Mansoojat: The Virtual Museum of #Saudi Arabia's Traditional Costumes > Featured in Oasis Magazine

(HRH Prince Turki AlFaisal Attending a Mansoojat Event)

(The Thaqeef Tribe)

A group of Saudi women created the Mansoojat Foundation as a means to educate the public on the traditional costumes of Arabia. Their efforts resulted in a beautiful online museum that has captured our imagination with their mesmerising reproductions of old costumes.

 (The Central Region: Najd)

(The Hudheyl tribe)

Metal beads, geometric-stitched patterns, silver bracelets, yellow scarves, and leather belts are some of the varied details that differentiated the many dress codes of Arabian tribes from each other. Tribes such as Bani Malik, Bani Sa‘ad, and Bani Thaqeef were present in Arabia for as long as Arab historians recorded their Pre-Islamic and Islamic poetry and tales of their courage. 

Although you can always try to imagine what types of lives these tribal men and women might have led, you cannot completely grasp the whole picture without knowing what they wore while going about their everyday lives. Every stitch, every detail of their clothing was determined by a whole plethora of circumstances from the climate to the material available. 

“Where we go in the future is determined by where we have been in the past…” 

A group of Saudi women, who saw the need to recreate the garments of the famed Arabian tribes, began a project that would end up as a beautiful educational tool. What they started as the non-profit Mansoojat Foundation has become an eye-opening online museum of Saudi Arabian costumes. And, over the years, Mansoojat has recreated traditional ethnic textiles and costumes of Arabia which have also taken part in many events from the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Arabian Weekends, the Jeddah Economic Forum, and the recent Hajj Exhibition at the British Museum. 

Determined to recreate the garments of these tribes, the foundation researches, goes on field trips to the specified regions, and learns all about the traditional crafts that were used to make clothing. From the old ways of dying cloth to the material used, Mansoojat Foundation goes all the way to research their past and find out how their ancestors’ creativity made use of natural material to live comfortably in their respective environments.

The Thaqeef Tribe 

Seashells were used on the costumes of the Thaqeef tribe of Taif. The shells, used only for decorative purposes perhaps, lined the women’s headscarves and were sewn along the belts. Gold thread, a popular choice in old Arabian costumes, was used by the Thaqeef tribe to decorate their clothing’s armbands. Decorative motifs were achieved by the tie-die technique and can be found above the hem of this tribe’s costumes. This particular costume, with gold, shells, and tie-die, was popular with those that lived in the Hada area of Taif.

A little further away from the Hada area is the Shafa area where members of this same tribe found different material more common to use in their clothing. Blue and gold may have dominated the colors found on the Thaqeef tribe in general, but among those in the Shafa area the embroidery was done by white and red cotton thread. In this area, the tie-die technique fell second to the appliqué decoration found on the hem of their costumes. These minor details made it clear which area the tribesmen belonged to.

The Hudheyl Tribe 

Inhabitants of Taif, this noble tribe also preferred the tie-die technique and applied it to their various muslin-made costumes. Those costumes all included headdresses that were known by different names according to their use. As people of the highlands of Arabia, their costumes were rich in color and shape that helped them go about their everyday lives.

The Bani Sa’ad Tribe 

The fertile region of Taif was home to the famed tribe of Bani Sa‘ad. The wet-nurse of the Prophet Muhammad belonged to this tribe that lived in a land overlooking hilltops and fertile fields. As with all the tribes from this region, the clothing was made to be form fitting, embroidered, layered, and colorful all of which made use of the material available, kept their wearers warm, and able to carry-on working in the fields. Joyous occasions saw the tribe members of Bani Sa‘ad adorn themselves with silver jewelry and metal beads. 

The Bani Malik Tribe 

The Western region of Arabia or the Hijaz neighbors the region of Taif. This region has always been important to all Muslims as it contains the holy city of Makkah. Muslims have flocked to this region for pilgrimage for centuries, thus creating an area where a lot of different cultures met. This can be seen in the multitude of dress chosen by the tribes inhabiting this region. The tribe of Bani Malik’s clothing were straight in cut but included yellow embroidery, red knots, glass beads, and silver bracelets that hung from their short sleeves. 

The Harb Tribe 

The Bedouin Harb tribe lived in the Hijaz, specifically in the city of al-Madinah. They were the dominant tribe in this city which the Prophet sought refuge at in AD 622. As merchants and conductors of caravan-trades between the Hijaz and the central region, they saw to a lot of business transactions. It is no wonder then that coins were used as jewelry in the Harb tribe. The trademarks of this tribe also included their heavy patchwork and predominant use of blue cloth. 

The Sulaym Tribe 

Relatives of the Harb tribe, the Sulaym tribe adopted the same cut of clothing, as they also were traders on the Red Sea coast. These traders however did not prefer blue fabric, but did use patchwork that was quilted and embroidered into different styles. 

The Jahdaly Tribe 

Red, orange, and brown fabric and beads were favored as material for costumes amongst the Jahdaly tribe that inhabited a fertile area between Makkah and al-Lith on the Red Sea. Their thobes were held together with beaded belts and their sleeves were left open only to be attached with a button. Metal beads also decorated their clothing and created further contrast to the colors and material used. Beads and cotton fringe are found to decorate their rectangular headdresses that resembled hats. The women of this tribe are the only ones known to have worn skirts and blouses instead of a full gown.

The Central Region: Najd 

Throughout Najd (the central region of the Kingdom), where the desert climate was at its hottest, mud houses kept their inhabitant cool in the summer. So, evidently the clothes in this region were worn loose as to keep the tribes cool. The clothes in this region were always colorful and made with fine material like embroidered Indian silk. Gold and silver thread and sequins decorated the colorful outfits as well as the huge sleeves. 

Asir Tribes: Southern Region 

In a region where mountain peaks rise to more than 3000 meters above sea level, the men were known to have done the tailoring. These tribesmen sewed long sarongs that were worn by both men and women who worked in the fields. Their straw hats concealed the women’s braided hair and yellow scarves. 

The Yam Tribe 

Located at the foot of the Asir mountains is Wadi Najran, home to the Yam tribe. This farmland looked east onto the Empty Qurter. The nomadic tribe lived in fortified houses that looked over their fields. Their clothing was much simpler than their neighbors in the mountainous Asir area. However a lack of decoration was balanced by the use of silver ornaments and jewelry in their headdress and braided leather belts completed their outfits. 

The Rashaidah Tribe 

In the farmland of Qassim, the northern region of Saudi Arabia, lived the Rashaidah tribe. In the cool weather of this area, the tribeswomen wore wool cloaks that were embroidered with gold thread and finished off with gold thread tassles. Their headdresses were made of velvet and embroidered with metal beads in geometric patterns. As for the men, they wore colorful patchwork thobes embroidered with gold. 

(Qassim, Northern Region)

End... 

The Mansoojat Foundation continues to research the history of its ancestors to make us more aware of all the different and beautiful traditional costumes that were once worn in Saudi Arabia. Their mission is to educate the public and reinstate Arabia’s cultural past through their online museum and participating in international exhibition, the latest of which was The Hajj exhibition at the British Museum. 

“A non profit organization, the Mansoojat Foundation’s mission is to revive and preserve the traditional ethnic designs and costumes of the various regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; to promote and conduct academic research important for the understanding of the history and culture of the region, and to raise public awareness for the appreciation of this unique heritage.” 

Mansoojat Foundation 

Be sure to visit the online museum: www.mansoojat.org