The story of the traditional dress
of Oman is reflect of its culture and history. The Omanis wear magnificent
dresses of vivacious colors that are designed on enticing patterns. The Omani
clothes are differ from region to another although there are in the same
country.
The national dress for Omani men
include (Mussar , Dishdasha and Khanjar) .
The (Dishdasha) is simple
ankle-length, collarless gown with long sleeves and it is worn in the whole
regions of Oman. The color most frequently worn is white, although a variety of
other colors such as black , blue , brown and lilac can also been seen. Its
main adornment is tassel (Furakha) sewn into the neckline which can be
impregnated with perfume.
The (Mussar) is square of finally
woven woolen or cotton fabric, wrapped and folded into a turban.
The (Khanjar) is distinguishing
feature of the Omani personality as well as an important symbol of male
elegance. Ht is traditionally worn at the waist.
The (Pest) is a huge long coat put on the dress usually
the Kings wear it in the big events, for example, at weddings or at Friday
prayers and there are two colors fundamental of the Black Pest and brown .
Clothes of women are different from
the regional dress of other parts of Oman.
Oman has managed to preserve much of
its original culture, including the differing and colorful variations of
regional dresses for women. Now more or less reserved for special occasions or
hidden under black abayas, the traditional dress is being reinvented and
influenced by the different regions.
Muscat traditional Dress:
It
consists of a knee length tunic dress and worn over sarwal /pants, a headscarf
often fringed called waqayah or lihaf, worn under another longer rectangular
scarf without fringe called the leso or a kanga.
Al-Dhakhiliya Dress
It consists of a distinctively short
dress with a piece of cloth of differing colour attached to the lower hem.
Above it, there are beads machine embroidered with silver threads. The part of
the dress around the neckline is embroidered with linked spiral circles made
from fine filigree. The pants are decorated with individual motifs. In the
interior region . women wear the (waqaya) or head covering with its
characteristic coloured woolen tassels at each end.
Al-Sharqiyah Dress
It is traditionally of the same
function as other Omani dress, consisting of a tunic dress and sarwal pants,
but the way that these items are embellished is distinct to the region. While
other Omani regions typically embellish the bottom of the tunic and its chest,
this region only embellished the garment on the wrists and on the bottom hem of
the Sirwal.
Al-Baluchi Dress
There are no concrete facts as to
the origin of this design but popular opinion is that it originated in the city
of Barka in the Al- Batinah region. However, there are numerous other cities
where the Baluchi women also wear this style. The dress worn by Baluch women is
one of the most interesting aspects of Baluchi culture. They are of strong
significance to the culture of Iran and hold a special place in the society .
the women put on loose dress and pants with sophisticated and colorful
needlework., including a larg pocket at the front of the dress to hold their
accessories.
Al Wusta Dress (Beduoin)
Traditionally consisted of a long dress mainly
embroidered at the wrists called a jalabiyia, with sirwal that could hardly be
seen that were rarely embellished, and shayla/heads covering made from sheer
black cotton mesh.
The burqa/facial mask is always worn
by married women in Al Wusta region, and traditionally dark colours like indigo
and black are preferred for the burqa.
Overtop of the jalabiyia a ghabaah
is worn. A ghabaah is a fine black mesh covering worn over the full-length of
the jalabiyia and unlike the Suri version, is not used to cover the hair and
so, is much narrower in cut and unembellished traditionally. This covering is
completely sheer but tends to protect the clothing underneath from being
scratched by sand and dust.
Tradition dress of south region ( Dofar)
Women's dress in the south of Oman
generally consists of three basic parts: a headscarf, a dress and shorts.
1- The headscarf: it consists of a
piece of cloth made of cotton and decorated with beads which is hanging down to
below the chest and is made up of several colors. And usually the numbers of
motifs are similar to the dress.
2- The dress: it is called (Dhofari)
which is named after Dhofar region in the south of Oman. The dress is made of
the (velvet) types and the color are multiple. The dress is a kimono which is
called the (Akaddma) . the front of the dress and the length of the dress are
to mid-calf . the rear parts is called the (tail) and the length of the tail
exceeds the length of women and a component of about 50 cm behind the tail pulls
women and come down from the mid-neck slot which is a wide band
embroidered.
3- The shorts: they have wide and
narrow feet with a variety of engraving and embroidery.
The video is showing the clothes of Omani women in different regions.
