The djellaba or jillaba (; ), also written gallabea, is a long, loose-fitting

unisex Unisex is an adjective indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of sex. The term can also mean gender-blindness or gender neutrality. The term 'unisex' was coined in the 1960s and was used fairly informally. The co ...

outer

robe A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoil ...

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a one-piece outer garment that is worn on the torso, hangs down over the legs, and is primarily worn by women or girls. Dresses often consist of a bodice attached to a skirt. Dress shapes, silh ...

with full sleeves that is worn 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 ...

region of

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. In central and eastern Algeria it is called ''qeššaba'' or ''qeššabiya''. The mountain dwellers of Morocco call it ''tadjellabit'', which is a Berberized form.

Etymology

The word djellaba is French derived from the Arabic ''jallāba'', a variant of '' jallābīya'' (originally meaning "garment worn by traders"); from ''jallāb'', trader or importer; ultimately from ''jalaba'', to bring, attract, fetch or import.

Reinhart Dozy Reinhart Pieter Anne Dozy (Leiden, Netherlands, 21 February 1820 – Leiden, 29 April 1883) was a Dutch scholar of French (Huguenot) origin, who was born in Leiden. He was an Orientalist scholar of Arabic language, history and literature. Biogr ...

's theory that the djellaba would have been, originally, the "garment of the djellab", that is to say of the slave trader, has been rejected by William Marçais who proposed to see in djellaba an alteration of djilbab which, in ancient Arabic, meant draped clothing, although the djellaba is sewn rather than draped. He pointed out that in Oman the form ''gillab'' designates the woman's veil. The disappearance of the first ''b'' would have occurred identically in the Maghreb and Oman. As for the qeššabiya, Georges Séraphin Colin sees in this name the deformation of the Latin ''gausapa'', a term which would have been preserved in the ''gosaba'' form in the Adrar where it designates the shirt.

Overview

Traditionally, djellabas are made of wool in different shapes and colours, but lightweight cotton djellabas have now become popular. Among the Berbers, or Imazighen, such as the

Imilchil Imilchil or Imilshil ( , ) is a small town in Midelt Province of central Morocco, in the Atlas Mountains with a population of about 1,858. It is located at an elevation of 2119 m in the valley of Asif Mellulen ("white river"). The area of Imilch ...

in the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...

, the colour of a djellaba traditionally indicates the marital status (single or married) of the bearer: a dark brown djellaba indicating bachelorhood. Traditionally, djellabas reached down to the ground but lightweight djellabas are somewhat slimmer and shorter. Men often wear a light-coloured djellaba sometimes along with a traditional Arab red

fez hat Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Arts and media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by ...

and soft yellow babouche slippers (''

balgha Balgha (), also spelled balga, belgha, or belga, are heelless slippers made from leather. They are part of traditional dresses of the Maghreb and Egypt. Balghas are worn by men and women of all social classes, both in urban and rural areas. I ...

'' in Arabic) for religious celebrations and weddings. Almost all djellabas of both styles (male or female) include a baggy hood called a ''qob'' (Arabic: قب) that comes to a point at the back. The hood is important for both sexes, as it protects the wearer from the sun, and in earlier times, it was used as a defence against sand being blown into the wearer's face by strong desert winds. In colder climes, as in the mountains of Morocco, it also serves the same function as a winter hat, preventing heat loss through the head and protecting the face from

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

and

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

. It is common for the roomy hood to be used as a pocket during times of warm weather; it can fit loaves of bread or bags of groceries. Traditional djellabas are generally made of two types of material, cotton for summer wear and coarse wool for the winter. The wool is typically obtained from sheep in the surrounding mountains. Buttons for djellabas are made in the town of Bhalil.

References

External links

''Moroccan Clothing''
{{Authority control Algerian clothing Arab culture Arabic clothing Folk costumes Moroccan clothing Robes and cloaks Algerian Arabic words and phrases Moroccan Arabic words and phrases

Etymology

Overview

See also

References

External links