Menswear
Most Qataris choose modest national dress when they are in public. Men wear a tailor made thobe or dishdash, cut along the lines of a white cotton shirt that reaches to the ground, worn over long white cotton trousers. Although each Gulf state tends to favour one particular cut, individuality is expressed in the shape of the collar, the buttons and the cuffs. In the cooler winter months, the weight of the fabric increases, and may be grey, blue or brown. For ceremonial occasions, the thobe is covered by a thin cream, brown or black gold-edged cloak called a bisht.
An embroidered or crocheted skull cap called a taquieh is worn covered with a folded square of cloth called a ghutrah. Snowy white for the summer months, frequently red-and-white check for the winter, and sometimes cream cashmere with red patterned corners, the ghutrah is held in place with a double black coil called an agal.
Womenswear
Traditionally women wore a long dress (jelabia), covered when they went out by a black cloak called abbayah.
Today the abbayah is the main feature and may have patterns on the backs and sleeves, using sequins and metallic threads. Qatari women also cover their hair, either with a gossamer-thin scarf called shaila, or with an opaque headscarf. Often the shaila design will match that of the abbayah.
Older and more traditional women still use a short nose or chin-length mask called a battula, whereas younger women, if veiled, generally choose the Bedouin-style veil called burqua, which leaves just their eyes exposed.
Traditional embroidery decorated the intricate thobe al nashl, a lightweight overdress; now many of the dresses have freehand machine embroidery, with beads, pearls, sequins or metallic flakes added by hand.
Social institutions and marriage
Marriage
Qatar has retained its observance of religious proscriptions, traditions and culture, despite rapid modernisation, economic development and contact with other cultures. Some changes have inevitably come about and Qatari women are taking a more active role in the workforce. Young couples now dine out with their children or friends, although most women entertain their female friends at home, with the men meeting elsewhere.
Courtesy is still strictly observed. Anyone entering a house, office, or even an elevator, will greet those already there with the phrase assalam alaykum (Peace Be Upon You) and will receive the reply wa’alaykum salam. Guests are greeted with refreshments, and extra food is prepared at mealtimes so that unexpected guests can be catered for. Visits are paid in cases of celebration or bereavement as well as on feast days.
Marriage is still usually arranged by the mother or another female relative of the young man, who visits the family of the prospective bride to arrange the match, although increasingly the young people themselves participate. Once an alliance has been agreed, the couple are able to meet in the presence of chaperones; a different situation to the old Bedouin weddings in which the young bride was wrapped up in a carpet to be carried off to the home of her bridegroom, a man she had never set eyes on before.
The government has attempted to discourage large dowries by introducing sponsored ‘Mass Weddings’ to benefit those with limited financial resources.
The marriage ceremony itself is the legal signing of a contract between the two parties; ‘the wedding’, to which hundreds of guests will be invited, is the equivalent of a western wedding reception and is held later, with separate parties for the bride and the groom. Only after that will the couple be considered married and take up residence together.
‘Henna night’ is still an integral part of the wedding ritual, with the paste applied in intricate patterns to the hands, arms, feet and ankles of the bride, and her sisters and friends.
Brides used to wear the thobe al nashl for their wedding – now white designer dresses are increasingly popular.
Bridal Jewellery
A visit to the
gold souq will reveal the variety and richness of the wedding jewellery that traditionally forms part of the dowry given to the bride. Bedouin jewelry was originally silver, but as the region became more affluent, it became accepted practice for it to be 24 carat gold, although for colour, it was decorated with coloured glass, not gems. The collection included necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets, and was entirely the bride’s property; if the marriage ended, she kept the gold. Pieces were usually melted down or sold to be replaced by new items.
There was no tradition for women to hand their jewelry down to their daughters.
