ASIAN TEXTILES - OATG. Oxford Asian Textile Group

MEETINGS26Changing fashions for abayas in QatarChristina Lindholm‘s lively and stimulating OATG talk on 3 August based on her PhD on Qatariabayas began with a brief history setting the context for her work. Qatar is a small Gulf state,about the size of Wales, with a barren landscape, no natural resources, mild pleasant winters andvery hot summers. Historically, it was peopled by nomadic Bedouins whose only income was seasonalpearl fishing. So for centuries, Qatar was an isolated and impoverished country, unknownand ignored by the rest of the world.Originally Ottoman, the country has been ruled by the Al-Thani family since the 1800s, becominga British protectorate until 1971 when it became independent. The depression in the1920‘s and the introduction of cheaper Japanese cultured pearls in the 1930‘s led to severe povertyand many of the 27,000 Qataris leaving the country to find work in India and surrounding states.The late 1930‘s saw the discovery of oil, which was further developed after World War II, leadingto an explosion of the population, both returning Qataris and expatriates.In 2002 natural gas was discovered, resulting in Qatar becoming one of the richest countriesin the world, now with a population of 1.5 million, of which 300,000 are indigenous Qatari‘s.Most Qataris are Wahabi Muslims, a conservative sect that follows early interpretations of Islam.Traditionally the women wore a long loose dress, with a round neck and simple long sleeves,over an underskirt or pantaloons. Outdoors they always wore a r’as abaya, a cloak made from asquared piece of cloth, worn draped onthe head and held closed by hand. It wasalways black, usually cotton or wool,rarely or simply decorated, unless it wasfor a special occasion, in which case itwould be made of silk and decorated ingold metallic Zari braiding, normallydone by local Indian tailors. They alsowore a batula, an indigo dyed face mask,beaten to give it a shiny metallic appearanceand held in place by the teeth, resultingin some elderly Qatari women havingpermanently blue stained faces!The r’as abaya was ubiquitous andstrongly associated with religion. Qatarishold strong beliefs around honour andshame, and particularly that the goodname of the family rests with the women.Only by avoiding being seen by men outsidethe immediate family can women‘shonour be retained. Over time, exposureto the outside world resulted in stricterinterpretations of the Qu‘ran , and the rasabaya developed into the abaya, a fulllength, all encompassing black gown,worn with a long rectangular scarf, ashayla, wound around the head and wornat all times when outside the home.These covered the woman completelyand allowed her to move around