{{short description, Cloak type
Bernos ( am, በርኖስ), also transliterated as Barnos and Burnos, is a
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
...
cloak
A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, serving the same purpose as an overcoat, protecting the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. Cloaks have been and ...
-like garment and hood woven in one piece, traditionally worn by men of the Amhara ethnic group of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
, most commonly in the relatively cold
Shewa
Shewa ( am, ሸዋ; , om, Shawaa), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (''Scioà'' in Italian), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Add ...
. The term seems to be an adaptation of the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
i
Burnous
A burnous ( ber, ⴰⴱⵔⵏⵓⵙ ), also burnoose, bournous or barnous, is a long cloak of coarse woollen fabric with a pointed hood, often white in colour, traditionally worn by Berber and other Maghrebi men. In the Maghreb, the colour o ...
. Unlike its Arab counterparts, it is typically black, and does not have a hood; rather it has a large point on one side of the shoulders, usually the left. The point was tailored into existence in order to keep a rifle on their shoulders, so that highlander men would not have to hold them outside where rainwater entering through a muzzle might damage (an older) firearm. Donald N. Levine notes that the wealthier men of
Menz
Menz or Manz ( am, መንዝ, romanized: ''Mänz'') is a former subdivision of Ethiopia, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region. William Cornwallis Harris described Menz as lying "westward" of Gedem ...
"wear the ''barnos'', a tailored cape made of dark wool."Donald N. Levine, ''Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopia Culture'' (Chicago: University Press, 1972), p. 29
The bernos was frequently worn by the prominent and elite highlanders. Today, average citizens sometimes wear it in traditional ceremonies and at special occasions. Social status is indicated by the garment's decorative pattern.