Keffiyeh

{{Short description|Traditional headdress worn by men in the Middle East}}

{{About|a traditional headdress worn by men|the Palestinian national symbol|Palestinian keffiyeh|kefiyah, compulsion by the Jewish courts|Jewish divorce}}

File:In_Conversation,_Yemen_(12694670333).jpg man wearing a keffiyeh in turban-style and a Yemeni shawl on his shoulder]]

The keffiyeh ({{langx|ar|كُوفِيَّة|Kūfīyah}}),{{Cite book|last=Brill|first=E. J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ro--tXw_hxMC&pg=PA890|title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936. Ṭāʻif - Zūrkhāna|date=1993|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-09794-0|language=en}} also regionally known as a hattah ({{langx|ar|حَطَّة|ḥaṭṭa|label=none}}), ghutrah ({{langx|ar|غترة|label=none}}), or shemagh ({{langx|ar|شماغ|label=none}}), is a traditional headdress worn by men from parts of the Middle East. It is fashioned from a square scarf, and is usually made of cotton.{{cite book|author=J. R. Bartlett|title=The First and Second Books of the Maccabees|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uj44AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA246|access-date=17 April 2013|date=19 July 1973|publisher=CUP Archive|isbn=978-0-521-09749-9|page=246|quote=traditional Jewish head-dress was either something like the Arab's Keffiyeh (a cotton square folded and wound around a head) or like a turban or stocking cap}} The keffiyeh is commonly found in arid regions, as it protects from sunburn, dust, and sand. A head cord, agal, is often used by Arabs to keep the keffiyeh in place.{{sfn | Lindisfarne | Ingham | 1997 | p=45}}

Etymology

= Keffiyeh =

The word keffiyeh appeared in Arabic after the Crusades,{{Cite journal |last=Cheikho |first=Louis |author-link=Louis Cheikho |date=1898 |title=As'ilah wa Ajwibah |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101056311226 |journal=Al-Machriq |language=ar |volume=1 |pages=1103 |via=HathiTrust}} Used in the work of Al-Maqrizi (1364-1442): [https://books.google.com/books?id=T83zdquXQ6YC&pg=PA326 al-Mawāʻiẓ wa-al-Iʻtibār bi-Dhikr al-Khiṭaṭ wa-al-āthār]. 1906. Vol. 3. p. 326. and probably shares a European etymology with English "coif".{{Cite book |last=Al-Karmali |first=Anastas |author-link=Anastas al-Karmali |url= |title=Al-Muqtataf |date=1941 |volume=8 |pages=235 |language=ar |chapter=Al-Kufiyah wal-‘Iqal Maqal Bakar fi Mawdu‘ Qadeem Jadeed bi-Qalam |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/al-muqtataf-magazine/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B7%D9%81%20-1941/page/n245}}{{Cite book |last=Ḥijāzī |first=Mahmud Fahmī |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%AC%D9%85_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A_%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A1/leMMAAAAYAAJ |title=Al-Mu'jam al-‘Arabi li-Asma' al-Malabis |date=2002 |publisher=Dar al-Afaq al-‘Arabiyya |isbn=978-977-344-025-1 |pages=443 |language=ar}}{{Cite book |last=Stillman |first=Yedida Kalfon |url=https://archive.org/details/palestiniancostu0000stil/page/16/mode/2up |title=Palestinian Costume and Jewelry |date=1979 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn= |pages=16 |language=en |via=Internet Archive}} Some argue that it was imported indirectly through {{Langx|ar|الكفة}}, "cuff".{{Cite book |last=al-Karmali |first=Anastas |author-link=Anastase-Marie al-Karmali |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86/Zn0mEAAAQBAJ |title=Lughat al-‘Arab |publisher=Ktab |volume=2 |pages=392 |language=ar}}

Murtada al-Zabidi derives keffiyeh from {{Langx|ar|الكهف}}, "cave", due to the rounded shape of the headscarf.{{Cite book |last=al-Zabidi |first=Murtada |author-link=Murtada al-Zabidi |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%AD_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B3_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%89_%D8%AA%D8%A7/rbameMr8nLMC |title=Taj al-'Arus min Jawahir al-Qamus |date=1888 |publisher=Al-Matba‘a al-Khayriyya |volume=6 |pages=241 |language=ar}} A folk etymology associates it with the city of Kufa, Iraq.

= Ghutrah =

The word ghutrah ({{langx|ar|غُترَة|ḡutra}}) comes from the Arabic root ghatr ({{Langx|ar|غتر|label=none}}) which means "to cover". The early pictures of Arabs invariably show them wearing turbans, and it is unclear when the keffiyeh became acceptable for the upper classes. While the written reports of ghutrah date back to the early 18th century, the earliest known picture is from the 19th century (Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud, made before his execution in 1819).{{sfn | Lindisfarne | Ingham | 1997 | p=45}}

Origin

Headscarves evolved among desert nomads as a practical protection from the sun.{{Citation |last=Donica |first=Joseph |title=Head Coverings, Arab Identity, and New Materialism |date=2020-11-10 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004435926/BP000013.xml |work=All Things Arabia |pages=163–176 |access-date=2023-10-18 |publisher=Brill |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-43592-6}}{{Cite web |date=2013-08-07 |title=Ghutrah — who designed it? |url=https://www.arabnews.com/news/460492 |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=Arab News |language=en}}

Varieties and variations

File:שייח עודה אבו מועמר.jpg

Middle Eastern Arabs, Kurds, and Yazidis wear this headpiece.{{Cite web|url=https://thekurdishproject.org/history-and-culture/kurdish-culture/kurdish-dress/|title = Learn About Kurdish Dress}} According to Anastas al-Karmali, Johannes Cotovicus mentioned a 16th-century Jewish keffiyeh. Historically, after contact with Arabs, some Kurds abandoned their traditional turban in favor of the keffiyeh and agal.The Kurdish National Movement: Its Origins and Development, Wadie Jwaideh, 2006, pp. 41 Iraqi Turkmen wear it and call it Jamadani,{{Cite web |last=Salman |first=Mofak |title=Altunköprü the ancient name of Türkmen Township |url=http://www.turkmen.nl/1A_Others/ms3.11.pdf |quote="They also wear a scarf which is known among the public as Jamadani"}} while Omanis call it a mussar. No matter its name, it is available in multiple colours and styles with many different methods of tying it, depending on regional origin and the nature of occasion. Omanis do not use the agal, instead tying it over the kuma for formal occasions.

File:Yazidism08.jpg men wearing keffiyehs]]

During his sojourn with the Marsh Arabs of Iraq, Gavin Young noted that the local sayyids—"venerated men accepted [...] as descendants of the Prophet Muhammad and Ali ibn Abi Talib"—wore dark green keffiyeh in contrast to the black-and-white checkered examples typical of the area's inhabitants.{{cite book |last = Young |first = Gavin |author-link = Gavin Young |others = Photography by Nik Wheeler |title = Return to the Marshes |orig-year = First published by William Collins & Sons in 1977 |year = 1978 |publisher = Futura Publications |location = Great Britain |isbn = 0-7088-1354-2 |pages = 15–16 |quote = There was a difference here for nearly all of them wore dark green kefiyahs (or cheffiyeh) (headcloths) instead of the customary black and white check ones. By that sign we could tell that they were sayyids, like the sallow-faced man at Falih's. }}

= Jordanian shemagh =

Another type of keffiyeh is the shemagh, which is a scarf that is red-and-white, checkered and has tassels. The bigger the tassels, the more important the person. This red-and-white keffiyeh is associated with Jordan and is its national symbol.{{Cite web |last=Penn |first=Lindsey |date=2020-09-25 |title=The Keffiyeh, the Shemagh, and the Ghutra |url=https://www.arabamerica.com/the-keffiyeh-the-shemagh-and-the-ghutra/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Arab America |language=en}} The shemagh is worn mostly in Jordan and by Bedouin communities.{{Cite web |date=2023-10-26 |title=Traditional Scarves or Keffiyehs of the Arab World Explained |url=https://www.cairo360.com/article/arts-culture/traditional-scarfs-or-keffiyehs-of-the-arab-world-explained/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Cairo 360 Guide to Cairo, Egypt |language=en-US}} It is made from cotton. The Jordanian shemagh and the Palestinian keffiyeh are different in regard to color and geographical meanings.{{Cite web |last=Ajlouni |first=Eman |date=2023-10-25 |title=The Palestinian Keffiyeh and The Jordanian Shemagh |url=https://www.arabamerica.com/the-palestinian-keffiyeh-and-the-jordanian-shemagh/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Arab America |language=en}}

= Palestinian keffiyeh =

File:ArafatEconomicForum (cropped).jpg wearing his iconic fishnet pattern keffiyeh in 2001]]

Prior to the 1930s, Arab villagers and peasants wore the white keffiyeh and agal (rope) while city residents and the educated elite wore the Ottoman tarbush (fez).{{cite book |last=Swedenburg |first=Ted |title=Memories of Revolt: The 1936–1939 Rebellion and the Palestinian National Past |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-557-28763-2 |pages=30–31 }} During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, Arab rebel commanders ordered all Arabs to don the keffiyeh. In 1938, British Mandatory High Commissioner in Palestine, Harold MacMichael, reported to the Foreign Office: "This ‘order’ has been obeyed with surprising docility and it is not an exaggeration to say that in a month eight out of every ten tarbushes in the country had been replaced by the [keffiyeh and] ‘agal’."{{cite report |title=Report on the situation in Palestine, Part 1, CO 935/21 |page=47 |work=Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839–1969 |via=Adam Matthew Digital }} Following the end of the revolt, most residents either reverted to wearing the tarbush or elected to go hatless.{{cite book |last=Swedenburg |first=Ted |title=Memories of Revolt: The 1936–1939 Rebellion and the Palestinian National Past |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-557-28763-2 |page=34 }}

The black and white keffiyeh’s prominence increased during the 1960s with the beginning of the Palestinian resistance movement and its adoption by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.{{cite book |last=Torstrick |first=Rebecca |title=Culture and Customs of Israel |publisher=Greenwood |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-313-32091-0 |page=117 }}

= Other shemagh variations =

Other regional shemagh variations are the Egyptian Sinai shemagh and the Saudi shemagh (also known as a ghutrah).

Other cultural symbolisms

Early Jewish migrants to Mandatory Palestine adopted the Keffiyeh because they saw it as part of the authentic local lifestyle.{{cite web |title=How the keffiyeh – a practical garment used for protection against the desert sun – became a symbol of Palestinian identity |url=https://news.ufl.edu/2023/12/conversation-keffiyeh-palestinian-identity/ |date=5 Dec 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240403211820/https://news.ufl.edu/2023/12/conversation-keffiyeh-palestinian-identity/ |archive-date=3 April 2024 |work=University of Florida |first=Armin |last=Langer }} Up until the 2000s, Turkey banned the keffiyeh because it was considered a symbol of solidarity with the PKK.{{Cite book|title=Music as a Platform for Political Communication|last=Uche|first=Onyebadi|date=14 February 2017|publisher=IGI Global|isbn=9781522519874|pages=214|language=en}}

Westerners in keffiyeh

File:Ljidda.jpg at Rabegh, north of Jeddah, in 1917]]

British Colonel T. E. Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia) was probably the best-known Western wearer of the keffiyeh and agal during his involvement in the Arab Revolt in World War I. This image of Lawrence was later popularized by the film epic about him, Lawrence of Arabia, in which he was portrayed by Peter O'Toole.

Many of the Jewish Zionist immigrants to Ottoman Palestine and British Mandatory Palestine wore the keffiyeh in emulation of the Arab population out of the desire for "closeness and a sense of belonging to the place".{{Cite web |url=https://blog.nli.org.il/en/hoi_keffiyeh/ |first=Shir Aharon |last=Bram |title=Jews in Keffiyehs? – The Headdress That Became a Symbol |website=National Library of Israel, The Librarians blog |date=18 May 2022}} These included youth group members, political notables, and militiamen, including Hashomer. Other Jewish residents of Palestine wore the keffiyeh for studio photograph sessions as Orientalist dress. After the 1929 Palestine riots and the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, "the popularity of the keffiyeh began to decline and Jewish attempts to emulate the Arabs became less common, but throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the keffiyeh could still be spotted in Israel," including on politicians and soldiers. As the keffiyeh became a key component of Yasser Arafat's signature look, it definitively lost popularity among Israelis and was associated exclusively with the Palestinian nationalist movement.

The 1920s' silent-film era of American cinema saw studios take to Orientalist themes of the exotic Middle East, possibly due to the view of Arabs as part of the Allies of World War I, and keffiyehs became a standard part of the theatrical wardrobe. These films and their male leads typically had Western actors in the role of an Arab, often wearing the keffiyeh with the agal (as with The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik, starring actor Rudolph Valentino).

During the 2001 Iraq and Afghanistan wars, members of the United States Armed Forces began wearing keffiyeh for practical reasons. While the scarves were never issued by the American armed forces directly, many private tactical equipment retailers marketed and sold them to service personnel in the Marines and Army. The scarves were usually dyed into color schemes that closely matched the service uniforms, and bore symbols that appealed to Western consumers (e.g., skull and cross bones, Gadsden snakes, and Spartan helmets). Black and coyote-brown keffiyeh are still commonly worn by military veterans without any implied support for Arab nationalism or similar causes, and at times can carry the opposite message.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Fashion trend

As with other articles of clothing worn in wartime, such as the T-shirt, fatigues and khaki pants, the keffiyeh has been seen as chic among non-Arabs in the West. Keffiyehs became popular in the UK in the 1970s and then in the United States in the late 1980s at the start of the First Intifada, when bohemian girls and punks wore keffiyehs as scarves around their necks. In the early 2000s, keffiyehs were very popular among youths in Tokyo, who often wore them with camouflage clothing. The trend recurred in the mid-2000s in the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia,{{cite news |url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/30/1211654279497.html |title = Keffiyeh kerfuffle hits Bondi bottleshop |date = 30 May 2008 |archive-date = 29 August 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110829060040/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/30/1211654279497.html |first=Arjun|last=Ramachandran |newspaper = The Sydney Morning Herald |location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |access-date = 24 September 2013 }}{{cite news |url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/29/1211654168145.html |title = Celebrity chef under fire for 'jihadi chic' |first=Arjun|last=Ramachandran |newspaper = The Sydney Morning Herald |date = 29 May 2008 |location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |access-date = 24 September 2013 |archive-date = 21 September 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110921123622/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/29/1211654168145.html }} when the keffiyeh became popular as a fashion accessory, usually worn as a scarf around the neck in hipster circles.{{Cite news|first=Nina|last=Lalli|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0508,lalli2,61280,15.html|title=Checkered Past: Arafat's trademark scarf is now military chic|date=15 February 2005|work=The Village Voice|location=New York, New York|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724052343/https://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0508,lalli2,61280,15.html|archive-date=24 July 2008}}{{cite news|last=Kim|first=Kibum|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/fashion/shows/11KAFFIYEH.html|title=Where Some See Fashion, Others See Politics|work=The New York Times|location=New York, New York|date=11 February 2007}} Stores such as Urban Outfitters and TopShop stocked the item. However, after some controversy over the retailer's decision to label the items "anti-war scarves", Urban Outfitters pulled it. In spring 2008, keffiyehs in colors such as purple and mauve were given away in issues of fashion magazines in Spain and France. In the UAE, males are inclining towards more Western headgear while women are developing preferences for dupatta—the traditional head cover of South Asia.{{cite web |url = http://www.uaestylemagazine.com/24/what-do-arabs-wear-on-their-heads.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131107011659/http://www.uaestylemagazine.com/24/what-do-arabs-wear-on-their-heads.html |url-status = usurped |archive-date = 7 November 2013 |title = What do Arabs wear on their heads |work = UAE Style Magazine |date = 24 August 2013 }} The appropriation of the keffiyeh as a fashion statement by non-Arab wearers separate from its political and historical meaning has been the subject of controversy in recent years.{{cite book|last=Swedenburg|first=Ted|editor1-first=Asef|editor1-last=Bayat|title=Global Middle East: Into the Twenty-First Century|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RTEaEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA162|accessdate=13 May 2021|year=2021|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, California|isbn=978-0-520-96812-7|pages=162–173|chapter=The Kufiya}} While it is often worn as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle, the fashion industry has disregarded its significance by using its pattern and style in day-to-day clothing design. For example, in 2016, Topshop released a romper suit with the Keffiyeh print, calling it a "scarf playsuit". This led to accusations of cultural appropriation and Topshop eventually pulled the item from their website.{{cite web |url = http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/topshop-removes-product-after-twitter-backlash-over-palestinian-struggle-1853057347 |title = Topshop pulls 'keffiyeh playsuit' after row over cultural theft |publisher = middleeasteye.net |access-date = 1 September 2017 }}

References

External links

[http://middleeast.about.com/b/2008/05/28/the-keffieh-and-the-arab-heartland.htm "The Keffiyeh and the Arab Heartland"]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403031909/http://middleeast.about.com/b/2008/05/28/the-keffieh-and-the-arab-heartland.htm |date=3 April 2015 }} from About.com
[http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199605/the.dye.that.binds.htm "Saudi Aramco World: The dye that binds"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103045932/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199605/the.dye.that.binds.htm |date=3 November 2014 }} by Caroline Stone
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090419223729/http://www.tyndalearchive.com/tabs/jastrow/ More references about a sudra on page 962] from Jastrow Dictionary Online
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090124175620/http://www.kabobfest.com/2007/07/modern-chronology-of-keffiyah-kraze.html Modern Chronology of the Keffiyah Kraze] from Arab American blog Kabobfest
[https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/che-couture-gives-way-to-kurds-pusi-chic-10363095 Che Couture Gives way to Kurds' Puşi Chic] by Işıl Eğrikavuk, Hurriyet
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120203151059/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=27623 Palestinian Keffiyeh outgrows Mideast conflict]
[http://www.palestine-shirts.com/store/p69/Palestinian_Hatta_Shemagh_Headdress.html Last factory in Palestine Produces Kuffiyeh]
[https://www.kufiya.org Hirbawi: The Only Original Kufiya Made in Palestine]