached Buddhist Tibet and Ladakh where the oblong pieces look more like fish. The necklace looks ‘Arab’ in its arrangement and this is quite possible because the Muslim and Buddhist borders very often overlap. Fish motifs are common even in land-locked Tibet for they are old symbols of fertility. Another ornament once very common in Arab countries was the nose­ ring (shnaf). Worn by the Bedu and the villager but not generally by the townswoman, it was made in silver or gold and could be large or small. Generally speaking one tends to associate nose-rings with the Indian sub­ continent. If a study is made of the numerous statues from early periods of Indian history, although otherwise liberally bejewelled none appear to be

127

Palestinian Costume 105 Qladet qurenful. The cloves in these qladet qurenful (clove necklaces) give off a pleasant aroma. They also had medicinal uses and were considered aphrodisiac. The necklace on the right is particularly beautiful with glass ‘eyes’ at intervals and bunches of what appear to be glass ‘hands’, both powerful against the evil eye. The little triangles down each side are beaded and contain pieces of alum. Alum is also effective against the ‘eye’ and used by barbers when they want to control bleeding from a nick in the skin. Suspended from the necklace is a silver cylindrical khiyar (‘cucumber’), which is an amulet for holding religious writings. plate

128

Silver Folk Jewellery wearing nose-rings. Some Indian historians are of the opinion that nose­ rings began to be worn in the tribal areas in about the tenth century AD. However, they begin to be seen in early Mogul or Mogul-influenced paint­ ings from about the sixteenth century AD. If one takes account of mistrans­ lations, there are a few mentions to be found in the Biblical Old Testament (eg Isaiah 3:21). It seems possible that nose-rings could have originated in the Arabian peninsula or in the desert areas of the Palestinian region. The Ancient Egyptians are not portrayed wearing them. Wherever the nose-ring was first worn, and one is inclined to credit the Bedu with originating the custom, it was certainly an immensely popular piece ofjewellery. The wearing by men of gold jewellery or other forms of extravagant decoration was discouraged by Islam as it was considered to be a form of vanity and ostentation. Although emperors possessed and wore plentiful ornamentation this was designed to show the power and wealth of the court. Some such as the Mogul Aurangzeb dressed very plainly except during official court functions. There have naturally been individuals who have flouted the custom, and periods when it has been more generally flouted, but on the whole the Muslim male’s attire has been relatively plain whether he is of high ranl^ or low. This being so, it was surprising to read an account which appears to be factual of a trip made through Jordan and Palestine in the 1880s. Captain J. MacGregor of the Royal Canoe Club and his canoe the Rob Roy took ‘A Canoe Cruise in Palestine and Egypt and the Waters of Damascus’. Captain MacGregor seems also to have canoed exten­ sively through Scandinavia and the United States, sketching as he went and making lengthy notes on what he found. He writes of arriving at a village on Lake Hooley (Huleh) in Palestine: The festival ending Ramadan happened to fall at this time, so that all the people were idle, joyous and boisterous in their fashion, and they have donned their gaudiest finery. A procession of children came over the marsh with guns, flags, green boughs, long sticks and music of tom­ toms and singing. When they saw the ‘Rob Roy’ on horseback, the ranks burst into disorder, and rushed to our group with wild shouts. They believed (they said) that the canoe had come to honour their holiday show. Their dress was the most various possible, long and short,

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Palestinian Costume 106 Head-dressfrom the Bir Seb’a or Khan Yunis region. These becoined head-dresses were reputedly worn by the Bedu at weddings.

plate

107 Burgo’from the Bir Seb’a region. A sliding cord holds the burgo’ (face-veil) in place.

plate

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Silver Folk Jewellery 108 Afew Palestinian head­ dresses. The Ramallah smadeh is the middle hat, directly below the topmost one. Some had as many as three rows of coins along the top. To the left is a hat from the Bayt Dajan area. At the bottom on the extreme left is the small pointed hat called in Silfeed taqiyyeh. The hair is bound into the two long bands (lafayef) and rolled into a neat chignon at the back. The tarboosh at the front is of silver thread with small coral beads and comes from Turkey. The tarboosh was often worn by Palestinian men at weddings and other occasions. plate

coloured and plain, scanty and ample, of camel’s hair from Damascus, silk from Lebanon and Manchester cotton. All of the women had their faces stained in blue patterns. Most of the men were tattooed, and some not merely punctured, but gashed hideously in diagrams on their cheeks. A good deal ofjewellery was displayed. Many of the men wore earrings. Nose-rings were the fashion among the young. Heavy dirty coins hung from their hair and rattled on their cheeks. One had this chain of money linked at one end to his ear and another to his nose.

131

Palestinian Costume

Captain MacGregor goes on to say that he tried to sketch them, but gave all but three of the drawings away (see Plate 82). The village was called Mansoura but there were many villages along the way with the same name. Though he had already travelled a considerable distance through many other villages he too seemed surprised at the appear­ ance of the men. It was not normal and was probably an unusual instance in an isolated village. A common amulet, especially in the Gulf area and Iraq, where it is pinned to the dress of very small children, is the seba’ayoun (‘seven eyes’) or Khamas wa Khamsa in Egypt. According to research carried out by Peter W. Schiernal (1982), the history of seba’ayoun can be traced back to the religious beliefs of ancient Mesopotamia and the Sumerian Moon God Shin. Shin the Moon God was ruler of the Celestial world. During that period seba’ayoun rep­ resented Shin and the other six planets, which were Shemsh (the sun, then in a subordinate position), Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. When Christianity was being established in Egypt certain pagan customs were proving difficult to eradicate. The authorities thought it wiser to transform seba’ayoun into a Christianised version, and the new one had, instead of seven eyes, a cross shape with four dots. The photograph (see Plate 91) shows what appears to be the original version next to the Christianised one. In this probably Syrian piece of jewellery are little frogs and salamanders both of which are creatures of good fortune. The salamander was an animal of fire and because it was considered sexless often represented chastity. The frog or toad has various attributes in different countries and times but was usually a fertility symbol. In Chinese lore a frog at the bottom of a well denoted a person of limited vision and understanding. There is much scope for research into Islamic jewellery for comparatively little has been done. The study of its symbolism is absorbing for it deals with the deeper psyche of the human being, of which jewellery and costume are expressions. Folk jewellery in particular is of special interest, conveying as it does the feelings and customs of people at an unconscious level. The following silversmithing techniques were in use in Syria, Palestine and Jordan during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Jewellery was generally made in the towns but there were also itinerant silversmiths who travelled around the tribes and villages and made articles to order.

132

Silver Folk Jewellery chains

(sinsal)

There were a great variety of chains with different spacers between the links. Filigree, granulation and sandcasting techniques were commonly used. filigree

(qisr shift)

This work gives an impression of fine, delicate ‘netting’. It is worked with pliers, by twisting and soldering the wire to make a lacy pattern. Many of the balls on chains were made this way. niello

(mhabar)

This is a technique whereby a design is engraved on good-quality silver. A filling of lead, sulphur, powdered copper and silver (and sometimes borax) is placed in the incised decoration and then fixed by heat. When that process is completed the piece is carefully filed to make the surface smooth. granulation

(habbiyat)

This is the soldering of small balls of gold or silver in close-packed patterns to silver or gold. The technique was lost to Europe until the nineteenth century, but was not lost in the East and some fine work was made in the Arab world. SAND-CASTING

(sakib)

A mould is made of wood or metal and then filled with tightly packed sand. The sand is mixed with treacle or some other substance to make a mixture that will retain the exact impression of the model. A copy is cast from the mould, which can only be used once.

133

Traditional Embroidery Motifs from the Levant Many of the embroidery motifs in Palestine, Syria and Jordan are what might be termed border patterns in their structure, and are used, especially in Palestine, for framing purposes. They might also be placed vertically or horizontally next to one and other. In the Hebron area, for example, these border patterns are embroidered vertically side by side and cover the entire front and back skirt of a dress.

plate 109 Asymmetrical design from the village ofM’herdeh, Syria.

134

Traditional embroidery motifs

Some traditional motifs from Palestine, Syria and Jordan (Prepared by Mrs Beverly Shami)

‘The road to Damascus’ (tariq Hl Dimeshq)

‘Cypress tree’ (saru)

‘The pasha’s tent’ (khem el basha)

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Palestinian Costume In the Ramallah district of Palestine the cut of the dress and its vertical bands of embroidery (see Plate 34) have been likened to the Roman tunic with its clavi. These were two strips of embroidery or weaving that ran up from the front hem, over the shoulders, and down to the back hem. Originally they were the badge of an order of knights in the early Roman period; later on they became a merely decorative device. The general shape of many of the thob in the Levant is similar to the Roman tunic or the dalmatic and no doubt there is a connection. The resemblance should not be taken too far, however, and changes in dress construction have certainly taken place in the intervening centuries. As might be expected, there is a large repertoire of motifs shared by the whole Arab world but each area has its own traditional arrangements and colours. It is easy to see from which region a costume comes even though, for example, both Sarakeb in Syria and Bayt Omar in Palestine use the palm-tree motif in their embroidery. Similar-looking motifs may or may not have the same name. Some patterns are of antique origin such as stars, crosses, triangles, birds and the tree of life and its many variations. Birds facing each other on a tree of life (see Plate 44) are said to have originated in Egypt in the tenth century AD and animals facing each other are to be seen in Coptic textiles. The various stars and ‘moons’ are thought to have originated in Palestine and to have travelled as far afield as the Baltic, Scandinavia and ultimately the Shetland and Orkney Islands. Similarly, some of these motifs returned in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries in altered form through magazines and patterns supplied with packets of thread. It is interesting that around the ninth and tenth centuries AD there was a Viking mercenary group working in Byzantine Constantinople. They were said to have visited Jerusalem during their leave periods. Perhaps some of the star motifs arrived in northern Europe through these Vikings when they returned home? Many old motifs retain their popularity to this day but there must have been constant additions to the repertoire, given the position of the Levant as a crossroads between East and West. An obviously new motif is ‘railway lines’ from the Sarakeb district in Syria (see Motifs). An embroidered lily-of-the-valley motif is an even more recent addition, to be seen around the deep necklines of some Jordanian dresses. Possibly this one may have

136

Traditional embroidery motifs

been introduced by the Palestinians (the arrangement seems rather Palesti­ nian), who must in turn have taken it, like other European designs, from magazines or the patterns enclosed in packets of thread. Since the early twentieth century threads have come mainly from DMC (Alsace) or Britain. Before that the natural-dyed Syrian threads were in use. Chemical-dyed threads spread after about the turn of the century. Although they were then somewhat harsh and at the beginning tended to run, they were easier to use and DMC to this day has good sales. Mrs Widad Kawar mentions a Palesti­ nian dyer who was able to obtain twelve shades of red from the kermes insect and this seems to be borne out by the different shades of red in one of the dresses in her collection. The representation of the human figure is forbidden in mosques and places of worship in Islam and this has generally carried through to other areas of life. It gave rise to the development of arabesque and the geometric form of decoration that had so much influence on the rest of the world and is so much the signature of Islamic art. Arabic calligraphy lent itself magnifi­ cently to this form of design and appears throughout the history of Islamic textiles in weaving and embroidery all over the Arab/Islamic world. Because little Fellahin and Bedu embroidery survived the nineteenth century, and not much has been written about it, it is difficult to speculate how designs might have changed let alone guess what they might have been like two hundred or more years ago. The constantly changing patterns of population movement, with villages appearing and disappearing and tribes spreading into new territory, must have contributed to the dispersal of motifs. In the late seventeenth century began what was for many reasons a period of great population shifts. It is fairly certain that until the early twentieth century motifs were much more geometric. It is only compara­ tively recently that the Bedu in Palestine began to introduce naturalistic rather than stylised designs. In this they were probably influenced by village embroidery. With the advent of the sewing-machine, hand-embroidery amongst the Bedu is now less practised and coloured ricrac arranged in very geometric patterns has often taken its place. InJordan some of the tribes such as Abu Alenda and Al Adwan decorated their costumes with floral and geometric designs. There is a long dress (thob’ob') from the Bani Hassan in which the great sleeves, on which the floral embroidery tumbled down in a

137

Palestinian Costume

‘Feathers’ (riish)

‘Eye of the camel’ (ain eljemel)

‘Kohl pot’ (mikhaleh)

‘Tall palms’ (nakhleh "ali)

138

‘Combs’ (mushut)

‘Rose and leech’ (ward wil-’aleq) or ‘worm in the eye of the apple’

Traditional embroidery motifs ‘Railway lines’ (sakkeb hadeed) Found in Sarakeb in Syria

Mukharam. This is a style of embroidery worked in Jordan and the south of Syria in which the exposed material forms the motif. A skilfully worked double running stitch is used, giving a lace-like appearance. All the motifs have names; the one shown here is ‘horse footprints in the sand’. The black in the drawing represents the material.

Horse foot prints in the sand

Double running stitch

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Palestinian Costume

cascade of reds with touches of green, were held behind the shoulders by buttons. The small town of Madaba is very ancient but was for many centuries deserted. It was resettled in the late nineteenth century and had a large Christian population. From that period a good deal of beautiful, rather Italianate embroidery seems to have been produced not so much on clothing as on cushion covers and other such articles. In the north of Jordan and southern Syria a very dramatic and colourful type of costume embroidery was produced on mainly black material. The pattern was made not by the embroidery itself but by the material showing through the stitches. The women also accentuated seams with multicoloured satin stitch. The names of the different patterns were expressive of things seen in everyday life such as ‘eggs in a pan’, ‘coffee grounds’ and ‘the road to Cairo’. Times have changed and fewer people produce handwork, most people tending either to use a machine or to go to the dressmaker. Nevertheless, people still take pleasure in embroidering at least their best costumes. In one northern Jordanian village young women took out for the author some of the work that they had done on dresses worn at weddings or the Aid al Fitr and Aid al Adha festivals. Some of the best embroidery was worked by a young woman who was a supervisor in a small carpet-producing factory. While the author was on a visit to the dressmaker in the town of Ajlun (Jordan) a swatch of machine-embroidered patterns was taken out. These were all geometrical designs, from which the customer could pick out what she fancied. The town of Ramtha near the Syrian border was renowned for its dress embroidery and to a certain extent still continues the tradition. A new and popular combination was seen recently on a very lovely black cotton machine-embroidered dress. Right round the deep neckline and in a wide border round the hem was an extensive geometric pattern worked in what can only be called sky-blue and ice-white cotton. The effect was both dramatic and fresh as the lady stood outside her front door on an early summer morning. Costume embroidery in Syria was also skilled and varied, and came very much within the influence of Ottoman Turkey, perhaps because of its proximity. A few examples of the embroidery of Syria have been included here but research is still in progress. As in Palestine there are areas where little costume embroidery seems to have taken place, probably for much the

140

Traditional embroidery motifs

same reasons. Again as in Palestine, the women had a good eye for colour and put together fine costumes of stripes and blocks of colour. Those people who still wear non-Western type attire now make use of machine embroid­ ery and attractive combinations of material. Plate log shows a coat from the village of M’herdeh with its asymmetrical embroidery worked in satin stitch, fishbone stitch and running stitch in red, purple, green and yellow silks. The most commonly used stitch throughout the Levant is cross-stitch. This is generally worked by the counted-thread method which requires a material with suitably large fibre. However, the Bedu and, for example, women from the small village of Sukhne in Syria often used shiny closefibred materials such as satin and sateen. A pattern would be bought in the town or drawn on to a piece of coarse linen. This was placed on the dress material and embroidered. When the design was completed it only remained to pull the linen threads out one by one. It was not unknown for embroi­ derers to work only, as did the Bethlehem women, ‘from a clear mind’. Applique work on costume and cushions was much used especially in Palestine and Syria. If for some reason a marriage was arranged in a hurry and the bride had not completed her embroidered dress in time applique was often used in its place. Other stitches in common use were satin, chain, buttonhole and fishbone. The last two, along with satin stitch, accentuated the seams. A dress in black material with only the seams embroidered can look quite exceptionally beautiful. When one considers how hard-working village and Bedu women were one is amazed at the intricacy and excellence of what they produced. They had a fairly large repertoire of stitches and these they used in many ways on their clothes and on household goods. The work they produced owed much of its quality to the fact that it was made with the object of both supplying and beautifying objects of daily living. Their work therefore occupied an important place in social life. It showed artistic sense and skill and when it finally disappears, as it probably will, something that enhanced life will have gone for ever.

141

Palestinian Costume Quatrefoil - this particular quatrefoil is often known as ‘Star of feathers’ (nejim el riish)

‘Moon of Bethlehem’ (qamr beit lahm) or ‘moon of doves’

‘Foreign moon’ - (qamrfrangi) or ‘the eye of the cow’ (’ayn el’baqara)

142

Traditional embroidery motifs ‘Palms’ (nakhleh) - the north Syrian version, found in Sarakeb, Syria

‘Branch of pigeons’ (irq el hamam).

The red-brown colour of the embroidery thread is known as ‘the blood of the Zghoul’ - the Zghoul being a small pigeon. (Sitt Rasmia, Shu’fat village near Jerusalem - 1987)

143

A Few Common Stitches CROSS-STITCH

This stitch is worked by the counted-thread method with the top stitches slanting in the same direction.

BUTTON-HOLE OR BLANKET-STITCH

This stitch is useful for filling shapes or areas, or holding selvedges together.

SATIN OR FLAT-STITCH

The stitches lie close together and are used to give a solid appearance. They may be used to hold selvedges together decoratively.

COUCHING-STITCH

The basic couching stitch is made by laying down threads which are held in place by small single stitches at intervals. There are many different varieties of couching with Bethlehem practising a curvilinear floral one.

CRETAN STITCH

A filling and joining stitch.

FISHBONE-STITCH

This stitch is used to hold selvedges together decoratively and to fill a shape or area.

STEM-STITCH AND RUNNING-STITCH

Both stitches are used for outlining or filling an area.

CHAIN-STITCH

This stitch is used for outlining or filling an area.

144

A Short Glossary Abayeh (or ’aba)

The mantle worn by both men and women.

Abu erdan

‘Dress with pointed sleeves’ - name used for the Bedu thob.

Abu hizz ahmar

Plain weave black/indigo material with stripes of purple or pink that was woven in Maj dal.

Abu miten

As above, but with stripes of purple between red and pink, and also woven in Maj dal.

Abu safarti

A black crepe fabric.

Aid al Fitr

The festival marking the end of Ramadan (the month of fasting).

Aid al Adha

The festival celebrating the sacrifice of Abraham and the end of the Haj.

’Al eq

The S-shaped (‘leech’) embroidery motif.

’Aqal

The ringed cord worn over the head-scarf to keep it in place.

’Araqiyyeh (or ma’raga)

A small cap worn by both sexes to absorb sweat.

’Arba beidatfelmakla

‘Four eggs in a pan’ - an embroidery motif popular in Jordan.

Arjeh

Silver head-dress used in Syria and Jordan.

’Aruq

‘Branches’ - an embroidery motif.

’Asabeh

The folded bandeau worn by women to keep the head-scarf in place. It has the same function as the male ’aqal.

Asawir mina

Silver nielloed bracelets usually made by the Armenian silversmiths in Jerusalem in the first part of the twentieth century.

Atlas

Yellow-and-red-striped silk fabric. The Arabic word means ‘shiny’ and sometimes the word is used for other shiny fabrics.

’Ayn el’baqara

‘Eye of the cow’ - a Palestinian embroidery motif.

Balat

‘Tiles’ - an embroidery motif.

Bedouin stitch

The fine slanted satin-stitch used by Bedu women at the bottom of their dresses, especially in Palestine.

Bethlehem couching

The couching work in gold thread with satin infills, in a curvilinear floral style, done by the embroiderers of Bethlehem.

145

Palestinian Costume Bisht

A shoulder mantle like the ’aba, worn by both sexes.

Biz er

‘Seeds’ - an embroidery motif much used in Syrian embroidery.

Bniga (plural, benayeq)

The silk insets in the sides of the skirts of Bethlehem dresses.

Burgo’

A style of face-veil particularly common amongst Bedu women.

Buttonhole stitch

See section on stitches.

Couching

See section on stitches.

Cretan stitch

See section on stitches.

Cross-stitch

See section on stitches.

Damer

A term for jacket.

Dendeki

A rust coloured material woven in Palestine, used mainly for cushion covers.

Dik

Cockerel - an embroidery motif

Direh

The area within which a tribe moves.

Diyal muqassabeh

The metallic border woven into Bethlehem dresses.

Diyal

Border. The diyal is applied to the brocaded back panel of a Bethlehem dress.

Dubet

A cotton sateen-type material popular in Syria, Jordan and Palestine.

Dur

The rim or edge of a hat.

Durra"a

A coat or jacket. In other Arab countries it can also mean a dress.

Durzi

An indigo-dyed material woven in Palestine.

Esawra

Bracelet common in the whole area.

Fanajin qahweh

‘Coffee cups’ - an embroidery motif.

el farraneh

An embroidery motif made of diamond shapes - loosely translated as ‘a female baker’ (Palestine).

Fishbone stitch (sabaleh)

See section on stitches.

Flat-stitch

See section on stitches.

Fustan

A word for a dress worn by a woman, synonymous with Thob.

Futeh

A head cloth.

146

A Short Glossary Gelayed

‘Necklace’ - an embroidery motif.

Ghabani

Natural cotton covered with gold or yellow silk-thread embroidery which comes from Aleppo in Syria. Worked in chain stitch it was used for dress material, scarves, etc. and is now very popular not only for kaftans but for tablecloths, napkins, etc.

Ghudfeh

A head-shawl used in the Hebron area.

Girbeh

A goatskin water carrier.

Hamam

‘Pigeons’ - an embroidery motif.

Harir nabati

Artificial silk.

Heremsy

Silk material in green, yellow and reds that was made in Syria and very popular in Palestine and parts ofJordan.

Hijab

An amulet that can be triangular or rectangular and often holds writings from the Qur’an. The triangular embroidery motifs are also known as hijab and these days women who dress in an Islamic manner are dressed in Hijab.

Hirz

An amulet that contains religious writings.

Hizam

Belt worn by men and women.

Howdej

Camel litter.

Imshad

A cummerbund or belt worn by women. Used for carrying small articles as well as to hold the stomach in. The word means to bind.

Irq el hamam

‘Branch of Pigeons’ - an embroidery motif.

’Irq el tujfah

‘Apple branch’ - an embroidery motif. In Palestine it is symmetrically opposite isosceles triangles; in some areas of Syria it is a variant of the ‘palm-tree’ motif.

"Irq el ward

‘Rose branch’ - an embroidery motif.

Ishdad

A woollen belt worn by men and women.

Janna wa-nar

The fabric woven in Majdal of white linen with green and red (Heaven and Hell) selvedge stripes made of a silk warp and cotton weft. It was very popular in the Gaza/Jaffa area.

Jihadieh

The small gold coins or round gold pieces that decorate the silver hat disc worn by Druze women.

Jillayeh

An embroidered wedding dress that can also be an

147

Palestinian Costume Jillayeh (cont’d.)

embroidered coat and is usually the most richly embroidered of all costumes and is worn on the wedding day.

Jnad

A long silver chain decorated with coins and silver balls that is worn slung over the right shoulder on to the left hip. Such chains can also be worn in pairs, one over each shoulder. They are used in Jordan as well as other parts of the Arab world such as Oman.

Jubba

A coat worn by both men and women.

Kajiyyeh

The head-scarf worn mainly by men though sometimes by women.

Kaus (Qaus)

‘Rainbow’ or ‘arch’ - an embroidery motif.

Khalaga (or thob’ob)

The very long dress worn by the women of Salt in Jordan as well as by some of the tribes. It was also once worn by women in Jericho where it was called Berameh.

Khamsa

The Hand or Hand of Fatma - an old symbol used against the evil eye in the Mediterranean and Arab world.

Khamasiyat

Head ornament of silver hands worn in Jordan and Palestine.

Khatim

Ring for the hand.

Khem el basha

‘The pasha’s tent’ - an embroidery motif.

Khirqa

A head-shawl from the Ramallah area.

Khiyar

A ‘cucumber’ - cylindrical-shaped amulet.

Kirdan

A choker-type necklace known throughout the Arab world and even in India. Almost the same design is used in Greece where it is called jordani.

Kis w eh

Trousseau.

Kufjieh

A headscarf worn by men and women, but more often by men.

Kuwwar

‘Flower-pots’ - an embroidery motif.

Lafayef

Bands of cloth attached to a woman’s hat in which her hair is rolled up.

Laseh

A head-scarf into which metal pieces have been hammered.

Lib as

Underpants worn by men and women.

Makhmel

Velvet.

Maskeh

An amulet with a religious inscription in Arabic on it.

148

A Short Glossary Masriyemeh

Silver bracelets made in Cairo mainly for the Sinai Bedu.

Maya

‘Water’ — an embroidery motif made up of chevrons.

Mehkeddah

Cushion - an embroidery motif.

Mendil

A woman’s scarf for veil.

Minaret

‘Minarets’ — an embroidery motif.

Miftah khalil

‘The key of Hebron’ - an embroidery motif made up of stacked triangles.

Mihrab

An embroidery motif shaped like the prayer niche of a mosque. It is a very popular motif in parts of Syria.

Mikhaleh

‘Kohl pot’ - an embroidery motif.

Milaya/mellaye

A long rectangular cloth used by women when out of doors to cover the head and body.

Mintiyan

Another Arabic term for jacket worn by men and women.

Muj

‘Waves’ - an embroidery motif.

Mukharam

A lace-like form of embroidery worked in Jordan and the south of Syria; the exposed material not the embroidery produces the dramatic pattern.

Muqass

‘Scissors’.

Mus hut

‘Combs’ - an embroidery motif.

Nafnaf

An embroidery motif of small desert flowers used by the Bedu in the Bir Seb’a area.

Nakhel mijwez

Double-palm motif used in Jordan.

Nakhleh

‘Palms’ - an embroidery motif.

Nakhleh ’ali

‘Tall palms’ - an embroidery motif.

Nejmeh

‘Stars’ - an embroidery motif.

Qabbeh

The embroidered chest panel.

Qalayed

Necklace - an embroidery motif.

Qamha hamra

The same as atlas silk, the yellow material with red stripes.

Qamha samra

A red/yellow striped silk fabric (atlas) from Syria.

Qamr belt iahm

‘Bethlehem Moon’ - an embroidery motif.

149

Palestinian Costume Qamr bi-riish

‘Moon with feathers’ - an embroidery motif used in Ramallah. In other areas the same pattern is called ‘the pasha’s tent’ (khem el basha) or ‘soap’ (sabun).

Qamrfrangi

‘Foreign Moon’ - an embroidery motif

Qladet qurenful

A necklace made up of sweet smelling cloves - popular with brides.

Qu mb az

A long gown with a crossover. It is often made of striped material, though in Iraq it is usually of a plain dark material. Now generally worn by men, but sometimes by women, it is worn belted.

Qurunful

‘Carnation’ - an embroidery motif.

Raqmeh

‘Diamonds’ - an embroidery motif.

Rashek

Embroidery work done in imitation of Bethlehem silver and gold couching work.

Riish

‘Feathers’ - an embroidery motif, used for borders.

Saffa

A small hat with coins on it worn by women.

Salta

Jacket.

Samak

A fish-shaped amulet once worn by women.

Saru

‘Cypress tree’ - an embroidery motif.

Satin stitch

See section on stitches.

Sawa’id

The three silk insets on the sleeves of the Bethlehem dress.

Seba’ ayoun

‘Seven eyes’ one of the names for the small blue frit stones with seven holes. A charm often worn by very small children originally against the evil eye.

As-seba’ wiyat

Wide silver bracelets with repousse patterns made in Cairo mainly for the Sinai Bedu.

Al Shakkat

The large gold coin worn by Druze women on the forehead.

Shambar

A large head veil. In Palestine it was black with much embroidery at one end. In Syria the shambar was also black but the last 12 in or so at one end were dyed red and bordered with many tassels and some embroidery.

Shaqqa

‘Pieces’ - the Jerusalem dress which was made of silk pieces sewn together decoratively.

Shatweh

The Bethlehem woman’s fez-like hat with gold or silver coins

150

A Short Glossary Shatweh (cont’d.)

from her bride-wealth on it.

Sherajat el-hubb

‘Tree of Love’ - an embroidery motif

Shejara wa aleha subu’a

‘Tree with Lions’ - embroidery motif.

Sidriyyeh

A waistcoat worn by men in places such as Egypt, Kuwait, etc.

Shnaf

Earring or nose-ring.

Shugel belt lahm

‘Bethlehem work’ - the couched Bethlehem work.

Shuwayhiyyeh

The woven woollen belt worn by women in southern Palestine.

Smadeh

The horseshoe-shaped hat with coins from the bride-wealth worn round it which was worn in the Ramallah area.

Smokin

A material used for men’s and women’s evening suits.

Suq

Market.

Tallis

An embroidery motif that completely covers the material.

Tantour (or shihabeeyeen)

The tall steeple hat of the Druze.

Taqiyyeh

A small hat similar to the ’araqiyyeh worn to absorb sweat.

Taqsireh

A jacket worn all over the Middle East by both men and women. There are many different names in Arabic.

Taqteebeh

A hat similar to the Ramallah smadeh.

Tarboosh

A burgundy coloured brimless hat made from felt.

Tatriz ruhbani

Chain-stitch machine embroidery.

Thob

A common name used all over the Arab world for a woman’s top dress.

Thob abu qutbeh

A Jerusalem dress which was made of pieces of green and red silk stitched together.

Thob azraq

‘Blue dress’ worn by women in Bir Seb’a with blue cross-stitch embroidery.

Thob ikhdari

‘Green dress’ from Bethlehem where the main panel is woven from green material.

Thob melaka

‘Royal dress’ - the materials, made in Bethlehem, that were popular with brides in Bethlehem and its surrounding villages.

Thob melaka abu wardeh

‘Royal dress with flowers’ - one of the woven materials of Bethlehem, a ‘royal fabric’ distinguished by a small pattern of flowers in the stripe.

151

Palestinian Costume Waraq el-ayneb

‘Grape leaves’ - an embroidery motif used on some of the long dresses.

Wuqa for wuqaya)

‘Protection’ - a word for a woman’s hat.

Wuqayat el derahim

A wedding hat worn in southern and central Palestine. It was covered with small coins and seems to have been comparatively rare as most brides could not afford it and either borrowed or rented one for the first day of the wedding.

Zenaq

A chin-chain for holding a woman’s hat in place.

Zghoul

A little pigeon. There is a reddish-brown colour known as ‘blood of the zghoul’.

Zunnar

A belt used by men and women, usually consisting of a folded scarf patterned in various ways.

152

Bibliography Antoun, Richard T., Arab Village (Jordan) (Indiana University Press, Bloomington and London, 1972) Ashkenazi, To via, Tribus Semi-Nomades de la Palestine du Nord (Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris, 1938) Ashtour, Eliyahu, Levant Trade in the Later Middle Ages (Princeton University Press, 1983) Baldenspager, P., The Immovable East (Pitmans, London, 1913) Bell, Gertrude L., Syria (William Heinemann, London, 1907) Bendt, L, and Do wning, J., We Shall Return (Zed Press, London, 1982) Blunt, Lady Anne, Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates 2 vols (John Murray, London, 1879) Boyer, Martha, Mongol Jewellery (Glydendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag, Copenhagen, 1952) British Naval Intelligence Division, Syria, Geographical Handbooks Series - for official use only (British Naval Intelligence Publications, London, 1943) ------ Palestine and Transjordan Geographical Handbooks Series - for official use only (British Naval Intelligence Publications, London, 1943) Burckhardt, J. L., Travels in Syria and the Holy Land (John Murray, London, 1822) Ch. Lallemand, , Jerusalem - Damas (Ancienne Maison Quartain, Paris, n.d.) Cooper, J. C., An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols (Thames & Hudson, London, 1978) Crowfoot, Grace M., ‘Embroidery of Bethlehem’ Embroidery (Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, December 1936) ------ , and Sutton, Phillis M., ‘Ramallah Embroidery ’, Embroidery (Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, March 1935) Dickson, H. R. P., The Arab of the Desert (George Allen & Unwin, London, 1949) ------ Kuwait and her Neighbours (George Allen & Unwin, London, 1956) Diqs, Isaak, A Bedouin Boyhood (George Allen & Unwin, London, 1967) Doughty, Charles, Travels in Arabia Deserta (Jonathan Cape, London, 1949) Gid al, Sonia, Beduinen im Negev (Verlag Phillip von Zabenn, Mainz Am Rhein, 1981) Goodrich-Freer, A., Arabs in Town and Tent (Seeley, Service & Co. Ltd, London, 1924) Graham-Brown, Sarah, Palestinians and their Society 1880/1946 (Quartet Books, London, 1980) Granqvist, Hilma, Birth and Childhood among the Arabs (Helsingfors, 1947) ------ Marriage Conditions in a Palestinian Village (Akdemische Buchhandlung, Helsingfors, 1931/35, reprinted AMS Press Inc., New York, 1975) Hansen, Henny Harald, An Ethnographical Collection from the Region of the Alawites (Publications of the Carlsberg Expeditions to Phoenicia, 4 (Kobenhavn, 1976) Hitti, Philip K., The Arabs: A Short History (Macmillan, 5th Ed., London, 1968)

153

Palestinian Costume Inchbold, A. C., Under the Syrian Sun Vols i & 2 (Hutchinson, London, 1906) Abu-IzzEDDiN, NejlaM., The Druzes (E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1984) Al Jadir, Saad, Arab and Islamic Silver (Stacey International, London, 1981) Kanafani, Aida Sami, Aesthetics and Ritual in the UAE (AUB, Beirut, 1983) Kawar, Widad, Costumes Dyed by the Sun (Bunka Publishing Bureau, Tokyo, Japan) Kelman, John, From Damascus to Palmyra (Adam & Charles Black, London, 1908) Khalidi, Walid, Before Their Diaspora (Institute of Palestine Studies, Washington, 1984) Lamm, Carl Johan, Cotton in Mediaeval Textiles of the Near East (Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris, 1937) Lancaster, The Rwala Bedouin Today (Cambridge University Press, London, 1981) Lewis, N. L., Nomads and Settlers in Syria andfordan 1800-1980 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987) Lewis, Peter, Syria - Land of Contrasts (Quartet Books, London, 1980) Locke, Stewart, Bantustan Gaza (Zed Books, London, 1985) Lutifyya, A. A., Baytin- Afordanian Village (TheHague, 1966) Macalisler, R. A. S., The Language of the Nawr or Zutt: The Nomad Smiths of Palestine (T & A Constable, London, for the Gipsy Lore Society, 1914) Macdonald, Jan, ‘Palestinian Dress’ Palestinian Exploration Fund Quarterly (London, 1950-51) ----- Palestinian Dress (unpublished manuscript, Museum of Mankind) Macgregor, J., Rob Roy on thefordan (John Murray, London, 1886) Mcpherson, B., The Man who Loved Egypt (BBC, London, 1983) Newlon, Frances, 50 Years in Palestine (Coldharbour Press, London, 1948) Pesel, Louise F., Stitches from Eastern Embroidery Portfolio 2 (Persy Lund, Humphries & Co., n.d.) Plant, Richard J., Arabic Coins and How to Read Them (SeabyPub., London, 1980) Palestine Liberation Organisation (Department of Information and Culture), Palestinian National Art (Dar Lubnan Printing & Publishing, Beirut) Preiss, Ludwig, and Rohrbach, Paul, Palestine and Transjordania (The Sheldon Press, London, 1926) Ras wan, Carl, The Black Tents of Arabia (Creative Age Press, New York, 1947) Schiernel, Peter W., Crescent to Cross Roman and Byzantine Glass Pendants from Egypt: Ornament 6 (2) (1221 S.La Cienega, Los Angeles CA 90035-0029 California, 1983) ----- Palestinian Folk Jewellery made in Egypt: Ornament 6 (3) (1221 S.La Cienega, Los Angeles CA 90035-0029, California, 1983) Seabrook, W. B., Adventures in Arabia (G. Harrap & Co. London, 1928) Seger, Karen, ed., Portrait of a Palestinian Village (The Third World Centre for Research & Publishing, London, 1981) Sim, Katherine, Jean Louis Burckhardt-A Biography (Quartet Books, London, 1981) Steimatzky’s Pub. Co., Syria and Lebanon (Jerusalem/Beirut, 1942) Stillman, Y. K. Palestinian Costume and Jewellery (University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1979) Suliman, Khalid A., Palestine and Modern Arab Poetry (Zed Books, London, 1984)

154

Bibliography Sweet, Louise, Tell Toqaan: A Syrian Village (University of Michigan, USA, i960) Untracht, Oppi, Jewellery Concepts and Techniques (Robert Hale Ltd, London, 1982) Wheeler, Janet, The Walls ofJericho (Chatto & Windus, London, 1956) Weir, Shelagh, Spinning and Weaving in Palestine (The British Museum, 1970) ------ ‘A Bridal Headdress from Southern Palestine’ Palestine Exploration Quarterly (Manchester Square, London, Jan/Jun 1973) ------Palestinian Embroidery (British Museum, Trustees of the British Museum, 1976) ------ and Kawar, Widad, ‘Wedding Customs in Bayt Dajan’ Palestinian Exploration Quarterly (London, Jan/June 1975) Wilson, , Sir Charles, ed., Picturesque Palestine Vols. 1—4 (Virtue & Co., London, 1882)

155

Index Figures in italics refer to plate and caption numbers. An asterisk on a page number indicates a glossary entry. ‘Al’ and ‘El’ have been disregarded in alphabetization. ’aba/’abaya/abayeh 18, 36, 100-1, *145 Abu Alenda 137 Abu Dis 14 abu erdan 100, *145, 63 abuhizz ahmaryS, *145, 61 abu miten 77-8, *145 abu safarti *145 Al Adwan 137 ’Aid al Adha 41-44, 96, *145 ’Aid al Fitr 41, 96, *145 ain eljemel 138 Aleppo: ghabani from 56, 14 ’aleq (‘leech’) *145, 46 Amman n; Folklore Museum 75 Ammonites 11 amulets 112-17, 132, 16, 91, 98, 99, 105} see also hijab; maskeh applique 33, 34, 141, 8; see also jillayeh ’aqal 18, *145 Arabia 11 Arab language 10, 15 Arab peoples 11,2 Arab society: structure 11-12; urban 11-12 see also Bedu; fellahin araqiyyeh *145, 1 arba beidatfelmakla *145 arjeh 120, *145, 86 ’aruq *145 ’asabeh *145, 18, 93 Ascalon 86 asawir cirkez 118 asawir mina *145, 88 Assyrians 11 atlas 41, *145, 55 Aurangzeb 129 ’ayn el’baqara 142, *145 Babylonians 11 balat *145

156

Bedouin stitch see under stitches Bani Hassan 137 Bani Na’im 43 basketry 21, 3, 39 Bayt Dajan 78-9, 81-5, 55, 36, 57, 5$, 59, 108 Baytjala 37, 56, 89, 20, 21 Bayt Jibrin 70, 72-3, 48 Bayt Omer 70, 136 Bayt Sahour 37, 20 Bedu 9, 10, 12, 19, 88, 90-104, 63, 66; dress of 18, 100, 101, 63, 67, 68, 69, 70, 106; embroidery of 100, 103-4, 137, 73', hairstyle of 101, 76; jewellery of 127, 129, 83 belt buckle 92 benayeq *146, 12 Bethlehem 19, 37-49, 19; couching 37, 70, *145, 11, 20, 39, 48, 30, 37; professional embroiderers at 37; success of their work 49, 56, 85; weaving centre 37, 40, 89, 11, 80; use of bird motif at 37, 13, 17; women’s dress at 40, 22, 23 Bir Seb’a 19, 90, 100, 63, 64, 74; costume from 73, 106, 107; woman from 66; see also under thob bisht *146, 31, 63, 67 biz er *146 bniga see benayeq Bonfils family 97 boots 36, 54 bracelets 118, 3, 66, 84, 88, 89, 90 Burckhardt, Jean Louis 104 burgo 100, *146, 66, 107 El Bussah 33 buttonhole stitch see under stitches

Canaanites 11 carpets: in mosques 9; woven at Bayt Jibrin 72-3 chains 133, 91, 93; chin 40, 13, 16, 101, 102; see also jnad childbirth: rituals surrounding 28 Christmas 44 Chuvash: coin head-dresses of 120 Clarke, Rev. C. Pickering: quoted 101 coats 34, 8; see also jillayeh coins: on hats, veils and head-dresses 22, 23, 29, 36, 40, 84, 100, 112, 120-7, 66, 73, 83, 86, 93, 106, 107, 108; Maria Theresa dollars 118, 1, 102 costume: European type 19; female 18; folk 9-10, 15; functional 10; male 16-18, 60; modern 105-8; Ottoman court 9; pre-Islamic 16; recycled 9; Turkish type 18, 19; -, adopted in Galilee 33; village, diversity of 10, 11, 15, 19 couching see under Bethlehem; stitches Cretan stitch see under stitches cross-stitch see under stitches cuffs, embroidered 10, 36 cummerbunds 16, 60 cushion covers 18, 85, 3

darner *146, 21 Dawaime Idna 70 Deir Tarif 78 dendeki *146 (E1-) Dhahariyeh 70, 46, 47 dik (‘cockerels’) *146, 77

Index direh *146 diyal 70, *146, 12, 22, 47 diyal muqassabeh 41, *146 DMC 19, 136 dresses 1, 109; bridal 18, 21, 23, 40-1, 47-9, 11, 15, see also underjillayeh; thob Druze 18, 95, 96, 97 dubet *146 dur *146,1 durra’a *146; see alsojubba durzi *146

Easter 44 embroidery: 10, 18-19, 134-43; arrangement of motifs 134; -, in odd numbers 78, 89; Bedu 137, 68, 69, 70; contemporary 105-8; new motifs in 18-19, 105, 136-7, 77; lacking in Nablus-Jenin region 21; machine made 104, 105, 141, 50, 59, 68; combined with hand made 80; part of girls’ upbringing 18; perishable nature of 9, 137; professionally made at Bethlehem 37; recycled 47, 49; unrecorded by nineteenth-century travellers 19; vanished from Galilee 33; villages’ reputations for 19 esawra *146

Falujeh 70—1, 49 Family Care Association, Amman 80 fanajin qahweh (‘coffee cups’) *146 (el)farraneh (‘the baker’s wife’) *146,50 fellahin 9, 12, 19 fez 31 filigree 133 fish: as fertility symbol 127, 98 fishbone stitch see under stitches flat-stitch see under stitches

frog: as good luck symbol 118, 132, 84, 91 fustan *146 (al)futeh *146, 95 Galilee: coats from 34—6, 8; embroidered costume vanished from 33 gallioun (long pipe) 55 Gaza 86, 88, 89; origin of gauze 61; regional embroidery of 89 Gaza/Isdud region: thob from 61, 62 gelayed (‘necklace’) *147, 32 ghabani 56, *147, 14 ghudfeh 63, 71, 72, *147, 1, 44, 52 girbeh 32, 93, *147 Granqvist, Hilma: quoted 49 granulation 133 Greater Syria 11, 12 gypsies 112

Haj 11, 16 hamam *147 El Hammeh: springs at 7 harir nabati *147 hats 22, 36, 108; coins sewn onto22, 23, 36, 84, 112; see also araqiyyeh; shatweh; smadeh; taqiyyeh; taqteebeh headcloths/veils 16, 18, 37; Bedu 74; embroidered, from Bethlehem 17; embroidered, Chinese style 59; embroidered, from (?) Falujeh 49; embroidered, from Ramallah 37, j8; see also ghudfeh; khirqa; kuffieh Hebron 19, 66-8, 89, 41; embroidery tradition in area around 21, 68, 134; women’s costume in 68, 69, 1, 46, 47, 48, see also underjillayeh Hebrews 11 henna night (Laylat al Henna) 23, 85

heremsy 37, 69, 70, *147, 55 hijab 112, *147, 99; embroidered 89, 100, 112, 55, 72, 74 hirz *147 hizam *147, 6° Homs: silk from 26 howdej *147 Huleh, Lake 89, 129 imshad *147, 7$ irq el Haman (‘branch of pigeons’) 108, 143, *147, 7