A Palestinian wuqaya

A Palestinian wuqaya

by | Objects

jewellery of Palestine

Traditional Palestinian headdress: wuqaya

Published Dec 20, 2023

This is a beautiful headdress from Palestine, called a wuqaya. It was worn in the area of Jerusalem and Ramallah. [1] It would be placed under the headveil, with the coin fringe showing on the forehead.⁠

Wuqaya: design and wear

In the image above (click to enlarge it) you’ll see how it is designed: a more or less square piece of cloth with a central embroidered panel. Below the chin, a series of chains and other coins dangle. The headdress has a beaded border in red and blue, and a double row of coins.⁠ According to Weir, this headdress was probably worn by girls [2].

Wuqaya: the coin fringe

The coins on this headdress may tell us a lot about the wearer herself, and the world she lived in.

The number of coins usually reflects the wealth of the wearer. That is because the silver in these coins used to be what made them valuable. From this tradition, the use of displaying coins became standard.

Also when the wearer was not that affluent: all of the coins on this particular headdress are imitation coins in brass. Note the detail with which the coin fringe begins. Starting in the centre, the coins fall in two directions: a red fabric detail covers the part where they part ways. It also ensures the first two coins stay in place.

Brass coins for the headdress of an unmarried girl make sense: she would not have had a large fortune of her own yet. This would become hers upon marriage: learn how that works here.

‘Brass coins on the headdress of an unmarried girl make sense’

Palestinian wuqaya: the chainwork

This particular wuqaya also shows chainwork. This is attached so it would fall below the chin, not unlike the chin-chain from Bethlehem presented in this post. This seems to be a later addition to this piece: the chainwork is irregular, mismatched and seems to have been added rather haphazardly.  

None of the headdresses published seem to have such an addition: it may come from another type of headdress, and used as embellishment of this one.

Its addition is also strange in light of who would be wearing this headdress. Such a set of chainwork is usually reserved for headdresses of married women. They would carry silver coins and display her wealth. This wuqaya however was worn by girls who had not yet acquired such wealth.

A German token coin in Palestine

The central pendant on the chin-chain carries a German text. You’ll see it in more detail on the photo above: click to enlarge it. ‘Spielmarke’ means a token. But this pendant is not as random as it might seem. On its other side, it shows a double-headed eagle. This resembles many actual coins from the period, notably the Maria Theresia Thaler.

The Maria Theresia Thaler was among the most popular coins in the Middle East and far beyond, because of its guaranteed high silver content. You will find these coins on many pieces of jewellery throughout North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Around the border however, it reads ‘Neurenberger Spiel und Rechenpfennig’. These were exported on a large scale to the Ottoman world. As they were much valued substitutes for actual coins, you will find many of these on dresses, veils and other objects of personal adornment.⁠⁠

The wuqaya: between girl and woman

According to Weir [3] this headdress was worn by girls who had reached puberty. That was an age on which girls would marry: in the area around Hebron/al Khalil, a large coin such as a Maria Theresia Thaler would be attached to the wuqaya to indicate the girl was ready to get married.

This headdress would accompany a girl during her transition from unmarried girl into married woman: an important step in her life’s journey.

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Reference1

[1] Völger, G. (ed) 1987. Pracht und Geheimnis. Kleidung und Schmuck aus Pälästina und Jordanien, p. 277.

[2] Weir, S. 1989. Palestinian Costume. The Trustees of the British Museum, London, p. 177.

[3] Weir, S. 1989. Palestinian Costume. The Trustees of the British Museum, London, p. 176.

Would you like to quote this article? Please do! Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

Parfums d’Orient

Parfums d’Orient

by | Museums & Exhibitions

Institut du Monde Arabe

Parfums d’Orient

Fragrance has always been important in North Africa and the Middle East. It plays a crucial role on many levels, a theme I explored in my book Silver & Frankincense. So you can imagine my excitement when the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris presented their exhibition Parfums d’Orient: I had to go and see it!

Ancient stone incense burner from the Arab Peninsula

Fragrance: a long history

The exhibition starts out with the history of perfume and perfume-making. As it was a well-visited exhibition, I had to wait a little before I could see the showcases, and while I looked around, I caught a whiff of something….roses? Was I imagining things? There were large photographs of the rose harvest in Morocco on the wall, so perhaps I got carried away before my visit had well and truly started?

The mystery was quickly solved when I approached the first showcases. These showed early incense burners, explained how the trade in frankincense brought prosperity to the Arab Peninsula and how fragrances like musk, oudh, ambergris and frankincense became prized goods in the ancient world. And with the showcases were beautifully designed dispensers that allowed visitors to smell each of these fragrances. Not too much and certainly not too heavy, but just enough to leave a hint of perfume lingering in the air.

Large cylinders with rose petals and saffron added a visual element to fragrance: with a click of a button, the petals whizzed around in their glass cylinders while a puff of scent was released. The video below shows what that looked like. To me, it was a beautiful visual companion to the photographs of the rose harvest I mentioned earlier, and a perfect start of the visit to get in the mood for perfumes.

Perfume and economics

From these first scents, the exhibition continues to the smells of everyday life. A small corner with tanned leather allows you to explore the foul smell of that process (and if you have visited the tanneries of Fez or Marrakech for example, you’ll know what I mean…!).

Large photographs of incense and perfume merchants in Oman tell the story of trade and commerce. Here, one of the explanations read that the souqs in Oman were the last place where fragrances were created in the traditional style, but I do seem to recall seeing that in Marrakech for example, too: there is hope yet for the traditional way of creating perfumes.

Perfume: science and creating

From the souq, we move on to the scientific processes behind distillation and evaporation. This was invented in the Middle Ages, and I absolutely loved seeing a replica of a distilling device next to a medieval manuscript depicting just such a thing. Medieval glass vessels show the craftmanship behind this scientific approach.

This part continues with the art of blending fragrances. Here again, the visitor experience is central: a ‘smelling station’ allows you to follow the buildup of three different fragrances, from the base notes, through the heart, to the top notes. It was a wonderfully layered experience to smell the ingredients coming together!

Necklace of scented beads from Tunisia, with gold beads.
Moroccan silver fibula with perfume box

Perfume: home and guests

From the fields of roses and the streets of the souqs, the exhibition then continues into the home. Here, we learn of the importance of cleanliness and appearing well-groomed. Perfuming guests and hospitality are beautifully and evocatively illustrated, again with fragrance gently surrounding the visitor.

Home fragrances are also extended into the domain of cooking and spices: many ingredients in perfume are also used in medicine and the kitchen.

Fragrance: intimacy and beauty

In the last space, we enter the most private sphere: that of individual care and intimacy. Fragrance is an important agent in the intimacy of marriage for example. Jewellery designed to hold perfume or made of fragrant substances itself is also shown, like the necklace of scented beads from Tunisia, or the fibula with a small box for scented material, both in the gallery above (click on the image to enlarge the photo).

And finally, at the end of the exhibition, we take our leave as honoured guests: a small dispenser at the end of the exhibition drips perfume into the palm of our hand. A scent that stayed with me for hours, and illustrated how perfume connects. On the metro ride home, I caught a faint whiff of that same perfume…

…and sure enough, a fellow passenger carried a bag with the Institut du Monde Arabe-logo on it. We looked at each other and smiled. For a brief and fleeting moment, we were no longer strangers on the subway, but connected by our shared experience of a museum visit, and recognizing each other by our perfume.

Parfums d’Orient: a multi-layered exhibition

This exhibition was absolutely stunning. I loved how it combined seeing and smelling into one experience. The whizzing rose petals next to a large photo, the size of the photographs of the Omani souqs that transport the visitor, the combination of medieval manuscripts with replicas and layered scents…there is so much to see, learn and experience.

As a visitor, you do not need to worry this is too much of a ‘smell-fest’: should you wish to smell a particular scent, you’ll need to push a button that releases a small puff. It creates a moment of intimacy rather than abundance.

Besides smell, images and objects, throughout the exhibition you will encounter modern art woven into the storylines in a very natural way. Modern glass containers stand next to Fatimid crystal, an artwork evokes incense smoke whirling upwards, a colourful tapestry is actually entirely made of spices.

The exhibition shows how fragrance carries meaning, and continues to do so. From the ancient world to our day and age, this journey through the world of perfume is a journey through being human: the things we fear, the joy we feel, the discoveries we make, the natural world around us. Highly recommended: enjoy this sensory journey!

Parfums d’Orient: Sept 26, 2023 – March 17, 2024.

Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris. See more info on their website here.

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Explore the world of fragrance in the course Scents of the Middle East!

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Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

Palestine jewels: Bethlehem

Palestine jewels: Bethlehem

by | Cultures & People

jewellery of Palestine

Traditional Palestinian jewellery: Bethlehem

Updated August 25, 2024

Bethlehem and its surrounding region are home to a recognizable tradition in dress and adornment. In this blog, I’ll show you the most common elements of Bethlehem adornment – with photographs that rarely have been published elsewhere.

Two Palestinian women in Lifta, carrying water.

Bethlehem and surrounding villages

The town of Bethlehem is located on the West Bank, to the south of Jerusalem. In the immediate vicinity are many smaller villages, which share a similar personal attire. These similarities are visible in a wider area. The photograph shown above (click on the image to enlarge it) is in the collection of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden. It shows women in the village of Lifta, which is to the north of Jerusalem, dressed in the same dress and jewellery as women in Bethlehem. [1]

Girls and a woman in Artas, Palestine. The girl on the left holds a chicken and is wearing a headdress with silver coins.
Bethlehem shatweh with coral beads, gold and silver coins.
Back view of a Bethlehem shatweh, showing additional Ottoman coins.

Bethlehem headdress: shatweh and taqiyeh

Married women in Bethlehem and the surrounding villages of Beit Jala, Lifta and Beit Sahur wore a headdress called shatweh. [2] This is a conical shaped headdress, densely embroidered on the outside and decorated with coins and coral beads.

Two examples of the shatweh are included in the gallery above: click on the images to enlarge them.

The coins could be either gold or silver, and wealthier people were reported to own two of these: one with gold for festive days, and one with silver for every day wear. However, in most cases wear of this headdress was limited to festive occasions such as weddings. [3] The Frank Scholten archive, containing photographs made between 1921 and 1923, shows many women in Bethlehem of which only few wear the shatweh.

Unmarried girls wore a smaller headdress, known as qurs or taqiyeh.[4] This was a type of bonnet, tied under the chin or under the hair with strings, and embellished with embroidery and coins. An example of this can be seen in the gallery above: click on the photo to enlarge. Both headdresses were covered with a cream-coloured veil of flowing silk. [5]

A forehead ornament of small hand amulets, called khamassiyat after these hands, was worn in the wider area of Bethlehem, Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. [6] A photo of such an ornament is in the galley below: click on the image to enlarge.

Three solid silver haydari bracelets from Bethlehem.
Khamassiyat forehead ornament, worn in the Jordan Valley and Bethlehem area.
Group of Palestinian women in Bethlehem, wearing silver jewellery glinting in the sun.

Traditional jewellery of Bethlehem: bracelets

The most used jewellery in the Bethlehem area were bracelets called haydari. Their use is not limited to the Bethlehem region: they are also found in Jaffa and el-Khalil. Bracelets like these were worn in pairs, and it is not uncommon to find women wearing several bracelets stacks on each wrist.

An example can be seen in the photograph by Frank Scholten above (click on the image to enlarge – also it’s not your Internet connection, this photo of a century old is a bit unfocused). The haydari bracelets are solid silver, and were produced in both Bethlehem itself and Jerusalem.

Other bracelets also worn in this area are the bracelets of a twisted band, called mabroum, and bangles with little dots called ‘lentil’-bracelets because of their resemblance to lentils. [7]

Finnish scholar Hilma Granqvist wearing bridal jewellery of Bethlehem.
Two solid silver chin-chains called iznaq from Palestine.

The Star of Bethlehem: shining in silver

A remarkable and very typical piece of adornment for this region is the silver chin-chain. This was called ‘iznaq saba’ arwah, or ‘seven spirits’. The chin-chain was made of solid silver links, most often adding up to six or seven strands, which were connected in the centre by a star-shaped ornament.

The star was also referred to as the Star of Bethlehem. [8] From the set of chains, a central coin was suspended. Depending on the wealth of the wearer, the set of chains could be embellished further with multiple coins. The chin-chain was hooked into the shatweh headdress, and floated across the chest of the wearer.

Finnish researcher Hilma Granqvist was dressed up by her hosts in traditional bridal attire when visiting Bethlehem [9]. On the photo, which you see above, she wears a low shatweh headdress and the chin-chain ornament.

The chin-chain ornament was worn widely in the region of Bethlehem, too, as the image of the two women from Lifta at the top of this post shows. But as these were expensive pieces, they were not worn every day, and may even have been borrowed on festive occasions from wealthier family members. [10]

The photographs in the Hilma Granqvist archive show many women in everyday activities dressed in the Bethlehem thobe and wearing their bracelets, but without the festive shatweh headdress and accompanying chin-chain.

A rich heritage

The traditional jewellery of Bethlehem shows the splendour of the heritage of this town and its surrounding villages. The shatweh has become iconic for Palestinian dress and adornment. It is a heritage to be celebrated!

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More posts on jewellery, cultures and people? Browse them all here!

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References

[1] NINO Leiden, Böhl-collection.

[2] Weir, S. 1989. Palestinian Costume. The Trustees of the British Museum, London, p. 181.

[3] Völger, G. (ed) 1987. Pracht und Geheimnis. Kleidung und Schmuck aus Pälästina und Jordanien, p. 284.

[4] Weir, S. 1989. Palestinian Costume. The Trustees of the British Museum, London, p. 182-183.

[5] Völger, G. (ed) 1987. Pracht und Geheimnis. Kleidung und Schmuck aus Pälästina und Jordanien, p. 284.

[6] Rajab, J. 1989. Palestinian Costume, p. 115.

[7] Weir, S. 1989. Palestinian Costume. The Trustees of the British Museum, London, p. 199.

[8] Völger, G. (ed) 1987. Pracht und Geheimnis. Kleidung und Schmuck aus Pälästina und Jordanien, p. 302.

[x9 Hägmann, S. 2023. Dedicated to Palestine. The life and work of ethnologist Hilma Granqvist, p. 96.

[10] For Artas, this practice is mentioned in Völger, G. (ed) 1987. Pracht und Geheimnis. Kleidung und Schmuck aus Pälästina und Jordanien, p. 284. Weir, S. 1989. Palestinian Costume. The Trustees of the British Museum, London, p. 194 mentions that in most villages, chin-chains were only one or two strands instead of six or seven: this was reserved for wealthy persons in Bethlehem.

See the digital archive of Hilma Granqvist here.

See the digital archive of Frank Scholten here.

The Bedouin Silver blog gives credit where credit is due! Transparent referencing and citing sources helps us all grow. Would you like to do the same and quote this article? Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

The Bedouin Silver Jewellery Blog: Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery, and obtained her PhD at Leiden University on jewellery, informal ritual and collections. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only. Sigrid strongly believes in accessibility of knowledge, and aims to provide reliable and trustworthy content: that’s why the Bedouin Silver blog provides references and citations.

Tatreez and Tea

Tatreez and Tea

by | Reviews

Tatreez and Tea

Embroidery as storytelling in the Palestinian diaspora
embroidery as storytelling

Tatreez and Tea

Updated Jan 20, 2024

When I was little, my mother and grandmother attempted to teach me cross-stitch embroidery. I remember very well the endless counting and recounting of the pattern, the frustration when I had miscounted and need to undo most of my stitches due to a mistake in the beginning, the art of using as little thread as possible (so no easy long-hauls at the back of the cloth…) and my happiness at the final result. It has been ages since I last picked up needle and thread, but I came across a wonderful book that really makes me want to start again!

Tatreez: more than just handicraft

The art of Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery is called tatreez, and it is infinitely more than just handicraft. Tatreez is both storytelling and affirming identity. Because it always has been a form of storytelling for hundreds of years, embroidery is the ultimate medium to keep telling and sharing the history of a people and of a nation.

In her book Tatreez and Tea, author Wafa Ghnaim combines all of these aspects in a very personal way.

Embroidery as teaching

Embroidered dresses document history, tradition and a way of life. By teaching her daughter to embroider, a mother would also transfer all of her knowledge to the next generation.

This could be practical knowledge, like how to deal with scorpions and snakes. The Snakes design holds no fewer than 5 lessons to be learned, and the Scorpions design teaches the same aspects that I learned during archaeological fieldwork in Egypt.

By means of nature, other concepts such as love and faith are illustrated as well. Ways of life are for example communicated through a beautiful design called Wheat Harvest, reflecting the importance of wheat, bread and hospitality.

Embroidery as historical record

This book however is far more than just an illustration of embroidery. Mixed in with every description of a pattern or a dress is the authors’ own family history. This makes this book all the more personal to read and places dress and adornment squarely where it belongs, at the heart of a people and a nation.

Embroidery is not just decorative or an art on the sidelines of life: embroidering keeps Palestinian culture alive and communicates its longterm and recent history. From the Cleopatra design to the Intifada and Missile designs, embroidery serves to affirm identity.

Tatreez and Tea: a must-read

I thoroughly recommend this book for anyone who would like to learn more about tatreez, its place in the Palestinian diaspora and the agency of dress and adornment. With over 400 pages, dozens of design patterns, terminology and techniques, tea, coffee and quince preserve recipes and personal history over several generations, this is a cultural treasure trove.

Update: Wafa Ghnaim’s second book THOBNA. Reclaiming Palestinian dresses in the diaspora is a powerful study of resistance embroidery that you will not want to miss.

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Tatreez and Tea. Embroidery and Storytelling in the Palestinian Diaspora. By Wafa Ghaim. 428 pages.

Read more about the book, classes, lectures etc on the website of Tatreez and Tea.

Follow Wafa on Instagram for updates and embroidery!

I purchased the book directly from Wafa.

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The Bedouin Silver blog gives credit where credit is due! Transparent referencing and citing sources helps us all grow. Would you like to do the same and quote this article? Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

The Bedouin Silver Jewellery Blog: Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery, and obtained her PhD at Leiden University on jewellery, informal ritual and collections. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only. Sigrid strongly believes in accessibility of knowledge, and aims to provide reliable and trustworthy content: that’s why the Bedouin Silver blog provides references and citations.