Historical accuracy

[A_A]

I lurk on Lipstick Alley(don’t ask questions), and I saw some pretty wild claims. Things like how Turbans for women are part of Somali history and fashion. Hair extensions and weaves. How the hell do you get that shit in Pre colonial Somalia? I thought even further and even in videos about Somali dance. You see women wearing black turtle necks. The hell? I know this ain’t that deep, but I won’t some damn historical accuracy! Plus there isn’t variation, everyone wears red and gold for there guntiinos. That ain’t right. Plus some of these dances are nomadic, you wouldn’t even be able to afford those sort of dyes and fabric. You would be wearing white! Why isn’t anyone calling this out??? There isn’t consistency when it comes to how traditional Somali clothes look like.

 

[CaliSomali]

What? Those Madows at lipstickalley discuss our culture?

 

[A_A]

What? Those Madows at lipstickalley discuss our culture?

Nah, this is mostly from Americanized Somalis who have a poor understanding of Somali culture.

 

[CaliSomali]

Nah, this is mostly from Americanized Somalis who have a poor understanding of Somali culture.

You should invite them over here if they want a more accurate analysis into Somali culture.

But why are they on a madow website? I bet they're some BLM types.

 

[Dalmoor]

You should invite them over here if they want a more accurate analysis into Somali culture.

But why are they on a madow website? I bet they're some BLM types.

I thought his name was African American= AA

@A_A welcome

 

[A_A]

You should invite them over here if they want a more accurate analysis into Somali culture.

But why are they on a madow website? I bet they're some BLM types.

Yeah, extreme SJWs iyo Pan Africans, truly disgraceful. I told you no questions, that leads to more questions!

 

[A_A]

I thought his name was African American= AA

@A_A welcome

Did you just assume my gender???

 

[James Dahl]

Historically they're correct in that Somali women dress much more conservatively today than they did 100 years ago, however west African style head wraps are not traditionally Somali.

Traditional Somali dress for women was a Dirac dress (or in more isolated areas, clothing made from hides) with her hair tied back with a scarf and a shawl over her head. You can see photographs of women without either scarf or shawl from the 19th century but you can see in the photograph that she is holding her shawl and scarf in her hands, and has just taken them off for the photograph. When working or it's otherwise inconvenient they would take their shawl off but keep a loose scarf, usually dark in colour, over their head to tie back their hair. Photos of women assembling shelters for instance they have taken their shawl off which would get in the way.

In rural areas where Somali women did not have access to the right textiles, they don't wear a scarf or shawl but just tie their hair back with a chord. It was virtually unknown for women to wear veils for instance in the past, that is entirely a modern phenomenon. Women wore brightly colored diracs with elaborate shawls and often had lots of jewelry. Fashion was more elaborate in Mogadishu where the locals were wealthier, whereas in rural areas the most elaborate thing a woman owned might be a dirac and some bracelets or especially necklaces.

19th century photographs show incredibly elaborate necklaces and often lots of piercings for earrings and arms covered in bracelets. Somali fashion for women was very ostentatious with visible demonstrations of wealth and prestige, something that's declined terribly due to the much more conservative era today.

 

[A_A]

Historically they're correct in that Somali women dress much more conservatively today than they did 100 years ago, however west African style head wraps are not traditionally Somali.

Traditional Somali dress for women was a Dirac dress (or in more isolated areas, clothing made from hides) with her hair tied back with a scarf and a shawl over her head. You can see photographs of women without either scarf or shawl from the 19th century but you can see in the photograph that she is holding her shawl and scarf in her hands, and has just taken them off for the photograph. When working or it's otherwise inconvenient they would take their shawl off but keep a loose scarf, usually dark in colour, over their head to tie back their hair. Photos of women assembling shelters for instance they have taken their shawl off which would get in the way.

In rural areas where Somali women did not have access to the right textiles, they don't wear a scarf or shawl but just tie their hair back with a chord. It was virtually unknown for women to wear veils for instance in the past, that is entirely a modern phenomenon. Women wore brightly colored diracs with elaborate shawls and often had lots of jewelry. Fashion was more elaborate in Mogadishu where the locals were wealthier, whereas in rural areas the most elaborate thing a woman owned might be a dirac and some bracelets or especially necklaces.

19th century photographs show incredibly elaborate necklaces and often lots of piercings for earrings and arms covered in bracelets. Somali fashion for women was very ostentatious with visible demonstrations of wealth and prestige, something that's declined terribly due to the much more conservative era today.

Yep I agree with that. What happened to the jewelry? Our traditional fabrics? When I see videos with people wearing “Traditional clothes” it’s historical inaccuracte. I do believe a lot of it is due to the new Salafist/Islamic conservative wave. In those sort of videos you see a lot of the nomadic/ rural fashion. With a Islamic twist. What I’m most worried about is the declining use of traditional fabrics and Jewelry.

 

[James Dahl]

The culprit of this loss is the decline of the Mogadishu textile industry, from the early middle ages Mogadishu was a a centre of cloth manufacturing and a centre for fashion and clothing design until industrialization put the weavers out of business in the 20th century.

I think efforts need to be made to revive the domestic Somali clothing industry. Also Somali jewelry fashions and industry should also be revived and supported.