The Clothing of the Emiras of Lebanon

Lebanon's historians tell us that the clothing of our grandmothers of old followed two styles. One was the style of northern Syria, which was the dress of the women of nearly all the ancient peoples: a gown flowing down to the ground and covering the whole body, its fabric of white cotton, simple in form, though it might be blue or violet; a veil covering the hair of the head in front and behind; bracelets of bone or of copper, which later turned to silver or gold, according to the station of the wearer and the measure of her wealth; anklets on the legs; and a band upon the forehead adorned with precious stones, or a skullcap on which were ranged coins and finely wrought pieces of gold, or a tall slender cap called a tantour.

The second style was that of southern Lebanon, made up of a long chemise falling from the neck to the feet, a jallabiyya, a maghribiyya, trousers, and slippers. The wearer might cover her head with a skullcap or a bonnet of wool, broadcloth, or red or blue silk embroidered with gold or silver; some studded it with gold coins, and it was called a suffa; over it she let fall a kufiyya that might veil her face and her eyes.

But these two styles soon ended in a single dress worn by all the women of Lebanon alike — emiras, sheikhas, women of wealth, and the poor. The gown of one differed from the gown of another only in show and elegance and the marks of social station and riches. It consisted of a long "qunbaz," slit in front, or from the top of the two facings down to the girdle, with buttons of copper or silver. Under it was worn a chemise of silk, which might be embroidered. On the head was set a net in which the tresses were wound, and above it a tantour — an ornament cylindrical in shape, like a horn, pointed at the top, its height a cubit for emiras and two-thirds of a cubit for other women. This tantour was worn over a tarboush of silver, or of engraved gold, tied under the chin, over which was thrown the shanbar or the mulaya.

This tantour was made by the goldsmith, who engraved it with fine engraving. It was in essence a bowl tapering gradually until it reached the thickness of the forearm of a man of moderate build. At its head was set a large pointed knob made of woven threads, and for it was wrought a banded silver tassel a span in length, studded with stones of red, green, yellow, and blue glass.

It is said that the tantour was abolished in 1848 and replaced by a wine-colored tarboush on which was set a disc of gold or silver, from which hung down three plaits with silver pendants that struck against the heels.

After that women wore the qafawiyya — named after the back of the head — made up of fifty silken braids from whose ends were hung silver or gold coins called ghawazi, ranged upon a piece of fabric bound about the forehead.

The first gown worn consisted of a chemise hanging in a single piece from the neck to the feet, and over it a velvet salta with long sleeves. Then came a waisted dress, narrow in front, cut in the shape of a polka, loose and ruffled above and gathered below. Then an Egyptian costume made up of trousers with a qunbaz of the same stuff and color over them, slit at the sides. Women of wealth made this costume of broadcloth, edged the borders of the qunbaz's two openings with silken braid, and wound striped silk shawls about their waists.

And so the fashions went on, shifting and changing, until they arrived at what they are today.