Yemeni cultural clothes
folklore
:Supervisor by
Miss. Amal .Alakhfash
Researchers:
Aisha Al-faqeeh
Hiba Qahtan
Marwa Almarwani
JUNE 2019
0
:Contents
Dedication 2
Acknowledgment 3
Abstract 4
Chapter one (introduction) 5
Chapter two: part one (male traditional attire) 8
Part two:( women traditional garments) 11
Chapter three: part one (men's jewelry ) 16
Part two (women's jewelry ) 20
Chapter four : fashion vs. folklore 23
Chapter five : (Questionnaire and Analysis) 25
Recommendation 32
References 33
1
DEDICATION
.We would like to dedicate this research
To
Almighty God
Who gives us wisdom and guides us in the way of our
.career
Our parents
Who are the rich sources of our power, who support us in
.doing this research
Our families
Who encourage us to do our best
Our teacher
Who gives us this golden opportunity to do this research
and did her best to show us the right way. Thank you
2
Acknowledgment
This research work would not have been possible without the
invaluable Collaboration of many people; therefore, we want to
thank them all for their timely unconditional help.
Firstly, we thank Allah who is our inspiration who helped us in
every moment. Secondly, we also want to thank our supervisor
Miss. Amal Al .akhfash that without her we could not complete
our research in perfect way. Thirdly, we want to thank every
teacher we asked and he gave us available information and
advised us to do the best work.
Finally, a great thankful that we want to send is to our family and
all the people who supported us to complete this research.
3
Abstract
Folklore is one kind of the ancient cultures of any country. Our
country, Yemen, has a lot to present to traditional lovers all around the
world and people who fond of vintage national clothing. Yemeni
traditional clothes are very attractive and original. This country has
some magnificent pieces of outfits, some of which are still in use while
others are almost completely forgotten. These vintage handmade
garments are made by unique Yemeni tie-dying technique daggers to
always complement the Yemeni male and female costumes.
Our aim for this research is to mention the main features of Yemeni
traditional clothing. It is also to conserve an ancient Yemeni heritage
and keep it for the posterity and to show the whole world our grandeur
and originality.
4
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION:
5
INTRODUCTION
People in Yemen are engaged in many Handicrafts: embroidering,
weaving, jewelry and metal work and tie-ding. Several decades ago,
Yemeni people used to wear handmade clothing with handmade
decorations. Today, a lot of people buy their clothes or use modern
machines to make them. Each place in Yemen has its own
traditional clothes which depend on the weather of that region. In
Yemen, there are 3 main ethnical groups: the mountain group
which lives in the north of Yemen, the costal people who live in
south and west of Yemen, and the Bedouins. These three groups
differ in the cultural characteristics, customs and traditional pretty
much. So, the folk dresses of these territories also vary.
This research will express the traditional clothes in each one of
these regions, men and women clothes and jewelries, and also show
how to wear some of them. Furthermore, this research will find the
differences between fashion and folklore.
6
CHAPTER TWO:
Male vs. Female
traditional clothes.:
7
Part one:
Male traditional attire
Yemeni men often use the western-style clothing today. Suits, shirts,
and t-shirts are rather popular. But some men wear the traditional
Yemeni attires: thoobs and futa skirts.
Thoob (also called "thawb "or "thobe") is a loose ankle-length
garments with long sleeves. Such robe-like garments are common
among Arab countries, and Yemeni is no exception.
Traditional Yemeni thoobs are white, beige or brown. Light colors and
natural fabrics are used to cope with the hot sun. Thoobs are mostly
used by tribal people from the north of the country. This garment is
rather formal.
8
Futa is a wrap- around male skirt. It is an informal type of clothing. Futa
is also used mostly by tribal people from the north. Another variant of
futa is called" ma'wazz ". Ma'waz can be worn at the formal occasions,
like weddings etc. futa and ma'wazz are usually handmade. They can
be of any color and pattern (striped, checkered and so on). These
garments are rather convenient, that’s why they are popular among
Yemeni men.
9
Men in Yemen mostly wear headgears. There are plenty of different
headdresses used in this country. The most popular and widespread
are the turban and the alqaweq. Most of the people in the world
know something about turbans. It is a headdress made by simple
winding along piece of clothes around the head (at least, it sounds
simple –this process is not so easy for beginners). There are many
styles of wearing the turban, as well as many variations of fabrics
used. If we talk about the alqaweq, this headgear is much more
mysterious for people outside Yemen. Usually, turban is worn
around the alqaweq - it's kind of auxiliary hat. Though, it can be
worn even without the turban. The former is used by children and
poor people while the latter is worn by old men and wealthy
Yemeni. Headdresses in Yemen are very important accessories. In
the past there were even class divided by the headgears. Today such
dived no longer exist, but usually you can tell a lot by the headdress
of a person.
10
Part two:
Female traditional garments.
Yemeni women mostly wear very colorful outfits. A lot of Muslim
women prefer dark colors, so you can often meet females in black hijab,
abayas or veils at the streets. But still much more women use bright –
11
colored clothing with allot of embroideries, jewelry, and decorative
elements.
There are several universal dresses used by Yemeni women all around
the country, but mostly each region has its typical traditional attire.
One of the most popular female clothing in Yemen is the traditional
sana'ani curtain –style dress. It is a brightly colored square –shaped
cotton cloth wrapped around the body. This piece of cloth is called "al –
12
mason". Another obligatory part of sana'ani dress is separate cloth that
covers the head it is called "al- momq". It is mostly black with red and
white inclusions. Al momq is made from silk or cotton. Married women
often add another piece of clothing, called "almomq." It is an additional
head piece embroidered with silver or coral colors.
Women in many regions of Yemen wear sana'ani dress. It is an ancient
tradition that goes from generation to generation. There is a very
interesting story about the history of this outfits: in ancient times,
women grabbed curtains (which were used as a decoration of the old
Yemeni houses) and wrapped them around their bodies when someone
visited their home. Later they began to make al-masons specially to
wear them. It has become a traditional that has spread around the
country. Curtain –style dress are often replaced by modern abaya
(kind of robe-like dress used by Muslim), but a lot of women wear
Sana'ani dress even now in day-to-day life.
There is another universal dress called "zina"
13
(It can be translated as "beauty" or" ornament"). It is also wide spread in
Yemen. Zina is much alike to the western –style dress of 1940's-50's. it
is a loose knee-length or below the knee length dress with long sleeves
and V-neck. Zina is mostly worn with embroidery, paillettes, patterns
on fabric and other decorations. But this attire is made for everyday
usage, not festive.
Chapter three:
14
Men vs. Women
traditional
Jewelries.
Part one:
15
Men's jewelry
Djambia: a Yemeni symbol
Without any doubt it is the symbol of Yemen. A large part of the
population wears this curved dagger at their waistband; and they
are proud of it. Its ancestral tradition dates back to the previous
Islamic period.
Djambia: a real identity card
Social rank, tribal origins, job, djambia’s ornaments reveal
everything about the one who wears it. It is conserved in a green
case by the urban people and in a brown one by people living in
the highlands. Most of Yemeni people live below the poverty line,
so they just have a wood handled djambia because of its
affordable price. Others are very aware of the reflection of their
social rank through their djambia don’t hesitate to use all
16
meanings to get a beautiful one. Even if they need to lose their
purse for it. All the djambias are not equal in terms of quality.
Some of them are better-worked and worth a lot of money.
Men's Yemeni custom can't be imagined without djambia –
famous Yemeni dagger. It's used by traditional dancers and
during dancing at the wedding.
Onyx (Alaqiq)
17
Aqiq is one of the main jewelry that men wear. It is a symbol of the
great civilization from Solomon period. We have more than 20
kinds of aqiq in Yemen. There are a lot of places that have sorts of
aqiq, but Yemen is considered of the best countries which produce
aqiqs. Florid aqiq is the most circulation among people in
Yemen .Both men and women wear aqiq and use it.
18
There are many stages for preparing and making al
aqiq:
Excav
atedا
Slicer
s
Refin
e and
Finall Polish
y
Part two:
Women's jewelry
19
Coral (Morgan)
Coral is almost red. It extract from underground. It non Yemeni
origin. Whether from Italy and Russia. Women used to wear it in
the past. It was very expensive and still.it was considered as a dowry
from the groom to the bride groom. Now it just wears in occasions
with silver. It comes as nickels bracelet and rings.
20
Silver
Silver is the second kind of traditional jewelry for Yemeni women.
Mostly it wears with coral. This kind of jewelry wears as coral usage
but it also wears as a veil for the bride. The beget wears silver necklace,
bracelet, rings and (moshqer) around her forehead. But she didn’t wear
the silver veil as the bride. As well as silver is Yemeni made.
21
Amber (kahraman)
Its different kind of old jewelry that old ladies used to wear.
It is consider as precious things. There are two kinds of (kahraman):one
of them called Alsandlas: this kind takes more than thousand year.
The second on called Alsheh: also this one takes more than five
thousand year .In addition; it was such a dowry for bride with fransi
ryals,
Chapter four:
22
Folklore vs. fashion
Nowadays fashion becomes more popular than folklore in Yemen.
23
People wear modern clothes as a daily routine every time, on the street,
home, occupations and occasions. On the other hand traditional clothes
are wearing just in weddings and such things. What makes the situation
worse and worse is that dealers who import the imitator thing from
outside and export the original one to outside. When we ask them why?
They answer that people tend to buy cheaper things rather than
expensive one. In contrast tourists tend to take the original stuffs to keep
it as souvenir from that country.
Furthermore, Chinese had been imitated anything in the world including
Yemeni traditional clothes.
In spite of the overrunning of fashion in our country, but there are many
people in Yemen care about their history and customs.
In fact fashion takes its style from old things as we realized old things
become fashion now. So there are no differences between fashion and
folklore. But we must keep and conserve our history and folklore for the
coming generations. And we have the show the nice picture of our
country.
Chapter five:
24
Questionnaire
and Analysis
average
no yes
51% 49%
THENALYSIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE
<<A QUESTIONNIRE LIST>>
Dear:
25
This questionnaire is about (Yemeni folklore, especially traditional
clothes whether for men or women) and it is for educational
research purpose. As well your opinion and answers are
appreciated. The questionnaire is to know your information about
the subject.
No Questions YES NO
1 Do you know what folklore means?
2 Do you think that people should care about
their historian things?
3 Are you proud of Yemeni folklore?
4 Do you think it is nice to wear traditional
clothes in some occasions?
5 Would you try to get back your old
civilization if other people turn blind eye on
it?
6 Is folklore included in our lifestyle
nowadays?
7 If you had to wear customs on streets, would
you do it?
8 Do you like fashion?
9 Do women care about fashion more than
men?
10 Does our government care about the folklore?
We asked 30 people as random samples to full the questionnaires
:and this is the analysis for the questions
The avreage
no no answer
?Do you know what folklore means- 1 13% 3%
yes
83%
26
The result shows that the
Majority of Yemeni people
Know about the Yemeni
.Folklore
?Do you think that people should care about their historian things -2
The avreage
no
13%
yes
87%
Most of people love their
.Historian things
27
?Are you proud of Yemeni folklore-3
The avreage
no
13%
Many Yemeni
People are proud
yes
.Of their folklore 87%
Do you think it is nice to wear traditional clothes -4
?in some occasions
people don’t 77% The avreage
Mind wearing
no
Traditional clothes 23%
.In occasions
yes
77%
28
Would you try to get back your old civilization if -5
?other turn blind eye on it
The avreage
87%people whom we no
13%
Asked do their best
To get back their old yes
87%
.Civilization
is folklore included in our lifestyle -6
?nowadays
It's obvious that The avreage
Folklore is included
.In lifestyle no
no answer
12%
18%
yes
70%
29
if you had to wear customs on street, -7
?would you do it
The avreage
The half of people
yes
In Yemen doesn’t no
46%
54%
Mind wearing
.Customs in street
?Do you like fashion -8
It's clear that a lot The avreage
Of people care
.About fashion no
31%
yes
69%
30
Do women care -9 The avreage
about fashion more no
7%
?than men
yes
93%
As the result
Shows, women care
About fashion
.More than men
Does our -10 The avreage
government care
about the Yemeni
?folklore yes
47%
no
53%
People have
Different opinions
About this
31
.Question
Recommendation
We advise everyone who want to write about
Yemeni folklore. This topic has many types such as
(clothes, jewelry, buildings …)
Firstly, you suppose to choose the topic that you
interested in. Secondly, you should to know the
right source to get correct information.
Thirdly, you have to write examples for making a
clear topic for the reader.
Note: when you want to make a great research you
had to live with it, do not search only from internet
go and ask people, read books, and visit places.
It is more enjoyable.
32
:References
1- Men and women traditional clothes:
htts://m.youtube.com/watch? v=8Z4PD12KFY8
(18.June .8:45.p.m)
2- Men and women jewelry:
.htts://azeaa .com(20 June .11:30 A.m.)
33
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