Thawb

2022-05-01T21:40:20Z

86.152.160.32:

{{short description|Long-sleeved Middle Eastern robe}}
{{Redirect|Jubba|the river|Jubba River}}
{{Redirect|Jubbah|the city|Jubbah, Saudi Arabia|the [[Sudan|Sudanese]] coat|Jibba}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2016}}{{Infobox clothing type|title=Thawb<br/>ثَوْب|image_file=YoungManWearingThawb.jpg|caption=[[Arabs|Arab]] man wearing a thawb along with [[Keffiyeh]] and [[Agal]]|type=[[Arab clothing]]|material=[[Cotton]] or [[Wool]]|location=[[Arabian Peninsula]]}}

'''Thawb''' ({{lang-ar|ثَوْب}} "[[wikt:garment|garment]]"), also spelled '''thobe''' or '''tobe''' and known by [[#Name variations|various other names]] in different regions, is an ankle-length [[robe]], usually with long sleeves. It is commonly worn in the [[Arabian Peninsula]]، the [[Middle East]], [[North Africa]], and other neighbouring [[Arab world|Arab countries]], and some countries in East and West Africa. An [[izaar]] is typically worn underneath.

In [[Sudan]], it refers to a woman's outer wrapped garment without sleeves in white or colourful modern designs.

==Etymology==
The word ''thawb'' is the standard [[Arabic]] word for "[[wikt:garment|garment]]". It is sometimes spelled ''thobe'' or ''thaub''. It is a [[tunic]], generally long. The word is used specifically for this garment in [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf]].

==Prevalence and regional differences in names and use by gender==

=== Middle East and North Africa ===
The ''thawb'' is commonly worn by men in the [[Arabian Peninsula]]. It is normally made of [[cotton]], but heavier materials such as [[sheep]]'s [[wool]] can also be used, especially in colder climates in Iraq and Syria.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://char.txa.cornell.edu/islamicclothes.htm |title=Islamic Clothing |last=Jirousek |first=Charlotte |publisher=Charlotte Jirousek |date=2004 |website=Art, Design, and Visual Thinking |access-date=May 25, 2019}}</ref> The style of the thawb varies slightly among the various regions in the area. The sleeves and the collar can be stiffened to give a more formal appearance. Other names may be used for this garment. In [[Iraq]], [[Kuwait]], [[Bilad al-Sham|the Levant]], and [[Oman]], ''dishdashah'' is the most common word for the garment; in the [[United Arab Emirates]] and the [[Maghreb]], the word ''kandura'' is used. The neck also tends to be more open than in its Saudi counterpart and, along with the breast pocket, is often embroidered. It might also lack [[buttons]] altogether.

==== Sudan ====
In Sudan, the term ''tobe'' is used to refer to women's outer garments.<ref name="CampbellCorman2016">{{cite journal |url= http://www.aramcoworld.com/en-US/Articles/March-2016/The-Gown-That-Steals-Your-Heart |title=The Gown That Steals Your Heart|first1=Kay Hardy |last1=Campbell|first2= Leela|last2= Corman |journal= Aramco World |date= March–April 2016 |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages= 24–25}}</ref> In her book ''Khartoum at night: Fashion and body politics in imperial Sudan'',<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brown|first=Marie Grace|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/khartoum-at-night-fashion-and-body-politics-in-imperial-sudan/oclc/1113341178|title=Khartoum at night fashion and body politics in imperial Sudan|date=2017|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-1-5036-0152-9|location=Stanford, Calif|language=English|oclc=1113341178}}</ref> [[Cultural history|cultural historian]] Marie Grace Brown explained: "Meaning “bolt of cloth,” a ''tobe'' is a rectangular length of fabric, generally two meters wide and four to seven meters long. It is worn as an outer [[Wrapper (clothing)|wrapper]] whenever women are outside their homes or in the company of unrelated males. The tobe’s origins date back to the late eighteenth century when prosperous merchants in [[Darfur]] clothed their wives and daughters in large swaths of fine imported [[linen]], [[muslin]], and [[silk]] as a sign of their wealth and prestige."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stanford University Press|title=Start reading Khartoum at Night {{!}} Marie Grace Brown|url=https://www.sup.org/books/extra/?id=25840&i=Introduction.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-29|website=sup.org|language=en}}</ref> In the context of urban culture in Sudan since the 1930s, new and often colourful styles of ''tobes'' became fashionable, as Sudanese women "expressed their growing opportunities and desires through fashion."<ref>{{cite web|author=|date=August 9, 2017|title='Khartoum at Night' looks at Sudanese history through fashion|url=https://history.ku.edu/cherry-picked-%E2%80%98khartoum-night%E2%80%99-looks-sudanese-history-through-fashion|access-date=May 25, 2019|website=University of Kansas Department of History|publisher=University of Kansas|quote="expressed their growing opportunities and desires through fashion."|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530125504/https://history.ku.edu/cherry-picked-%E2%80%98khartoum-night%E2%80%99-looks-sudanese-history-through-fashion|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Palestine ====
The traditional Palestinian woman's long tunic is also called ''thawb''. This style originated in the early 19th century and is richly embroidered, with different colours and patterns signifying various aspects of the wearer's social position.<ref name="APNews">{{cite news |last=Debre |first=Isabel |date=February 12, 2019 |title=Iconic Palestinian robe fashions a new political symbol |url=https://www.apnews.com/aa8eb954b51644589f0656f6ac2ba5cc |work=AP News |access-date=May 25, 2019}}</ref> Since the Nakba, or [[1948 Palestinian exodus]], the ''thawb'' has also come to represent Palestinian political identity.<ref name="APNews" />

==Name variations==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Region/country !! Language !! Main
|-
| [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Yemen]], [[Bahrain]], [[Qatar]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]|| [[Hejazi Arabic]], [[Najdi Arabic]], [[Bahrani Arabic|Bahraini Arabic]], [[Palestinian Arabic]] || Thawb/Thōb (ثوب)
|-
| [[Levant]], [[Iraq]], [[Kuwait]], [[Oman]], [[Khuzestan province|Ahwaz]] || [[Levantine Arabic]], [[Mesopotamian Arabic]], [[Omani Arabic]], [[Kuwaiti Arabic]], [[Khuzestani Arabic|Ahwazi Arabic]]|| Dishdāshah (دِشْدَاشَة)
|-
| [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], [[Libya]] || [[Gulf Arabic|Emirati Arabic]], [[Moroccan Arabic]], [[Algerian Arabic]], [[Tunisian Arabic]], [[Libyan Arabic]] || Kandūrah (كَنْدُورَة)/Gandūrah (قَنْدُورَة)
|}

==Other occasions==
[[File:COSV_-_Darfur_2008_-_Market.jpg|thumb|Sudanese women in colourful tobes at a market in Darfur, West Sudan]]
A thawb is sometimes worn with a ''[[Bisht (clothing)|bisht]]'' ({{lang|ar|بِشْت}}), also known in other parts of the [[Arabian Peninsula]] as a ''mishlah'' ({{lang|ar|مِشْلَح}}) or ''ʿabāʾ'' ({{lang|ar|عَبَاء}}), meaning 'cloak'. It is usually worn in ceremonial occasions or by officials. A bisht is usually worn by religious clergy, but can also be worn in weddings, [[Eid al-Fitr|Eids]], and funerals.
It may indicate a status of wealth and royalty, or sometimes a religious position.
It was originally manufactured in Syria, Iraq and Jordan, and it is usually worn in Arabian peninsula, Jordan, Syria, and parts of southern Iraq.

According to [[H. R. P. Dickson]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Dickson |first= H.R.P. |title=The Arab of the desert : a glimpse into Badawin life in Kuwait and Sau'di Arabia |date= 2015 |oclc=919302946 |location=New York, NY |publisher= Routledge}}</ref> Bedouin women would mount a brightly coloured thawb on a pole in front of a tent in order to welcome home a traveller or an important person coming to visit.<ref name="CampbellCorman2016" />

[[Rashida Tlaib]], a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from [[Michigan]] and the first Palestinian-American woman elected to that body, wore a thawb to her swearing-in ceremony on January 3, 2019.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/1/3/18166768/rashida-tlaib-ilhan-omar-congress-thobe-hijab |title=Rashida Tlaib's thobe and Ilhan Omar's hijab are making congressional history |first=Rebecca |last= Jennings| newspaper=[[Vox (blogging platform)|Vox]] |date=January 4, 2018}}</ref> This inspired a number of Palestinian and Palestinian-American women to share pictures on social media with the [[hashtag]] #TweetYourThobe.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/us/politics/rashida-tlaib-palestinian-thobe.html |title=As Rashida Tlaib Is Sworn In, Palestinian-Americans Respond With #TweetYourThobe |first=Karen |last= Zrarick |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 3, 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Fashion}}
* [[Agal (accessory)|Agal]]
* [[Bisht (clothing)|Bisht]]
* [[Cassock]]
* [[Fez (hat)|Fez]]
* [[Hejazi turban]]
* [[Islam and clothing]]
* [[Izaar]]
* [[Jellabiya]]
* [[Kaftan]]
* [[Kanzu]]
* [[Keffiyeh]]
* [[Kurta]]
* [[Litham]]
* [[Shalwar Kameez]]
* [[Sherwani]]
* [[Sirwal]]
* [[Taqiyah (cap)|Taqiyah]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Folk costume}}
{{Clothing}}

[[Category:Arabic clothing]]
[[Category:Gowns]]
[[Category:History of Asian clothing]]
[[Category:Islamic male clothing]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern clothing]]

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Thawb