Aymara
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Al-Andalus, Ziryab & Fashion
Hi fellow oud fans,
sorry, this is slightly off-topic, but I think not only interesting for myself:
We already talked about Al-Andalus and Ziryab's influence about music and fashion, but the later wasn't answered in detail.
I would like to know, how the Moors (male & female) dressed themselves in Al-Andalus.
Was fashion different from the rest of the arabic world? Were some colors preferred? How did Ziryabs influence change that? I remember, he invented
differences in clothing depending on the season, spring, summer, fall & winter. But I couldn't find any details.
Do you know any authentic paintings maybe from books of that time? I foind many pictures with Google, but most seem to originate in a much later
time.For me as a historic layman it's hard to tell which is from that time, later or just fantasy.
Every little bit of information is welcome.
I hope, you'll find this topic as interesting as myself 
PS: I forgot to ask about types of cloth ... did they wear wool, linen, cotton or even satin?
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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stringmanca
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Here's a pretty good article from Saudi Aramco World magazine (which has lots of other great articles) from several years back:
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200304/flight.of.the.blackbir...
The same article with modern illustrations:
http://www.islamicspain.tv/Arts-and-Science/flight_of_the_blackbird...
Cities of Light is a very good documentary on the period:
http://www.pbs.org/programs/citiesoflight/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE-F2tybkDQ
This whole site has some interesting information:
http://www.islamicspain.tv/
Enjoy!!
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Jono Oud N.Z
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Excellent!!
I was going to suggest the same article!
It is very good, cool pictures too.
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Aymara
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Thanks for the links!
But though very informative in many aspects, we only learned very little about clothes and fashion:
1. Colours depending on the season:
Here it might be interesting to learn which clothes were of which cloth and which colours were peferred for which clothes (tunica, cloak, turban,
etc.). Maybe there were also differences in colour and cloth choice between females and males or even depending of social position? Let's concentrate
on Muslims, I think it's out of question, that Jews and Christians had different clothing / "fashion".
2. Haircuts:
We learned about women's hair becoming shorter and men starting to shave themselves, but does that mean, that some men didn't wear a beard at all or
was shaving just used to shape / form the beard? And what about the head itself? Did men always wear a turban and what about women? Did they show
their hair? Maybe only in special situations? Maybe not in public?
I find the illustrations in the article and costumes in the film very interesting, but am a bit sceptic, that they are very authentic.
Any further information would be great.
PS: I totally forgot ... what about shoes? I guess many men wore cracowers, ...
... maybe like this ...
... but women?
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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Aymara
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I found some further details in Wikipedia:
| Quote: |
Ziryab is said to have had a lasting influence on fashion, bringing styles from the Middle East to Al-Andaluz, including sophisticated styles of
clothing based on seasonal and daily timings. In winter, for example, costumes were made essentially from warm cotton or wool items usually in dark
colours and summer garments were made of cool and light costumes involving materials such as cotton, silk and flax in light and bright colours.
Brilliant colours for these clothes were produced in tanneries and dye works which the Muslim world perfected its production, for example, in 12th
century Fes, Morocco, there were more than 86 tanneries and 116 dye works.
According to Al-Maqqari the fashion of the time was for both men and women to part their hair down the middle. The opening of Ziryab’s beauty
parlors created new shorter hairstyles that were considered risky at the time. Ziryab also introduced bleached white clothing, and created a new type
of deodorant Royalty used to wash their hair with rose water, but Ziryab introduced the use of salt to improve the hair’s condition.
In daily timing Ziryab suggested different clothing for mornings, afternoons and evenings. Henri Terrasse, a French historian, commented on the
fashion work of Ziryab; "He introduced winter and summer dresses, setting exactly the dates when each fashion was to be worn. He also added dresses of
half season for intervals between seasons. Through him, the luxurious dress of the Orient was introduced in Iberia. Under his
influence a fashion industry was set up, producing coloured striped fabric and coats of transparent fabric, which is still found in Morocco today.",
though Terrasse goes on to caution "Without a doubt, a lone man could not achieve this transformation. It is rather a development which shook the
Muslim world in general, although historic legend attributes all these changes to Ziryab and his promoter, Abd-Al-Rahman II"
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But still no hint about shoes
I think the sentence in bold might be helpfull ... maybe the fashion and clothing of Bagdad in that time was documented in more detail?
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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billkilpatrick
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tying a turban properly is an essential step in looking the part. a simple, ankle-length dish-dash or thawb will do as a tunic - preferably in linen
(unbleached or in neutral earth colors.) instanbul is a good place to pick up an authentic looking pair of shoes (slightly curled at the toes; made
from goat-skin - smelly but they look right.) my costume is quite plain and (i hope) understated - i want people to notice the music ... not the
gaudily dressed, silly old geezer playing it.
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Aymara
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Thanks for the tips, Bill, but don't forget the groupies 
Ok, serious again, my interest got beyond the costume ... inspired by some talking with a guy, who studied history ... we talked about early medieval
clothing, e.g. dying, if snow white cloth was possible, etc..
So I started to dig deaper ... in the golden age of Al-Andalus.
Btw ... I found some medieval paintings about Ziryab and guess what, men had different bears or non at all and all women weared their hair open ... it
was not covered in any way.
Here's an example from french wiki:
Haha ... more and more details
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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Aymara
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Hi again,
I found further hints HERE:
| Quote: |
"high fashion was set in the workshops of Almería and Sevilla"
Men and women dressed pretty much alike.
White was worn in summer and winter, and colors at other times of year. Men went bare-headed or wore a close fitting felt cap.
The turban generally signified a judge or lawyer, although a few others wore it as mark of fashion. Women were not veiled,
but did "wrap their hair in kerchiefs".
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Interesting, isn't it?
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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Aymara
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Ok, finally I found an article HERE with really detailled explanations of clothing. And it has it's origin in the Encyclopedia of Islam, so it's very likely authentic.
Surprisingly most men and women were bare-headed.
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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stringmanca
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Great information, Chris! It's amazing what you can find on the Internet.
I think the story of Ziryab would make a great sci-fi story about a time-traveler from the future who influences world culture...
Thanks for digging this up!
Nathan
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Aymara
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Hi Nathan!
Quote: Originally posted by stringmanca  |
I think the story of Ziryab would make a great sci-fi story about a time-traveler from the future who influences world culture.
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I think the original Ziryab and the golden age of Al Andalus are interesting enough for a great film, which could show the western world how special
this aera was ... tolerance, unity (!) of Muslims, Jews and Christians, science and emancipated women ... and which inventions mankind got from this
interesting person, fashion, music, toothpaste, table cloth, etc..
| Quote: |
Thanks for digging this up!
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Nice to see, that others are interested in this topic too. Maybe others find even more hints? We'll see.
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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billkilpatrick
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somewhere ... i read the name given to spaniards (christian) who adopted an "arab" life style during the moorish presence in spain - clothes, diet and
i presume, musical taste as well.
anybody?
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Aymara
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I don't think, that it is correct to talk of Spanish people in early middle ages. Before the Moors conquered the Iberian peninsula, the Iberian
peninsula was ruled by the Visigoths (Christian), not to forget, there also lived a lot of Jews.
So regarding your question we should search for "converted" and/or "islamic Visigoths".
Btw, interesting hint, thanks.
PS: The Kingdom of Spain was founded in 1492 by the marriage of the King of Castile and the Queen of Aragon, who then conquered Granada in the same
year, which marked the end of Al-Andalus.
PPS: Only a very few Christians and Jews converted to Islam, because the Moors considered them to be also People of the Book: Dhimmi. This is one of the reasons, why I consider this time an "age of tolerance".
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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Aymara
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I found an interesting painting, showing a Muslim and a Christian playing oud together. What I find interesting is the bare-feet Muslim, something I
found in several paintings from the middle ages.
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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billkilpatrick
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pc-ness abounds - no matter how i distinguished between the two, i was bound to step on someone's toes.
perhaps it would be more accurate to say that prior to the expulsion of moors and sefaradi jews from what we now know as spain, i believe there was a
word - a name - given to those ethnically non-moorish, non-islamic inhabitants of the iberian peninsula who adapted a pro-moorish style of living -
particularly in regards to dress. i seem to remember the word as something like "mizarab" or "mizrab" - but can't be sure, as we all know that's a
word for plectrum.
hope this passes muster
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Aymara
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Not on mine. Sorry, if I might have sounded a bit harsh.
| Quote: |
... i believe there was a word - a name - given to those ethnically non-moorish, non-islamic inhabitants of the iberian peninsula ...
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The problem is, there have been so many different of them. We might call them maybe "Iberians", though that's also only part of them.
I always hated history in school
| Quote: | | i seem to remember the word as something like "mizarab" or "mizrab" - but can't be sure, as we all know that's a word for plectrum.
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I think, we need the help of our muslim friends here.
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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Aymara
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Hi again Bill,
I found it by chance:
Very close
It seems, that you searched for Mozarab, which was the name for Dhimmi, who adopted muslim culture, but did NOT convert to Islam.
Those, who also converted to Islam were called Muladi or Mawali.
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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billkilpatrick
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thanks chris! - perfect! believe it or not this has been nagging me for several years now - millegrazie!
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Aymara
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You're welcome. I just found it by chance, when reading an article about the historical chronology of Al-Andalus.
BTW ... Mozarabs still exist today, e.g. in Toledo. You'll find hints about it in part 3 of THIS BBC documentary, if I remember it correctly. It's worth watching!
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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