Berber and Arab Clothing, 1906
Few Oriental costumes are more picturesque or better adapted to the life of those who wear them than the simple garb of the Moors. Of art sartorial it cannot be…
From: 1906 C.E. To: 1906 C.E.
Location: Morocco
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
How the Moors Dress
From The Moors: A Comprehensive Description by Budgett Meakin, 1906.
Few Oriental costumes are more picturesque or better adapted to the life of those who wear them than the simple garb of the Moors. Of art sartorial it cannot be said there is any display in Morocco, where the skill to be admired consists in the ingenious methods by which that art is dispensed with, and the best effect still secured.
A fully dressed Moor of the upper classes is a sight worth seeing, with his flowing garments of abundant white and colour, harmonizing beautifully, and imparting remarkable dignity. First and foremost among the components of his apparel is the lordly k'sa, the most effective and elaborate covering ever worn, although the simplest. Its cream-white, gauzelike texture surmounts the turban and shields the sides of the head from sun and wind, this ample head-piece being perhaps the most effective part of it all: other folds form abundant skirts and liberal sleeves, while the whole is held in place by a silk-striped, long-fringed end which crosses the breast and hangs gracefully down the back.
It is surely the survival or descendant of the famous Roman toga. When taken off, this costume, complete in itself, is found to be but a plain piece of hand-woven woollen material, about six and a half yards by one and three-quarters, with a fringe at each end, and a few silk stripes, also white, at one end.
Moorish Gentleman wearing k’sá and selhám. Images from text.
Donning the K’sá
To don the k'sa, a right-hand corner is brought over the left shoulder to near the waist, that edge being passed behind the back, under the right arm, across the waist, leaving the lower edge free to fall like a skirt.
The upper edge is now brought loosely behind the back and over the head, being so adjusted that the free end nearly reaches the ground in front. The upper part of the section thus left loose behind the back is next plucked forward by the right hand over the left shoulder, and a similar hitch is made beneath the left arm if required. Then the free end is deftly gathered together by the right hand in folds on which the ultimate grace of the garment greatly depends, and the edges forming the head-piece being held in place beneath the chin by the left hand, the free end is thrown over the left shoulder with a slight twist which catches its edges beneath its folds, which are left to drape the figure. The finishing touch consists in loosening the hood-piece at the sides without affecting the edge, and gathering it slightly behind the ears, to finally adjust the part over the turban.
Local Peculiarites
The Moors do not, like the Algerians and the Arabs, bind their head-dress to their heads, but leave it loose, which greatly adds to their appearance.
Women of the better class, however, who in riding wear a selham as over-all, sometimes do so. Worn without a turban, as by the youth of the wealthy, the k'sa is shorn of half its effect, and without a beard a turban is seldom used, unless, as the native proverb puts it, "from lack of modesty." So much depends upon the ease and grace with which the k'sa is worn, that it is almost always possible to tell those who are "to the manner born" from those who are not, and it was not until I had studied and practised it well in private that I ventured to appear with it in the streets, where I was often complimented on the natural way in which I wore it.
Some dandies even study the effects of its graceful draping on figures of cane, when the results are certainly unsurpassed.
The Háïk
Moorish women, and country-folk of both sexes, employ a similar piece of material of much coarser texture, called a háïk, which the women of the coast wear after the same fashion as the men, with the exception of the final fold: instead of bringing the loose end over the shoulder they double it on itself for about a couple of feet, and bring back the folded edge across the forehead, where it is stretched just above the eyes, then folded down each cheek with a twist that keeps all in place, like the hood of a nun. Before men the right side fold is held up horizontally beneath the eyes, leaving only an oblong aperture through which to peep, which has to be kept open by finger and thumb at each end. When one hand is needed elsewhere, the aperture assumes a triangular shape, and when both hands are required, the edges are caught in the mouth as best they may be. Thus the face is almost completely hidden, and will continue to be so though occasion may arise for every other part of the body to be uncovered, as when fording a river.
Moorish Lady in walking costume.
Fási Women
In Fez, however, the women drape their háïks after quite another fashion. One-half of it is doubled along its length, selvedge to selvedge, the doubled edge being pinned round the waist to hang in pleats like a skirt, meeting at the back. This is suspended by a strong strip of cloth selvedge, or a specially woven cord, passing round the neck and pinned on either side in front, like braces. The remaining half of the háïk (which is not folded) is then brought up over the head from behind, and doubled back from the face, falling on either side to drape shoulders and arms.
A white muslin veil litham—about a yard long and fourteen inches wide, sometimes with embroidered edges, carefully folded lengthwise, is bound round the face, the exact centre of the fold passing over the ridge of the nose, and the ends being brought round so that each covers the forehead—leaving only the eyes visible,—they are fastened behind.
Their indoor head-dress consists of a silken kerchief (hamtûz) mounted on a foundation of stiffened paper, rising up like a wall in front, and sloping off behind. These women wear black slippers (bilaghî) with thin soles, and although their feet are bare, they encase each leg separately in white calico (rajlîn es-serwal). A piece about a yard long is sewn together at the edges, with a gusset at the top, and this, being too long when drawn on, is twisted round to keep it in place. In the country women engaged in field-work protect their calves by binding on leather with palmetto cord.
Moorish Ladies out for a walk on the beach at Dar el Baida.
Foot-gear
The háïk and a pair of red leather slippers (mashaiat) constitute a complete out-door costume in the coast towns, the calves being bare, as is the case also with the men, though coarse woollen socks (takashir) are sometimes worn by elderly people in very cold weather.
The slippers of the men are yellow, of slightly varying patterns, practically always worn with the heels down, which is easy enough after practice. The soles of those worn by the women out-doors (ruahî) are three-quarters of an inch in thickness and have straight sides.
Tetuan is famous for a good class shoe for men, called bilghah (pl. bilaghî), with round toes and thick soles, but the neatest, called siraksi, with pointed toes, thin soles and waists, are chiefly of Fez manufacture. For riding, both men and women use a soft leather stocking, called t'mag, which is often tastefully embroidered, as are also the velvet or leather slippers (shrabel) worn by the women in-doors, on which gold and silver thread are commonly used. In the rainy season the people of the level inland towns go abroad in pattens, often inlaid, called kabákib (probably an onomatopoeic word), with long metal points to prevent them from falling. The Jews wear black shoes and caps.
Head-gear
Hats (tarazat) are only worn by Moors in the country, and are not general even there; they are usually broad brimmed, high-crowned constructions of palmetto, sometimes in tasteful patterns, or adorned with little tufts of silk, the brim being supported from the crown by an adjustable rigging.
With this exception the Moors are deeply prejudiced against all hats, which they consider to be Christian emblems. The so-called "Fez" caps used in Morocco are not now to a very great extent made in that city, their place having been usurped by a cheaper and inferior article from Austria and elsewhere. The genuine Fez cap (shashiah) is made by hand, of a solid wool felt, dyed a rich crimson, pointed at the top like a sugar-loaf, and surmounted by a deep-blue tassel (shusha) of floss silk, sold by weight, as distinct from the cap.
Literary and religious fashion favours a low cap of this shape, usually almost hidden by a turban, while the civil officials and police are known by its height, the ordinary policemen (makhazni) seldom wearing a turban. Common soldiers, and in the ports the youth of the lower classes, wear the cheap foreign cap like a truncated cone (tarboosh), though some prefer the round-topped Tunisian shape. Country lads also crochet for themselves wool skull-caps of divers colours, or tie camel-hair cords round their heads, somewhat after the Arab style, or they merely wrap round it the red cloth case of their flint-lock when in use, a practice of highly artistic effect.
All well dressed Moors wear under the shashiah a white cotton "perspiration cap" (arakiyah) which can be washed. The felt caps themselves are cleansed with gall.
Turbans
The turban, which to many is the distinguishing feature of an Oriental costume, though by no means so universal as is generally inferred, is in Morocco almost always white, the size corresponding to the wearer's idea of his own importance, but also a fair test of his actual position, since one arrogating too much by his turban would soon suffer at the hands of the mob. The only exceptions are a few green turbans worn by members of the Darkawi brotherhood.
Turbans are not supposed to be used by unmarried youths. In donning the turban, the art consists in tightening the edges of the folds by twisting them at the back, precisely as in bandaging. When travelling, the supply of cloth or rope which a turban affords is often most useful, whether needed to dress a wound, to strain the milk, to replace a girth or tent cord, to lengthen the rope at the well, or to serve as clothes-line. Besides this, the voluminous folds of the turban— called in Morocco rozzah or 'amarah— though a trifle irritating to the novice, are a splendid shield from the sun, and altogether there is much more to be said in favour of this head-gear than of that crowning barbarity of civilization, the "top hat" or "stove-pipe."
The Jelláb
But in Morocco the most practical protection for the head is the hood (koob) attached to two of the most common garments, which may be worn turban and all, or serve as a pocket. The most typical of these two garments is the jelláb, a woollen cloak made of a rectangular piece of stuff joined down the front, the upper portion being cut and ingeniously joined to form the hood.
Arm-holes slit in the upper corners are supplemented by sleeves a few inches long, made out of the pieces cut out to form the hood. As the width of the made-up garment exceeds the length, the total length of the sleeves is ample, and the draping is perfect. There is usually a small pocket inside the front seam, and in North Morocco those of native cloth are frequently decorated, like the hats, with tufts of silk, if not with embroidery.
The jelláb is a decided improvement on the ábá of the Arabs and the Persians, which has no hood, and is open in front.
Both wearing jellábs, but of different thicknesses.
The Selhám
The other hooded garment is the selham, known in Algeria as the burnus, also made from one rectangular piece, but with the lower corners of the front edges, which are not joined, cut round, and with a hood made out of these trimmings. Neither of these garments requires any fastenings, and the front of the latter is only caught together for a couple of inches to keep the hood on the head. The selham is a more aristocratic garment than the jellab, and, made of native white or foreign blue cloth, may be worn over the k'sa in cold or wet weather. It is the regulation official dress, which alone is permitted before the Sultan, and both hood and left end must be thrown back across the shoulder in the presence of a superior.
It is this cloak which is given by the Sultan as a sign of honour, sometimes of investiture, and which is sent with his rosary to make an offer of pardon to rebels. For chiefs to send their selhams to the Sultan is a declaration of rebellion, but it is said that if a cloak can be thrown over the Sultan's shoulders, or on the ground before him, he may not refuse the petition with which the act is accompanied, It is a common practice to throw the corner of the selham over the feet of a person whose protection is sought, when it would be considered more than churlish to refuse assistance.
The Khaïdûs or Akhnîf
Another variety of the selham, called the khaidus or akhnif, is distinctive of the Berbers of the Central Atlas. Its peculiar feature is the yellow or red decoration on a ground of black, which often takes the form of an assegai, or "eye," across the lower part of the back, though sometimes confined to a narrow border by the style of which the various tribes can be distinguished, though this distinction is not strictly adhered to. Some of these cloaks are brown, and a few white, the darker varieties being woven of goat-hair, and the white, called haddun, of wool.
Under Garments
In under garments there is almost as great a similarity between those of the men and the women as in the outer. The tshamir or shirt is usually a rectangular sack with slits for neck and arms, though these openings are sometimes sloped and embroidered.
The serwal, or drawers, are of the same design, unless for riding, when they are forked and very short. Otherwise the width will be as great as the outstretched arms of the wearer, the length that from waist to knee, a mere bag with a running cord (tikka) at the top, and holes in the lower corners for the legs, bound with white silk braid.
Over these is commonly worn a kamis or kandurah, a tunic of cotton with wide bellsleeves, buttoned to the waist by small knobs in the stitching and braiding. A very pretty open-work collar of silk or cotton is often attached, and an opening over the left shoulder to permit of pulling it on without unbuttoning the front, is drawn together by a silk cord forming an ingenious running noose. The kamisah may be surmounted by a kaftan or farrajiyah of wool, felt, or sateen, which, if of a bright colour, will be masked by a third (farrajîyah m’jarwan or mansuriyah) of semi-transparent cotton, all three garments being of the same pattern, except that the first has no slits at the sides. The costume formed by the three is styled manasar.
The kaftan of the women differs from that of the men only in being rather longer. It is open down the front, and its sleeves are sometimes cut narrow and buttoned, while the farrajîyah opens but to the waist, and has bell-sleeves.
Moorish indoor dress.
Girdles
Such a costume, when worn by men, is girt with a silk embroidered leather belt (m'dammah), but the girdle of the women (hazzam), which is distinctive, may be a foot or more in width, and long enough to go round twice or thrice. It is made of stiffened silks, and often has four patterns, so that either may be folded outside. As these patterns are constantly changing, the wealthy dispose of those out of fashion by sale, and the economical employ a modification with two patterns only, the concealed half being merely of covered paste-board, for a good one in gold will cost as much as $40 or $50. Sometimes two of the patterns are in gold brocade—skalli—and two in silk. For the sake of display the hazzam will often be so wide—right up to the wearer's armpits—that she can hardly move.
Pockets
By way of pocket, working and middle class Moors carry a leather satchel (shakárah) at the left side, slung by a silken cord (mijdûl), but men of leisure scorn such a convenience, and if they need to carry anything do so in the prayer-carpet which they tuck beneath the left arm, and it is marvellous what this will hold. A short curved dagger (kûmîyah) is also often slung at the side, and likewise, on a separate cord, a small Kor'an or some devotional book, in a leather or silver case.
Merchant Costume
Men of the merchant class often wear a less strictly Moorish garb of foreign felt cloth; baggy drawers, tight waistcoat, (badaiyah) and short jacket (jabadur) with tight sleeves of which the cuffs are lined with gay silks to turn back. Waistcoats are also made for women in similar style, but with elaborate embroidery in gold and silver, which is not permitted to men. So particular are the latter in this respect, in accordance with the teachings of their religion, that though they are glad enough to carry watches, they eschew watch-chains, substituting cords of silk, though for a man to dress in silk would be considered quite as improper as for him to wear gold.
Jewellery
Consequently they wear no jewellery, leaving that to the women, who make a show of all they can get, chiefly silver bracelets (dibálj), flat ankle-bands (kh'lakhil), finger-rings (khawatim), gigantic earrings (m'fátil), necklaces, chiefly of coins, and frontlets of coins, which while so used are secure from the husband's creditors. The country-women also wear brooches (b'záïm) of a peculiar pattern, a pair at a time, one on each shoulder, to retain in place their haiks or a sheet called eezar, thrown over the shoulder.
Feminine Attire
Other articles peculiar to the costume of the ladies are: the ridá, a piece of fancy material thrown over the head and shoulders indoors; the d'fûn, a tunic of figured muslin work worn over bright coloured things; the m'shámar or tahmîl, cords worn over the shoulders to support burdens, or to tie back the sleeves while at work, and the dh'fair, imitation hair-plaits, by which their own queues are lengthened. Variations of these costumes are to be observed in almost every district, but those described are the most characteristic, and most generally to be seen in towns.
Washing day in Morocco.
Tailoring
Tailoring in Morocco is the work of men, but it is only required in the towns, and there only for certain costumes. Much felt cloth and sateen are imported from England and Austria, the quantity from the latter country steadily increasing on account of the low price at which an inferior article can thence be furnished; but these cloths are supplied of special hues to suit the taste of the Moors, chiefly dark-blue, plumcolour, white, brown, salmon and orange, and black for the Jews: a still poorer quality of red is also provided for the military uniform and women's tunics.
Of course the original spinning and weaving fall to the lot of the women, as also the carpet-making and some of the open-work and decoration of the cotton "towels" (fûtat s. fûtah) for which Tetuan is especially famous, much of which is highly effective. In some parts of the country two of these towels make a complete costume for a young girl, one tied round the waist to form a petticoat, and the other thrown across the head like the end of the haik, also, if need be, folded like it over the face. About Rabat these fûtahs are of well blended tartans.
Moorish Girl clad in fûtahs.
Further south, an imported blue cotton fabric called khunt is generally worn by the women. This material is made for the most part in England in imitation of a better quality from the Sudan. But in other parts, where only wool is worn, as among the Idá oo B'lál, the women appear in a black veil nearly a yard long, with a tassel on each corner, something after the Bokháran fashion.
The more primitive among the Berbers are content with a far simpler costume than that described. For them a plain piece of uncut home-spun suffices, knotted at the corners, so as to save even sewing, for the people of Morocco are poor tailors, and the majority of them only make use of needles, when they can get any, to extract thorns from their flesh.
The Moorish method of sewing is just the reverse of our own, which they consider most absurd. All their seams are on the outside of the stuff, first run and then back-stitched, in the direction opposite to that followed by English women. What little sewing is done, falls to the lot of the men who make it a profession, except in towns, where ladies spend their time in fine embroidery in silk. This is the same on both sides, and is used for curtain ends, mattress covers and pillow slips.
Meakin, Budgett. The Moors: A Comprehensive Description. Swan Sonnenschein & Co, 1906.
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