Traditional dress of Tunisia

The Tunisian belly dancers in their traditional costumes-Syromaniac's Image

The Tunisian youth is far away from the traditional Tunisian attires and they love to wear Western garments. However, some Tunisian families are continuing the practice to use traditional costumes. The traditional dress of Tunisia is the symbol of the national heritage and identity of Tunisia. Tunisia is a land of diversified cultural heritage. If someone wants to see the people of Tunisia in their traditional costumes then he or she must attend the cultural festivals, ceremonies of the national importance or wedding occasions.

Modern Tunisian girls in the Western dresses 

The popular traditional men’s wear is Jebba which is usually made with wool and silk. The other accessories of Jebba include; The “Farmla”, a form of a vest, “Montane”, a form of coat along with the baggy trousers.

A Tunisian man in his traditional dress (Image: Alessandro Minciotti )

A round-shaped headdress which is almost like a hat is called “Chechia”, which is now confined to religious occasions and worn by few elderly men. A covering cloak which is known as “Barnous”, a long hooded woolen poncho-like coat with no sleeves, is also worn over Jebba as a symbol of pride and prestige.

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The Fouta and Blouza is double piece traditional attire for women in Tunisia which can be commonly observed in the capital city of Tunis. The Fouta is a dress made of silk or cotton, which women wrap from their waists to their ankles. The Blouza is used as the attire on the bustier part of the outfit.

The Tunisian brides usually dress up with Kesswa Tounsia. This charming wedding attire is decorated with crystal beads and rhinestones and graceful embroidery.

Being an Islamic country, the women of Tunis also use “Sefsari” to cover them. The unique feature of Sefsari is that it covers the whole body and it is made with white or yellow silk. The women of Tunis usually don’t cover their faces but they cover the whole body by wrapping the Sefsari around their body and over their head.

The common traditional footwear both for the Tunisian men and women is Balgha and the Kontra which is made with leather.  Balgha and Kontra is a necessary item to be used with the traditional dress of Tunisia, especially in the summer.

Traditional dress of Morocco

Morocco is the gem of the North Africa having coastlines on both the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco has tremendous culture due to the inhabitation of the multi-ethnic population. While traveling to Morocco, the colors of the indigenous Berber community and Jewish and Muslim populace can easily be observed. The country is a reasonably huge country and it's every part has its own cultural recognition.

            

The Moroccan society is not conservative because Morocco is a peaceful and tourist friendly country. Morocco has no particular rules and regulation about the clothing but the Moroccans have kept alive the custom to wear the traditional dress of Morocco.

     A random capture of the Moroccans in their traditional dresses

Moroccans are overall a stylish and smart nation and they prefer to dress up with fashionable and impressive clothing. Both men and women wear a same traditional attire which is called djellaba; a long, loose, hooded garment with full sleeves.

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                             A Moroccon girl wearing traditional dress 

The women of Morocco also wear Caftan or Kaftan which is without a hood unlike the djellaba. This dress is particularly decorated with the typical woman embroidery upon the dress openings and arms. Kaftan is usually worn on the festive occasions and wedding ceremonies by the Moroccan women.

Another traditional cloak made with a delicate fabric and mostly in white color is known as “Haik” which is used by the Moroccan village women. In addition to that Gandora is also used by the Moroccan women which have heavy and fancy stitching and adornments.

For all of the Moroccan women, the bright colored silks and other dainty fabrics are favorites. The craftsmen and tailors apply their special skills to make the women dresses attractive and graceful. The women of high class also use a traditional belt which has golden embroidery and exquisite decorations along the edges.

 Abernousse is a traditional red cap for the Moroccan men which they normally use in special occasions. Abernousse is commonly referred to as a Fez. Both men and women use Balgha, the typical Moroccan slippers without heels and often dyed with yellow.

The traditional dress of Morocco is the true reflection of the charming and fascinated Moroccan heritage. People of every class in Morocco are very conscious about their dress codes. The traditional loose-fitting outfits are commonly worn by the folk artists during their presentations while the modern Moroccan population is also much influenced with the Western style of dressing.

                                      A Moroccon Belly Dancer 

Traditional dress of Libya

A Tuareg man of Libya wearing his traditional dress on a camera. 

Libya is the third-largest country of Africa with an approximate population of 6.5 million. Almost three-quarters of the total population is living in the urban areas and Tripoli is the capital of Libya which is also the largest city in the country. A civil war was urged in 2011 as a result of which the undemocratic regime was collapsed with the death of the country’s famous dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi. Since the independence of Libya as the United Libyan Kingdom, the country observed strict and conservative religious codes of lives. Almost 97 % of the total population of Libya practice Islam and they belong to the Sunni School of thought.

Two Libyan girls in their traditional dresses 

Ancient Libya was a region of the indigenous Berber and Bedouin people, so their traditional values are the part of the Libyan cultural heritage. Although, if we deeply study the prehistoric Libya, the marks of the Phoenician, Greek and Roman civilizations will be prominent upon the culture of Libya. In the sixteenth century was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and remained under their control for a long time. Libya was occupied by the Italian, British and French forces on its different parts till the mid of the twentieth century.

A girl in a typical Libyan traditional costume - CH Lee's Image

The present Libyan people consider themselves as part of the Arab world and Arabic is the official language of Libya. Although, Berbers and Tuareg groups still speak their own tribal languages.

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The traditional dress of Libya consists of a long and loose gown along with the trouser for the lower body. They also use a cloak to cover their bodies and use the traditional cap on their heads. The Libyan youth is rapidly turning toward the Western clothing and the boys are normally seen in the jeans and shirts in the main cities.

A Libyan woman in her traditional dress - Valonia Hardy's image

The Libyan women also wear the typical long gowns which are also usually used to cover the heads. Modern girls although love to wear fashionable and bright colored costumes but most women still continue to cover their hair in Hijab.

           The women of Libya in the urban parts also use     scarves 

Even the modernly designed costumes are also the blend of the traditional and Western styles. The traditional dress and jewelry are also very common in rural areas.

The nomadic Berber people of Libya trace their African roots back to 2000 B.C.E. and their traditional dress passed through many amendments caused by the influences of invading cultures. Still, many Berbers continue to wear a “haik”, a large cloth wrapped around the body and wrap their heads with the cloth turbans. Similarly, the Berber women cover their hair with scarves and their faces with veils called “mandeels”. Under their haiks, many Berbers wear ankle-length tunics or loose trousers called “shalwar”. A Berber women’s dress is very colorful and decorative.

Walking on the streets of Libya, you can see the Libyan people moving in different styles of garments. Even to see any man or woman in the traditional dress of Libya is not unusual.

Some Tuareg people of Libya dancing in their traditional costumes 

Traditional dress of Kosovo

Kosovo is a small territory in the Eastern Europe and borders the Republic of Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west and Montenegro to the northwest. This small and landlocked nation has announced self claimed independence since 2008 which is recognized by some nations of the world. In the past, Kosovo has remained a part of Serbia and its Northern part is still under the administration of Serbia. Like Serbia and Albania, the heritage of Kosovo is the product of the cultural influences of these countries and other neighboring states of East Europe.

The traditional dress of Kosovo is much similar to the traditional dress of Albania. In fact they have the same cultural heritage as the Albanians have. The people of Kosovo can be divided in various ethnic groups like the Albanians, Serbs, Croats, Yugoslavs, Turks and Macedonians but the Albanians comprise of almost 80% of the total population in Kosovo.

The overwhelming religion along Albanians in Kosovo is Islam (mostly Sunni ). The other Albanians practice Roman Catholicism. Culturally, the Albanian culture is dominating over the Kosovo heritage and the people of Kosovo are very closely related to Albanians in Albania. For understanding the traditional clothing of Kosovo Albanians you can click the following link;

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Traditional Dress Of Albania

However, we have uploaded some glorious images of the traditional dress of Kosovo for your interest ;

A pretty Kosovo folk dancer in her traditional vostumes 

This is an exotic image of a Kosovo girl in her traditional costume ;

      A beautiful Kosovo girl in her traditional costume 

In the following image some women of Kosovo are presenting the traditional wedding dance wearing the wedding costumes in a marriage ceremony;

Traditional dress of Serbia

Some Serbian folk dancers in folk clothes - - duqueıros's Image

This is always depressing for every heritage student to know about the loss of any patrimony by any nation or people. The curiosity to bring the innovation in every sphere of life is the strongest desire of the humankind. But the rapid modernization is also a cause of the depletion of the valued cultural heritage of the global society. Same is the case with the traditional dress of Serbia which is either worn by the artists on the cultural festivals or by the folk performers on the celebrations of the national importance.

Serbian dancers wearing the traditional costumes

The traditional dress of Serbia is popular in the world for its tremendous decoration and unique embroidery. These traditional dresses included long tunic shirts, trousers, skirts, sleeveless coats called jeleks, waist coats, jubun or zubun, socks and belts etc.

An image of the Serb men in their traditional costumes

The common headdress used by the people of Serbia was called oglavja. Opanci was the accustomed foot wear of the traditional dress of Serbia. The embroidery was fabulously created by the craftsmen normally on the aprons and socks in the brilliant red color. The floral patterns were also commonly found on these aprons. Women often used the gold-trimmed vests with sleeved blouses.

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The Serbian women used the tunic shirts embellished with silver threads and cords and they wore the decorated woolen socks till the knees. Apart from oglavja, some Serbian women also used the scarves and traditional caps as their headdresses.

The Serbian girls also wore collars, or a string of gold coins around their throats, earrings, bracelets, and their caps were decorated with metal coins or flowers.

A Serbian bride is in a decorated bridal costume - Marko Zamurovic's Image

The traditional dress of Serbia was mostly made with the woolen fabric known as Sclavina or Schiavina while some were used to prepare with Linen and Silk.

This is only a nutshell brief of the traditional dress of Serbia because the dress varied and it was dependent upon the living styles of the Serbians like the  people living in the mountains who were mostly cattle-breeders, the people living in the lowlands who were farmers, and the people living in both the hilly and plain areas.