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Tigray Women's Traditional Costume

Tigray women's traditional costumes usually consist of a long white cotton dress called a kemis along with a shawl or shemma draped over the shoulders. The dresses and shawls are often intricately embroidered with geometric patterns, crosses, and other symbolic motifs. Women also wear their hair in elaborate braided styles and decorate their bodies with tattoos and jewelry like necklaces and earrings. During festivals like Ashenda, girls will wear their best decorated dresses and gather to celebrate the ending of a fasting period. The traditional costumes and accessories represent Tigray's unique cultural identity.

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Lalaa MK
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2K views16 pages

Tigray Women's Traditional Costume

Tigray women's traditional costumes usually consist of a long white cotton dress called a kemis along with a shawl or shemma draped over the shoulders. The dresses and shawls are often intricately embroidered with geometric patterns, crosses, and other symbolic motifs. Women also wear their hair in elaborate braided styles and decorate their bodies with tattoos and jewelry like necklaces and earrings. During festivals like Ashenda, girls will wear their best decorated dresses and gather to celebrate the ending of a fasting period. The traditional costumes and accessories represent Tigray's unique cultural identity.

Uploaded by

Lalaa MK
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Title
  • Tigrean Cultural Profile
  • History and Politics
  • Tigray Costume
  • Event Outfit - Ashenda Festival Tigrai
  • Hair Style of Tigray
  • Body Decorations
  • Used Materials
  • Ornament and Motif (Design Pattern)
  • Accessory and Jewelry

TIGRAY COSTUME

BY: GROUP ONE


Tigrean Cultural Profile

Tigray is the northernmost province of Ethiopia.

The Tigreans number about five million.

The Tigreans speak Tigrinya. It has its own alphabet.

Tigrinya is derived from Geez


History and Politics

 Axumaite kingdom was once very powerful and had tremendous


influence around present day Red sea countries.

 It left rich architectural and archaeological heritage of rock-hewn


churches and monuments.

 It was a highly literate society, soon developing an alphabet, and it is


from the language Geez.
Tigray costume
• Traditional Tigray
clothing is white,
which is regarded as
Christian, with little
adornment.
• The shirt extends to
just above the knee
for laymen and to
just below the knee
for priests and
deacons.
Tigray costume
• Tigray women’s are usually wearing a long gown of soft cotton called kemis, a long full

sleeve that is embroidered at the neck, cuffs and hem.

• Kemis is made of cotton fabric, and typically comes in white, grey or beige shades.

• Many women also wrap a shawl called a netela around the formal dress.

• Over the kemis goes a shemma, or light cotton length, usually with a border that matches the

trimming on the dress.

• The tibeb design may contain geometrical figures, purely fanciful forms or classic such as

star and cross.


Event outfit-Ashenda Festival Tigrai

• Ashenda is a unique Tigraian traditional festival which takes place in


August to mark the ending of fasting called filseta.

• This event is mostly for girls and young women.

• The young women and girls dress the tilfi, decorated with amazing
embroidery from the neck to toe in front of the dress.

• The girls also adorned themselves with array of beautiful jewelry.


Hair style of Tigray
• Women in Tigrai ware Variety of hairstyles based on their age and marital status.

• Young girls shave their hair on the side of their head leaving some hair at the back
of the head and around the head.

• There are many styles of braiding from the very fine called gilbich to a course one
called albaso.

• The Tigrai women hair style is unique to the people of Tigrai.

• Braids looks an art more than the hairstyle.


Body decorations
• Tigray women decore
themselves with tattoos
and some decorational
systems.

• Mostly body decorations


are permanent and done
around the neck and the
hand of the women’s.
 
Used materials

• Tigray people use many materials to


make their clothing from ancient
ones.

• The materials include the materials


used in making the shemma

• Some materials are: Netela(woven


cotton), thread, embroidery thread,
and others jewelry’s and accessories.
Ornament and motif (design pattern).
• Mostly Ornamentation on their
garment is done by embroidery.

• By embroidery they create many


motif or design pattern.

• Their design pattern include cross,


geez number and letters and,
geometric and abstract designs.
Accessory and jewelry

• The jewelry that is worn by


Tigrai women is also very
unique to the region it is usually
made mainly of gold and silver
and sometimes copper.
• These accessories include hand
bar, golden necklace, golden
earrings, mesob above head,
and the others.
• Mostly they are wearable and
careable.

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