Every year, the traditional clothing of the Republic of Iraq is always presented at the Arab Fest Traditional and Modern Fashion Show, hosted by the Arab American Club of Knoxville AACK at the University of Tennessee, Pedestrian Walkway. This year, the fifth annual festival will take place on October 26th &27th. Before describing the traditional clothing of Iraq, we must learn about its rich history and how it shaped the current culture.
Modern-day Iraq is located in southwestern Asia, which borders Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran and the Persian Gulf. In ancient times, the land of Iraq was known as Mesopotamia; it came from the Greek and means “between rivers” in reference to the great two rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Historically, This fertile region is known as one of the Fertile Crescent regions in the Middle East and it is often called the Cradle of Civilizations. It had witnessed the birthplace to some of the world’s earliest known civilization and writing where we, all of us, moved from prehistory to history.
The Sumerians had established their earliest civilization around 4000 B.C.E, in the southern region at the first city-state of Uruk. The Sumerians invented the first type of ancient writing system on baked clay tablets known as cuneiform script, using wedge-shaped characters. Meanwhile, they built sophisticated irrigation systems, cultivation of grains, private property, the wheel, the first plow, Mathematics, Astrology, science, and recording literature including the oldest written story on earth, the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Akkadian Empire established by Sargon the great around 2800 B.C.E in the northwestern region; it is considered to be the first to create empire and dynasties in history. They invented the postal services, roads for trade and transportations, military techniques, and created their own language.
The Babylonians kingdom came into power in the southern Mesopotamia around 1700 B.C.E. Their king, Hammurabi, established the first known system of laws known as the Code of Hammurabi. They were well known for their large-scale architecture such as, the temple of Ishtar (Goddess of love, war, and fertility), the Ziggurat (staged temple-tower), the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon, this garden is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as well as an advanced urbanizations, the Zero, and 60-minute hour. At later times the Neo-Assyrians, Persians, Romans, Greeks, Muslim Arabs, Mamluks, Ottomans, the British Mandate, and the Hashemite Monarchy conquered the region. Iraq became a republic in 1958 and in 1979; Saddam Hussein and his Baath party took control of Iraq and became a president until he was overthrown and captured by a US-led coalition in 2003.
Iraq is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse nations in the Middle East. The Arabs comprise the great majority about 77% of the populations; most of them are Muslims and divided between the two great branches of Islam: Sunnis and Shias. Most of the world’s Muslims are Sunnis but they are a minority in Iraq; the Shias a minority in the Arab World, are the majority in Iraq. In general, Shia Islam is dominant in Iran and southern Iraq and they form nearly two-thirds of Iraqi Muslims.
The Kurds, who are non-Arabs, live in the mountains of the northeast of Iraqi Kurdistan in an autonomous region. They are the largest minority group and comprise about 19% of the population. They speak Kurdish and the dominant religion is Sunnis Islam. Finally, about 4% of the populations in Iraq are Assyrian, Chaldean, and Armenian (all Christians), Jewish, Yazidi, Mandaean, and others. Internally, Iraq suffers from a serious conflict between the government and the Kurdish minority and the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslim has played an important part in Iraqi history.
The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish; however, languages such as Aramaic, Armenian Turkic, and Persian are spoken too by the minorities to retain their cultural and religious identities. Baghdad is the capital and the largest city of Iraq. It was founded on the ancient Mesopotamian city of Baghdad in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. It was called the City of Peace or the Round City, because of its circular form. Iraq’s name has been used in the time of the Arab Muslim conquest and in Arabic means the fertile, deeply rooted, or well watered. Another explanation to the name is derived from the Sumerian city of Uruk in the south of the Mesopotamia. It is believed that the Garden of Eden was in Iraq, and the Noah’s Ark was built there too. Iraq has the world’s second largest reservoir of oil in the world. But international sanctions during the 1990’s and the instability caused by the 2003 war have left Iraq in poverty.
The Iraqi woman traditional clothing is a reflection of the impact of the cultural diversity, the nature of social relations, religious values, and the local environment. In general, the Iraqi women’s fashion has been distinguished since the emergence of ancient civilization through Islamic stages, and even the early modern era, as being designed with modesty and adherence to socio-religious requirements.
Iraqi’s women cover their bodies with an Abaya, which is a plain long black outwear cloak that covers the wearer’s head–to-toe leaving only the face exposed. Some cover their face with a Niqab, a veil that leaves the eyes uncovered. The Abaya has sleeves and opens from the front. It is made of various types of fabrics, Georgette, silk, chiffon, and wool. Under the Abaya, women have usually worn a black or colored long dress, skirts and blouses or pants. A scarf or Hijab is also generally used by Iraqi women to cover their heads known as Asha, and the futa that covers the mouth and chin.
The origin of the Iraqi distinctive black Abaya dates back to the 7th century AD when Muslim Arab occupied the region and Baghdad became Abbasid Caliphate capital city. Since then, women clothes have changed in particular, to dress up according to the Islamic beliefs covering their head and body. Women used to wear an embroidered Abayas with different colors. However, after the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 AD; that has turned women to wear black to show their deep grief. Until then, the traditional Iraqi woman Abaya is distinguished in its blackness, style, and history. Abayas are most popular with Iraqi Shias and older women, but younger women also wear them and as far north as Iraqi Kurdistan. Presently, Abaya comes in different styles and adorned with tremendous patterns.
When it comes to formal dresses women wear a popular Abaya dress that is known as Hashmi. The name is associated with the women of the Arabian Clan of Bani Hashim when the Hashemite Monarchy ruled Iraq in the early 20th century. The dress is worn in celebrations and certain religious ceremonies; it is a wide-sleeved sheer fabric like tulle. It is normally embroidered around the neck and the waist with metallic gold threads and sometimes with rhinestones as well. It’s worn over a sleeveless dress since it’s see-through. The neck opening also tended to be more open, rounded or with an elongated V-shape. The gown comes in black and various bright colors such as green, red, orange, yellow etc. The dress is typically accompanied with jewelry such as gold earrings, necklaces, and headpiece.
The traditional clothing is less common in urban centers, while in the rural areas is still common. Nowadays, women and men in Iraq often wear conservative Western-style clothing.