History Behind Palestinian Thobes

posted on: Jun 3, 2020

By: Raneem Ghunaim/Arab America Contributing Writer  

The Palestinian thobes stand out for their vibrant red colors. Each thobe from every city or village is unique in its own ways. It tells a story and it stands out on its own. Thobes have their own history; they have been around for over 5,000 years, rich with culture and history. Often, we can tell where some Palestinians are from based on the thobes they are wearing.

Telling the difference

One of the ways that we can tell the origin of a Thobe is by color. Each thobe differs in color. For example, the thobe in Gaza is made with a vibrant red color often, leaning towards a purplish color. While the thobe in the Hebron area is a rich red color that often leans towards brown. However thobes in Bethlehem, Jaffa, and Ramallah all lean towards a much deeper and richer dark red color. Another way we are able to tell where a thobe originates from is by looking at its embroidery. Palestinian thobes are known for their delicate and complex designs that they used to tell a story through clothes. For example, in a village in Jaffa called Bayt Dajan, they have copied orange flowers along with Cupressus trees on their thobes because in their village that flower usually surrounds the Cupressus tree. Each and every thobe is done by hand, which makes that thobe a lot more meaningful and holds a much higher value.

Palestinian thobes are also used as a way for women to tell a story. For example, in Be’er el Shava. A bride would wear a red thobe, if she becomes a widow, she replaces it with a blue thobe, and if she decided to remarry, she adds more color to her blue thobe and or adds embroidered toys on her thobe. By doing so she indicates that she is ready to remarry and have children. With all of that being said let’s dive into cities and villages in Palestine and see how each and every thobe differs from the other, and understand the story and history behind each one. 

Nablus

The designs that are found on thobes in Nablus are very similar to the ones in Dimashq, Syria, and Hallab, Syria. These cities share a lot in common, mostly because a lot of trading used to take place amongst them. Both Palestinian and Syrian women used to wear long black abayas and cover their faces with a piece of clothing. Due to the closeness of those two places Nablus used to be called “Dimashq al Sagheera” which translates to “small Damascus.”

A lot of Nablus’ traditions come from Dimashq traditions as well. In a lot of villages in Nablus, the thobes are filled with many colors and embroidery. A thobe named Rafidyah stood out the most in Nablus because it is made from linen yarns and silk which goes back to 1930. It is known for its red and green lines next to the green headpiece with the special scarf that is often “thrown” over the head. This thobe can be found in northern Nablus.

Jaffa 

Jaffa is known for its precision and amazing techniques when it comes to embroidery. The way they sew on their details is very precise. They use very thin needles and thread in order to create beautiful and detailed drawings that best represent their culture. Most of their embroidery reflects on their surroundings often you will see that their thobes are heavily inspired by the green around them. They also use flowers and trees along with feathers in their designs, which tell us a story of how their surroundings looked like. These thobes are also created using silk and often in Jaffa thobes are in white and black. But every village in Jaffa differs once again. Designs and cultures are very diverse. 

Quds

Thobe al Malas and Maqdisi originate for the Quds area, with its vibrant colors and amazing embroidery it stands out from the rest. Often when creating their thobes thet add a hint of yellow along with the rest of the colors. If you look closely one can see that there are many geometric shapes and triangles emerging into each other. As for the fabric, it is very heavy because Quds is often always cold, which makes this thobe heavier than the rest.

Bethlehem

Thobe el Talhami or thobe al Malika “queens dress” is a very old thobe. This thobe was specifically made for the queens in Canaanites, often it comes in a very rich brown color, the brown was so dark it almost looked red. They added orange or red embroidery to the top of the thobe when designing it. When doing so they did not use silk but used gold or silver. By doing so it would create the illusion of having jewelry on the thobe without having to actually put any on. Back then all embroidery used to be made with gold and or silver. They would shape it to look like a piece of jewelry on that thobe. That thobe was known for its beautiful details, which tells about the places that its current queen.

Palestinian Kuffiyeh

El-Kuffiyeh is made with transparent white silk named Al Ayubal. This silk is white and gold striped. During a celebration often it gets worn with a golden igal. During the winters Palestinians wear Hatta, which is made with wool and is much heavier than the Kuffiyeh. The Palestinian Kuffiyeh reflects the simplicity of the average falahi farmer in Palestine. Farmers use the Kuffiyeh to wrap it around their heads to soak up their sweat during the summers and to protect their heads from the cold in the winters.

The Kuffiyeh is more than a traditional piece of clothing. Its rich history and purpose holds a much bigger value in every Palestinian heart. Its purpose comes from a long history of fighting and solidarity. Palestinians and Arabs all around the world use the Kuffiyeh as a symbol of resistance. During the 1936 Arab revolt in Palestine which later was referred to as “The Great Revolt, “Palestinians were rebelling against the British in order to protect their land. Due to that many Palestinians were arrested. To avoid arrest many wore the Kuffiyeh to hide their identity from the authorities. Later on, the British Mandate authorities banned the use of a Kuffiyeh which then made all Palestinians start wearing it to make it very difficult for authorities to identify any rebels. Due to such events, now the Kuffiyeh presents resistance.

Check Out Arab America’s Blog Here!