20
S. H. I. Mohamed
Uniforms are also embroidered by coins. This is due to the development of an
important rule in the value structure of the oasis, obliging men to sit on the terraces
next to the houses when women walk from place to place.
Women consider black color to represent dignity and modesty, and the color white
to indicate joy and delight. Together, these two colors represent the basis of the old
folklore oasis for the people. The red color is used for therapeutic purposes which
are also part of the belief of rural areas across Egypt. Red color helps the healing
process for children when they are sick with measles. However, oasis women wear
other colors inside their houses so as not to be seen by strangers.
Interestingly, young brides make their own wedding dresses as well as family
members’ clothes. It is usually quite a difficult process. It could take up to nearly three
years. The bridal dress usually features popular designs inspired by the environment
and in the daily trips girls enjoy when they roam the desert. The dress also includes
graphics and natural colors all made with simple tools (scissors, needle, strings) on
fabric that are brought by traders from Al-Azhar area in Cairo.
Rural and oasis women contribute to their household and family expenditure
through designing and making clothes and garments manually with very high quality.
Women give the products to their husbands to distribute and sell them among the
various markets in the city center as well as to foreigners. This is particularly the
case with the rise in tourist activity in the late 1980s.
Women also have contributed to the pottery industry since ancient times during the
Pharaonic era in Egypt. The pottery is used every day inside the house for cooking
and storing necessary foods such as pickled olives, Laranj (a kind of citrus) and
cheese.
These foods are an important food for all desert dwellers because it is linked
to the sunstroke diseases that may affect some residents while working in Hattaya.
Hattaya is a family farm in which all members of the family work. Also, women use
the palm leaves (Jerid) to make Suwasil and Margun (a box or container made from
the frondes of palm tree) which are used in storing and preserving dates. The latter
is considered to be the main crop throughout the year.
Women make headwear which men wear over their head during their work in
the fields and agriculture. Women also make Galak (a kind of pot made from palm
fronds) to put agricultural products when they return home. They further make Bursh
(a kind of mat) which is one of the furnishing placed on the floor to replace carpets.
Women embroider Bursh with bright colors and beautiful shapes. In the past, every
female had to make and design Bursh before her marriage. The female’s relatives
assisted her if she did not have enough time until the wedding. Early marriage is the
norm for girls in the oasis communities, and usually, marriage takes place among
relatives.
The old Egyptian society did not allow the female to exercise her rightful activity
in her environment and to conduct some civil and religious affairs in public life.
Recently, women in the oases gained new civic and religious cultures that enable
them to participate some activities in public that are suitable to her age, position, and
tradition (Saleh 1988).
S. H. I. Mohamed
Uniforms are also embroidered by coins. This is due to the development of an
important rule in the value structure of the oasis, obliging men to sit on the terraces
next to the houses when women walk from place to place.
Women consider black color to represent dignity and modesty, and the color white
to indicate joy and delight. Together, these two colors represent the basis of the old
folklore oasis for the people. The red color is used for therapeutic purposes which
are also part of the belief of rural areas across Egypt. Red color helps the healing
process for children when they are sick with measles. However, oasis women wear
other colors inside their houses so as not to be seen by strangers.
Interestingly, young brides make their own wedding dresses as well as family
members’ clothes. It is usually quite a difficult process. It could take up to nearly three
years. The bridal dress usually features popular designs inspired by the environment
and in the daily trips girls enjoy when they roam the desert. The dress also includes
graphics and natural colors all made with simple tools (scissors, needle, strings) on
fabric that are brought by traders from Al-Azhar area in Cairo.
Rural and oasis women contribute to their household and family expenditure
through designing and making clothes and garments manually with very high quality.
Women give the products to their husbands to distribute and sell them among the
various markets in the city center as well as to foreigners. This is particularly the
case with the rise in tourist activity in the late 1980s.
Women also have contributed to the pottery industry since ancient times during the
Pharaonic era in Egypt. The pottery is used every day inside the house for cooking
and storing necessary foods such as pickled olives, Laranj (a kind of citrus) and
cheese.
These foods are an important food for all desert dwellers because it is linked
to the sunstroke diseases that may affect some residents while working in Hattaya.
Hattaya is a family farm in which all members of the family work. Also, women use
the palm leaves (Jerid) to make Suwasil and Margun (a box or container made from
the frondes of palm tree) which are used in storing and preserving dates. The latter
is considered to be the main crop throughout the year.
Women make headwear which men wear over their head during their work in
the fields and agriculture. Women also make Galak (a kind of pot made from palm
fronds) to put agricultural products when they return home. They further make Bursh
(a kind of mat) which is one of the furnishing placed on the floor to replace carpets.
Women embroider Bursh with bright colors and beautiful shapes. In the past, every
female had to make and design Bursh before her marriage. The female’s relatives
assisted her if she did not have enough time until the wedding. Early marriage is the
norm for girls in the oasis communities, and usually, marriage takes place among
relatives.
The old Egyptian society did not allow the female to exercise her rightful activity
in her environment and to conduct some civil and religious affairs in public life.
Recently, women in the oases gained new civic and religious cultures that enable
them to participate some activities in public that are suitable to her age, position, and
tradition (Saleh 1988).