A burnous (), also burnoose, burnouse, bournous or barnous, is a long

cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, which serves the same purpose as an overcoat and protects the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. People in many d ...

of coarse

wool Wool is the textile fiber 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 some properties similar to animal w ...

len fabric with a pointed hood, often white, traditionally worn by

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

and

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

men in North Africa. Historically, the white burnous was worn during important events by men of high positions. Today, men of different social standing may wear it for ceremonial occasions, such as weddings or on religious and national holidays.

Origin

The word burnous () is an Arabic word for a "long, loose hooded cloak worn by Arabs", which itself is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word "birros". The word is found in a

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

that prohibited the burnous and various other clothing during

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

. In Mashriqi sources, it denotes a long hood or body garment. The burnous was also present in the early Muslim

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. Various nineteenth century sources have referred to the burnous as an Arab cloak. In antiquity this garment was referred to as ''byruss Numidicus'' meaning "Numidian hooded cloak" and was mentioned as such in the '' Expositio totius mundi et gentium''. In the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

, the colour of the burnous may be white, beige, or dark brown. There are rock engravings near Sigus that attest the existence of the burnous in the ancient times and that it was worn by the

Numidians The Numidians were the Berber population of Numidia (present-day Algeria). The Numidians were originally a semi-nomadic people, they migrated frequently as nomads usually do, but during certain seasons of the year, they would return to the same ...

and inhabitants of the

Arabian Desert The Arabian Desert () is a vast desert wilderness in West Asia that occupies almost the entire Arabian Peninsula with an area of . It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It is the fourth largest desert in the ...

Cultural significance

In Algeria

During the French colonial period in Algeria (1830-1962), the burnous became a symbol of identity for Algerians. Many Algerians, including those who were not nomadic, began wearing the burnous as a way to assert their cultural heritage and resist French influence. The burnous was also worn during the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

of Independence (1954-1962), both as a symbol of resistance and as a practical garment for guerrilla fighters operating in the mountains and deserts. Today, the burnous remains an important symbol of Algerian culture and identity. It is often worn on special occasions, such as weddings and religious festivals, and is sometimes used as a costume in traditional dance performances. It also forms part of the ceremonial uniform worn by the mounted cavalry detachment of the

Algerian Republican Guard The Algerian Republican Guard (, ), is a military corps of the Military of Algeria, Algerian army. It is under the direct authority of the President of Algeria. The Algerian Republican Guard is composed of about 12,000 troops. It includes a horse ...

Burnous in other cultures

The burnous became a distinctive part of the uniform of the French Army of Africa's

spahi Spahis () were light cavalry, light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, w ...

cavalry, recruited in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. It was also sometimes worn unofficially by officers or soldiers of other units in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. The white burnous remains part of the parade uniform of the one remaining spahi regiment of the French Army: the 1st Spahi Regiment. Other names for a burnous include ''albornoz'', ''sbernia'', ''sberna'', and ''bernusso''.

References

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