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Keffiyeh

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Omani Royal Keffiyeh

The keffiyeh (Arabic: كوفية, kūfiyyah, plural كوفيات, kūfiyyāt)), also known as a (ya)shmagh (from Turkish: yaşmak "tied thing"), ghutrah (غترة), ḥaṭṭah (حطّة), mashadah (مشدة) or shemagh is a traditional headdress typically worn by Arab men made of a square of cloth (“scarf”), usually cotton, folded and wrapped in various styles around the head. It is commonly found in arid climate areas to provide protection from direct sun exposure, as well as for occasional use in protecting the mouth and eyes from blown dust and sand. Its distinctive woven check pattern originated in an ancient Mesopotamian representation of either fishing nets or ears of grain.[1]

Varieties and variations

Yemenite Jew in the early 20th century wearing keffiyeh wrapped like a turban.

Many Palestinian keffiyeh are a mix of cotton and wool, which lets them dry quickly and keep the wearer’s head warm. The keffiyeh is usually folded in half, into a triangle, and the fold is worn across the forehead. Often, the keffiyeh is held in place by a rope circlet, called an agal (Arabic: عقال, ʿiqāl). Some wearers wrap the keffiyeh into a turban, while others wear it loosely draped around the back and shoulders. Sometimes a taqiyah is worn underneath the keffiyeh, and, in the past, it has also been wrapped around the rim of the fez. The keffiyeh is almost always of white cotton cloth, but many have a checkered pattern in red or black stitched into them. The plain, white keffiyeh is most popular in the Persian Gulf states, almost excluding any other style in Kuwait and Bahrain.

The black-and-white keffiyeh is a symbol of Palestinian heritage. The red-and-white keffiyeh is worn throughout these regions as well as in Somalia, but is most strongly associated with Jordan, where it is known as shmagh mhadab. The Jordanian keffiyeh has cotton decorative strings on the sides. It is believed that the bigger these strings, the more value it has and the higher a person’s status. It has been used by Bedouins throughout the centuries and was used as a symbol of honor and tribal identification.[citation needed]

The keffiyeh, especially the all-white version, can also be called a ġutrah, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain (where the skullcap is confusingly called keffiyeh), but is also known in some areas as shmagh or ḥaṭṭah

Kinds

  • (Ya)sh(e)magh: a piece of cloth, usually made of cotton or flax and decorated with many colors but usually by red and white.
  • Ghutrah: a piece of white cloth made of cotton mild, worn in western Iraq and the Persian Gulf states.
  • Kuffiyeh: a piece of white/orange/black cloth made from wool and cotton worn primarily by the Palestinians.

Palestinian national symbol

Yasser Arafat wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh

Traditionally worn by Palestinian peasants, the keffiyeh became a symbol of Palestinian nationalism during the Arab Revolt of the 1930s.[2][3] Its prominence increased in the 1960s with the beginning of the Palestinian resistance movement and its adoption by Palestinian politician Yasser Arafat.[2]

File:Leila Khaled cover.jpg
Leila Khaled, the "poster girl of Palestinian militancy," wearing a keffiyeh on the cover of a magazine

The keffiyeh would later become a trademark symbol of Arafat, who was rarely seen without a distinctively-arranged black-and-white scarf. (Only occasionally did he wear a military cap or, in colder climates, a Russian-style fur hat called ushanka). Arafat would wear his keffiyeh in semi-traditional way, around the head and wrapped by an agal. He also wore a similarly patterned piece of cloth in the neckline of his military fatigues. Early on, he had made it his personal trademark to drape the scarf over his right shoulder only, arranging it in the rough shape of a triangle, to resemble the outlines of the territory claimed by Palestine. This way of wearing the keffiyeh became a symbol of Arafat as a person and political leader, and it has not been imitated by other Palestinian leaders.

Another Palestinian figure associated with the keffiyeh is Leila Khaled, a female member of the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Several photographs of Khaled circulated in the Western newspapers after the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 and the Dawson’s Field hijackings. These photos often included Khaled wearing a keffiyeh in the style of a Muslim woman’s hijab, wrapped around the head and shoulders. This was unusual, as the keffiyeh is associated with Arab masculinity, and many believe this to be something of a fashion statement by Khaled, denoting her equality with men in the Palestinian armed struggle.

The colors of the stitching in a keffiyeh are also vaguely associated with Palestinians’ political sympathies. Traditional black and white keffiyehs became associated with Fatah. Later, red and white Jordanian keffiyehs were adopted by Palestianian Marxists, such as the PFLP. Today, Palestianian Marxists have virtually disappeared, and red and white keffiyehs are instead identified with Hamas.[2][4] While widely known, this color symbolism is by no means universally accepted by all Palestinians, and its importance should not be overstated — red or black-and-white scarves are used by Palestinians of all political affiliations, as well as by those with no particular political sympathies.

This symbol of Palestinian identity is now largely imported from China; in 2008 Yasser Hirbawi, who for five decades had been the only Palestinian manufacturer of keffiyehs, told Reuters that, “Two years ago I had to close down my factory because I couldn’t compete with Chinese-made Hattas (keffiyehs) that sell for 40 percent less.” [5]

Westerners in keffiyeh

The British Colonel T. E. Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia), probably the best-known Western wearer of the keffiyeh, wore a plain white one with 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 played by Peter O’Toole.

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

Erwin Rommel also commonly wore a keffiyeh around his neck during the Western Desert Campaign.

In 2009, Palestinians traveled to Vatican City and gave a keffiyeh to Pope Benedict XVI. [6]

Symbol of Palestinian solidarity

A male model wearing a black and white keffiyeh

Outside of the Middle East and North Africa the keffiyeh first gained popularity among activists supporting the Palestinians in the conflict with Israel.

The wearing of the keffiyeh often comes with criticism from various political factions in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The slang “keffiyeh kinderlach” refers to young left-wing Jews, particularly college students, who sport a keffiyeh around the neck as a political/fashion statement. This term may have first appeared in print in an article by Bradley Burston in which he writes of “the suburban-exile kaffiyeh kinderlach of Berkeley, more Palestinian by far than the Palestinians” in their criticism of Israel. While this political use is generally associated with the left wing, the keffiyeh has also been activists in Europe.[7][8]

In 2007 the Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero gave a speech in which he criticized Israel harshly, then accepted a kefiyyeh from members of the audience and had his photo taken wearing it.[9]

While Western protesters wear differing styles and shades of keffiyeh, the most prominent is the black-and-white keffiyeh. This is typically worn around the neck like a neckerchief, simply knotted in the front with the fabric allowed to drape over the back. Other popular styles include rectangular-shaped scarves with the basic black-and-white pattern in the body, with the ends knitted in the form of the Palestinian flag. Since the Al-Aqsa Intifada, these rectangular scarves have increasingly appeared with a combination of the Palestinian flag and Al-Aqsa Mosque printed on the ends of the fabric.

Military use

For decades, keffiyeh have been issued to British soldiers[10], who now, almost exclusively, refer to them as shemaghs. Their use by some units and formations of the military and police forces of the former British Empire and subsequent Commonwealth dates back to before the Second World War. Because of its utility it was adopted by the Palestine Police Force, the Transjordan Frontier Force, the Sudan Defence Force, the Arab Legion, the Libyan Arab Force, the Long Range Desert Group, the Special Air Service and Popski’s Private Army, amongst others, who wore them while operating in North Africa. After the war, their use by the Army continued with the shemagh being worn in both desert and temperate environments in theatres such as Dhofar. Australian Army forces have also used the shemagh since the Vietnam War, and extensively during Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly by Australian Special Forces units. Since the beginning of the War on Terror, these keffiyeh, usually cotton and in military olive drab or khaki with black stitching, have been adopted by US troops as well. Their practicality in an arid environment, as in Iraq, explains their enduring popularity with soldiers. Soldiers often wear the keffiyeh folded in half into a triangle and wrapped around the face, with the halfway point being placed over the mouth and nose, sometimes coupled with goggles, to keep sand out of the face. This is also commonly done by armoured, mechanised and other vehicle-borne troops who use it as a scarf in temperate climates to ward off wind chill caused by being in moving vehicles. British soldiers deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan are now issued with a tan-colored shemagh. Irish Army Rangers use a green shemagh to conceal their identity whilst in the "green" role.

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 United States in the late 1980s, at the start of the First Intifada, when bohemian girls wore keffiyehs as scarves around their necks.[11][2] In the early 2000s, keffiyehs were very popular among youths in Tokyo, who often wore them with camouflage clothing.[11] The trend recurred in the mid-2000s in the United States, [11][2] Europe,[2] Canada and Australia,[citation needed] when the keffiyeh became popular as a fashion accessory, usually worn as a scarf around the neck in hipster circles.[11][2] Stores such as Urban Outfitters and TopShop stocked the item.[2] (after some controversy, however, Urban Outfitters pulled the item).[2] In spring 2008, keffiyehs in colors like purple and mauve were given away in issues of fashion magazines in Spain and France.

In mid-2000s New York City, non-Arabs tended to wear keffiyehs in one of three ways.[11] Pro-Palestinian activists wore them loosely draped over their shoulders. World-music aficionados wore them as regular, bunched scarves around their necks (as did girls in the 1980s). Finally, hipsters folded them in half to make a triangle, then gathered the scarf around the neck to leave one point facing down in the center of the chest. New keffiyeh designs with Israeli motifs have been sold since 2007.[12]

Controversial symbol

The keffiyeh has become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism, dating back to the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. As a result of its symbolic meaning in this context, its display in the West has periodically been the subject of criticism.

In 2007, the American clothing store chain, Urban Outfitters, stopped selling keffiyehs after “a pro-Israel radical… complained about the items” and issued a statement that “the company had not intended ‘to imply any sympathy for or support of terrorists or terrorism’ in selling the keffiyehs and was pulling them”.[13] Rhoda Koenig, a theatre critic for the The Independent in 2006, asserted that the keffiyeh had “become a symbol of Islamic militancy”.[14] Caroline Glick, deputy editor of the Jerusalem Post, equates the Palestinian keffiyeh with the fascist wearing of brown shirts.[15]

Dunkin’ Donuts controversy

Dunkin' Donuts discontinued an online ad featuring Rachael Ray wearing a paisley-patterned scarf after columnist Michelle Malkin claimed that the scarf resembled a keffiyeh.[16][17]

American Arabs were angered by the controversy, calling it a campaign of prejudice. Laila Al-Qatami, Communications Director of the Arab Anti-Defamation Committee, called it "a sad commentary when an article of clothing is labeled in such negative and derogatory terms and used as a premise to vilify Arabs and Muslims.[18] Nemi Jamal, a Palestinian-American designer, said "The Palestinian people consider this their flag. It is about pride and class struggle and nothing else. To say it stands for what they've said is just a disgrace."[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lindisfarne-Tapper, Nancy; Ingham, Bruce (1997), "Approaches to the Study of Dress in the Middle East", in Lindisfarne-Tapper, Nancy; Ingham, Bruce (eds.), Languages of Dress in the Middle East, Surrey UK: Curzon Press, p. 8, ISBN 0700706704
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kim, Kibum. “Where Some See Fashion, Others See Politics.” New York Times (Feb. 11, 2007).
  3. ^ Torstrick, Rebecca (2004). Culture and Customs of Israel. Greenwood. p. 117. ISBN 9780313320910. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ Binur, Yoram (1990). My Enemy, My Self. Penguin. p. xv. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Palestinian enterprises look to China for business The New York Times, viewed 04 July 2009
  6. ^ Pope meets Palestinians in Vatican City, receives 'keffiyeh
  7. ^ Tipton, Frank B. (2003). A History of Modern Germany Since 1815. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 598.
  8. ^ Mudde, Cas (2005). Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe. Routledge. p. 34.
  9. ^ “Spanish Minister Objects – Says Criticism of Israel Not anti-Semitic” International Herald Tribune, July 20, 2006 [1]
  10. ^ just one 3rd-party example: http://www.campersafety.com/shemaghrw.html
  11. ^ a b c d e Lalli, Nina. “Checkered Past: Arafat’s trademark scarf is now military chic.” Village Voice (Feb. 17th, 2005).
  12. ^ Faddi Iyadat. “Hummus and Keffiyehs, Israeli style” (in Hebrew) Walla (Jan. 11, 2007).
  13. ^ US chain pulls ‘anti-war’ keffiyehs | Jerusalem Post
  14. ^ Koenig, Rhoda (April 28, 2006). "Reviews: Visual arts". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  15. ^ No Tolerance for Genocide, By Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post, August 2, 2002
  16. ^ US chain drops ‘terror scarf’ ad BBC News, May 30 2008
  17. ^ Michelle Malkin » The keffiyeh kerfuffle
  18. ^ http://www.amperspective.com/html/keffiyeh.html
  19. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/990505.html
  • Philippi, Dieter (2009). Sammlung Philippi - Kopfbedeckungen in Glaube, Religion und Spiritualität,. St. Benno Verlag, Leipzig. ISBN 978-3-7462-2800-6.
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