Authentic Belly Dance Attire

[Metanoia]

Hello Everyone,

I am part of a living history group and I am researching authentic Raqs Sharqi (bellydance) attire for the period of approximately 900-1200 CE in middle eastern countries (arabia, turkey, etc).

Thus far I am disappointed with the many many websites I have examined as people seem to trend towards modern "showgirl" costumes or modern tribal costumes that are merely influenced by athentic styles and do not truly represent actual historical costume.

Thus far I have come to the conclusion that an authentic costume would consist of "harem" pants, a split skirt and a tassle belt. A long sleeved shirt in the style of harem pants, a tight vest over top (both showing the belly) and a long "jacket" with the bottom split to the waist and done up the middle to cover the belly.

My sources are a number of photos taking parts from various existing costumes and research into each piece. For example, I can not wear a choli as it is said to be underwear worn under clothing such as a sari and is hence inappropriate for an authentic medieval costume.

I am still researching my sources - especially with things such as tassle belt designs so diverse - in order to ensure as close to authentic as possible. To show how authentic I want to go - I will be constructing my costumes out of linen and making all my own tassles and embroidery with pure wool and glass beads. Only materials that would have been available in the period specified.

If anyone has some sources they could direct me to in order to further my research, I would greatly appreciate a reply to this thread!

[Saviya]

Hi and welcome to Lotus Flower

I've got quite a lot of stuff to do with authentic costume and textiles ranging from the clothing found in prehistoric Denmark onwards, so I'm hoping we can help!

Is it possible, within your group, to narrow the time period covered by your character down? Picking a date of, say 1050CE and then choosing a very specific geographical location in which to set the background of your character? I've done lots of living history so I understand that this isn't always possible but it's always worth a try!!

Once your character's background is set (time and place), I'm sure we can help out.

Just a quick note for anybody reading this with no prior knowledge of historical dress - Turkish clothing of the 13th-century was very different to Palestinian clothing of the 10th-century. Even within different parts of Turkey, styles varied enormously so it's a particularly difficult task to reconstruct, for example, 'Turkish' dress from 1100CE. Who (socio-economic group), where (which bit of which country), available materials and the character's raison d'etre within the group all have a bearing on this of course.

Anyway, I'll have a look what I can find ;D

Saviya

[Metanoia]

Excellent!! This is very exciting! Thankyou for your reply.

Our group's time period is already a lot smaller than the SCA and the purpose for this costume is a side line from my usual character. Generally I am a viking woman and am making my second apron dress from reconstructions from Finland.

I would like the belly dancing costume to wear just as something a bit different and because I am going to be starting belly dancing next month and do not wish to wear the glitzy stuff.

1050 sounds great for a time and my boyfriend says that Turkey is probably the go, but I am open to suggestion. What I really want to do with this costume is find something that I like and feel I would be comfortable wearing and dancing in and then look at the history. I also want some element of sensuality in it for my boyfriend to enjoy.

I will see if I can find a couple of images from other places that I have been looking at and I wonder if you can tell me if these things are appropriate and then some historical sources if you can. It would be a great help.

My biggest disappointment so far is that I think the long coat - a ghawazee coat? - is actually much later period. Am I wrong?

The following links contain the culmination of my costume decisions from my research so far.

This is the only decent line art I have found:
www.johannaland.com/images/2dancers.gif

Tassle Belt, just like this but smaller tassles and a tie at the front instead of a clasp
www.toffees-site.de/bellydance/ni17.jpg
www.toffees-site.de/bellydance/ni02.jpg

The top to be quite similar to this, but a little more over the bust with the top vest. The undertop to be gathered at the wrist. (I have another picture, but can't find it on the web at the moment.)
www.bellydancingbyzamoras.com/tribe/images/megan_02_small.jpg

The Gwahzee coat I wanted to be sleeveless and ankle lenght with splits from floor to hip, so there would be the front split and then possibly 3 more (or possibly 4 - back and sides). I wanted it buttoning from just before the bottom of my bust line to my belly button.

And then harem pants with a skirt (with two splits either side, but further to the front) over top which I think should be easy to imagine. I have pictures of these as well, but can't for the life of me find them again at my current location.

For decoation I want to do embroidery at the wrists and ankles for about 10 cm on the pants and undertop. For the vest I'd like to do all over embroidery with (yellow?) glass beads and mirrors. I will possibly use shiny metal instead of mirrors if I can though. For the tassle belt I want to do similar to the vest, much like the photos I have. For the coat, I'd like to embroider the edges for 1.5 - 2 inches, or at least down the front where the buttons will be. I plan on wooden buttons.

I would also like a turban-esque headpiece and plan on making some jewellry from different metal and glass beads that I can find around here to adorn it.


Seperate from these ideas: I do quite like this type of choli, but feel the other type are inappropriate to be worn except as underwear in an authenit medieval setting.
www.indiascraft.com/images/cb98small.JPG

[Saviya]

Hi - I get the feeling that this is going to be quite an interesting project - for everyone ;D I have a lovely old book on reconstructed Finnish costumes somewhere - must dig it out...

I haven't had too much time so far today but here are some random thoughts....

It might be interesting to base your character on a Seljuk woman from Anatolia just after the battle of Manzikert (1071). This seems to give a huge amount of flexibility for the costumer without getting too 'tenuous' (wanna hear my argument for Viking pizza LOL?).

The Seljuks were a Turkic people originating in Central Asia but the population of Anatolia were mainly Christian Greeks and Jews - add to this the extensive trading opportunities and you can wear quite a wide range of clothing styles.

I've seen lots of references to Ghawazi coats being much later than 11th-century but I'm not convinced. There are examples of Sassanian (Persian) coats from the 7th/8th century which bear an uncanny resemblance to them and I'm a great believer that if something existed in 800CE and in 1300CE, it's highly unlikely that it would have completely disappeared during the intervening 500 years only to be 're-invented'. I'll look for some good source material either later or tomorrow and you can see what you think.

Salwar are a definite part of women's clothing - sometimes worn with riding boots which makes an interesting change! They can be tied at the bottom or left open and some were left with one seam open on each leg and made long enough to drag on the floor behind the wearer. There's a pic showing both the trousers and the coat at www.levantia.com.au/clothing/turk_woman.html

I'd say that the choli from Indiascraft would be easily identifiable as Gujurati but that might just be the case in the UK.

Tassel belts are a problem. I'm not too familiar with any evidence except in the Maghreb where they're worn to accentuate hip movements. I'd love to see some examples of Central Asian 'tribal' belts but, unfortunately, the description was unrecognisable to both a Tajik friend and an Uzbek friend of mine. I suppose there are other options available. Are you familiar with the Orkney Hood? It was found at Tankerness in the Orkney Islands and dates to about 250CE. It has a long fringe which is actually part of the tablet-woven braid edging. I was thinking about tablet-weaving a belt with a long fringe myself - might work for your project too.

Anyhow, I'll stop rambling for now and go and look up some hard evidence! This is quite an interesting project and I have to say thanks for getting my brain moving again ;D

[Metanoia]

I have been hunting high and low for a book called "Ancient Finnish Costumes" but it appears not to be produced anymore. There are some pictures from it on www.norsefolk.com/clothing/finnish.html

I'm currently making the Aino dress out of light blue wool and my boyfriend is making me a tablet weaving loom.

The information on the Ghawazi coats is fantastic news. I was starting to think I was heading in the wrong train of thought.

Also from the site you gave the pants and kaftan patterns are nearly exactly the same as the russian (Rus) viking ones I have. I'm curently making Rus pants for my boyfriend and will soon be having my first go at a type of kaftan as well... he wants it fur lined (and he's 6'10)

This is great though because I thought I would attempt "harem" pants much like I'm doing the Rus pants and it seems to show that thought is correct.

The Orkney Hood is a fantastic find, however I didn't know the fringe was tablet weaving. I've done this before and don't know exactly how a fringe could be made except on either end of the weave. We use them for trims and belts, but I'm doing Macrame for a fringed shawl which is a type of knotwork that dates back to ancient Arabia.

I have seen some belly dance pictures with fringed belts. I'll have to have another search around. The Seljuk lead is fantastic and I'll be sure to spend some time looking this up as well. Before too much longer I'm going to drive my boyfriend crazy with my new direction of excitement. He's also making me a lucet so that I can make the drawstrings and ties as well.

At the end of this research I'd like to publish my findings on the internet with photos of my reconstructions as well. I think it would be a valuable resource.

Thanks again for all your help. I'm glad that you enjoy this sort of thing too.

[Metanoia]

Oh, for interests sake, here is me in my first apron dress and the other is my boyfriend in his armour in the middle of the tournament.

My dress consists of a linen under garment with a wool over dress and linen apron. Embroidery is done around the neck and sleeves of my underdress and bottom of the apron in wool. The brooches are authentic reconstructions from Birka Traders and the knife was lovingly hand crafted using authentic methods by my boyfriend.
www.gnosticmystica.com/pics/medieval/inga_22feb.jpg

My man wears lamellar armour over his gamberson, a chainmaille coif and helmet and clothing. Everything he wears he made himself. We do non-choreographed re-enactment with recreated armour and metal weapons.
www.gnosticmystica.com/pics/medieval/skeld_22feb.jpg

[Saviya]

Hi,
Sark's - that's the book I have a copy of somewhere - really nice stuff.

If your boyfriend is doing Rus, you might like to have a read of the first bit of 'A History of Russia' by Nicholas V. Riasanovsky. He summarises the pro's and con's of the Norman theory really well. As a Rus, he might well have travelled to Byzantium so there's a good start to a story for your characters.

If you check your private messages, I'll send you a couple of links to specifically Viking stuff.

I'm glad the 'initial ramblings' were of some use! I think it's the Orkney Hood that's got the tablet-woven fringe (I'll have a look - it was off the top of my head!) - it's quite easy to do though. Every time you pass the weft through, leave a good 12" or 30cm before doubling it back on itself to pass through again. A friend of mine does this by simply sticking a stick/dowel in the ground about 12" away and passing the weft round it every time (does that make sense?). Afterwards, just tie knots to secure the weft against the braid. I've got a small piece I did somewhere as an experiment - I'll see if I can find it and take a pic.

I'll also carry on looking for hard evidence to corroborate the thoughts about Seljuk women's dress

[Saviya]

Here are a few links to various bits and pieces (you may already have seen them)

interactive.m2.org/Fashion/suat.html

www.roxanefarabi.com/salvart.php

www.allaboutturkey.com/selcuk.htm

fenris.net/~lizyoung/Abbasid.html

www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/etext/tilke/p2.html

www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Clothing/Islam_Clothing,_Jewelry_Ma.html

www.allaboutturkey.com/woman.htm

www.turkishdailynews.com/past_probe/10_25_96/featurep.htm#f1

www-personal.une.edu.au/~tdawson/levantia/turk_woman.html

[Metanoia]

The best of those links was the farabi one. Its hard to work out what they're talking about without pictures. I probably should have made clear that I'm not a very good sewer, or costumer, but I have a go and things have gone pretty well so far.

I'm looking into the tablet weaving so that I can get the ability to do the fringe built in if it seems that was the way it was done and it would be something I can use. Waiting on a reply from my friend who has done a lot more tablet weaving than me.

Now I just have to do a bit of reading and I'm pretty much ready to start sewing. How exciting!!

Don't happen to know where I can get a copy of the Sarks book for myself would you?

[Saviya]

Hi,
the stuff you've put together so far looks fine! It is difficult to envisage the finished garment sometimes so if you have any probs, let us know and we'll see if we can work something out using sketches and improvisation LOL

As to the Sark's question - check your personal messages

Good Luck!

[Metanoia]

I will be starting work on this very shortly. I'm looking into materials now because pure linen is so cheap here at the moment.

I will be sure to keep you updated on my progress because you have truly been a fantastic help and I greatly appreciate it. I've definately got some good ideas and learnt a lot from this thread. I'm glad I found the forum.

As for my boyfriends pants... they currently look hilarious and I'm checking with my friend as to how to go about the pleating. I hope they'll look better when they're finished. Its good practice before doing my salwar (harem pants) I think.

[Saviya]

The Rus trousers are pretty hilarious but they don't look so bad when worn with boots. I've not seen any evidence for pleating on them, I thought they were just simple salwar type pants.

There's a nice little article at medievalrussia.freeservers.com/dress-nicolaa.html and some excerpts from Ibn Fadlan's account of the Rus at www.vikingas.btinternet.co.uk/istorija/kiti/Ibn_Fadlans_Account_of_the_Rus.htm.

I'm glad we can be of help!

[Metanoia]

Hello Saviya,

I have finished my boyfriends rus pants and they look fantastic! I started on my salwar two nights ago and am up to the inside hems.

I was wondering if you knew of any embroidery that would go with my costuming. Especially if you know of any extant or recreated pictures anywhere.

Here are my ideas for where I want the embroidery if it helps. I want to use silk thread (which is costing me a small fortune) to embroider patterns in the following places

* Up the outside legs on my salwar - gold embroidery on red from the ankle to the knee.

* Around the edges of a split skirt (two spits at the front) - red thread on light orange.

* All over a turkish vest - gold embroidery on red with small metal beads.

* Around the edge of a ghawazee coat - ivory thread on green.


I've found that there was a style similar to blackwork that was done in coloured silks on linen. I wanted to do something like that, but I need some nice patterns. Here is all I've managed to find.

mywebpages.comcast.net/mathilde/embroidery/mamtest.htm

thanks again for any help

[Saviya]

Hi

I'll have a look through my books for some Byzantine patterns as they influenced fashion as far away as Anglo-Saxon England during that period so they shouldn't be a problem re: your cultural context. I've just taken a couple of photos of a Cretan waistcoat I have so I hope they work. It's a modern one but the patterns are traditional Turkish ones (don't tell any Greeks that LOL).

Unfortunately, they're a bit blurry. I'll take some close-ups of the patterns tomorrow (when I've recharged the batteries and the flash is behaving itself!) Here's one to give you an idea of what I mean though


There's a member of the history department staff at Birmingham University (UK) who's an expert on Byzantine textiles. If I remember rightly, her name is Lesley/Leslie Brubaker (I can never remember which way it's spelled for a female!). It might be worth having a look to see if she has a site.

Hopefully, I'll be able to help a bit better tomorrow

[Metanoia]

A close up of the jacket would be fantastic as that photo gives me a little taste but is too small to really see what they've done. It does look beautiful though.

I will keep in mind the byzantine patterns for when I have another longer chance to look around. Thanks!

I found this link via a university site which is Leslie Brubaker's personal site. www.historical.bham.ac.uk/lesliebrubaker/

There are a couple of things that look to be byzantine religious artwork, but I can't make out the few embroidery patterns from them. Unfortunately I can't see any textiles. Its also a pity she doesn't have descriptions and dates with the artifact images.