Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 5 1887.djvu/295

Rh a braided waistcoat, and full trowsers of the same material reaching only to the knee; whereas the Berber and the true Arab wear a long white cotton shirt, and over this the richer men put sometimes as many as three bournouses according to the season of the year, the first being always white; the upper one of all is usually of brown wool, and much thicker in texture than those beneath. The women who inhabit the towns in Algeria veil themselves when they go in public, but the Berber women of Kabylia (a portion of the Atlas mountains) and the Bedouin women of the Sahara do not cover their faces. The dress of the two latter is very similar: it consists of a long piece of white cotton material which is folded round the limbs and bust, and kept in position by two brooches of the Runic form.

The student of ethnology will be interested and perhaps also surprised to learn that the dress of the women in the Kulu valley, and also that of the same sex in Kunowár in the Satlej valley (both situated in the Himalayas), is almost identical with that of the women of Kabylia, and of the nomad tribes of the desert, even to the form of the brooches which they wear; only in the former case the material of their one garment is of wool, in the latter, of cotton.

The attire of the Moorish women of Algiers when at home consists of a bright coloured handkerchief on the head, folded in a peculiar manner; they wear a kind of zouave jacket made either of satin or silk, it is either cut square or V-shaped in front, the sleeves reach to the elbow only; and beneath the jacket is worn a long-sleeved full chemisette of muslin or lace. The full trowsers which complete this costume reach only to the knee, they are made of the same material as the jacket, white cotton stockings and black leather shoes complete the attire; the shoes, of course, are removed before entering a room.

When a Moorish woman goes out of doors (which the richer ones only do when they go to the bath, or pay rare visits to their female friends) they put over their house dress a very long and full pair of white cotton trowsers, which are confined to the ankle by a draw-string, they also wear a yashmák or square of white calico or muslin tied across the face so that the eyes alone are visible, and over their head they place a long white scarf which falls down almost to the knees.