IN the dressing room backstage of Jeddah’s Exhibition Hall, which earlier hosted a busy and successful first day of the 9th Jeddah Economic Forum, young women were excitedly getting professionally made-up, dressed and photographed not for a trendy modern fashion show, but for a live exhibition of traditional costumes from 12 regions in Saudi Arabia. The Mansoojat Foundation provided the 50 different traditional costumes of men and women worn in the western, southern, eastern, central and northern provinces.
The Mansoojat Foundation is a UK-registered charity established by a group of Saudi women who have a passion for preserving and documenting the ethnic dress and embroideries of the various tribes and regions of the Kingdom. Through meticulous research, documentation and field trips, they have accumulated some unique authentic pieces and reproduced traditional garments.
“We have authentic pieces that are over a hundred years old,” said Mona Khashoggi, one of the board members. “The pieces and outfits that we have reproduced are exact handmade replicas to the originals.”
The ethnic embroidery is reproduced by Saudi women at the Mansoojat Workshop, which was established in 2001 in cooperation with the First Women’s Welfare Society in Jeddah. Some of these embroideries and special designs, such as handbags, accessories and mugs, inspired by the textiles and embroideries are available for sale.
The young volunteer models were very excited in their somewhat cumbersome, layered and often heavy outfits, which seemed strange a group of young adults who are used to jeans and T-shirts.
“I’m dressed as a farmer girl from Abha,” grinned one model from under a straw hat still worn by the women there.
“This is an outfit from the central region, and this head piece itches,” said another.
While one girl sat demurely for her make-up dressed in a traditional sequined white bridal wear from the western region, another girl dressed as a man from the southern region with an Arabian-style dagger at her waist strolled confidently around; another looked like Lawrence of Arabia in her outfit as she jokingly demanded a sword and a horse.
A far cry from the austere black garbs women in Saudi Arabia are required to wear today, the traditional costumes — while still adhering to the cultural standards of modesty — have vibrant colors and intricate details. These fashions aren’t hundreds of years old; they were widely worn by Saudi women only a few decades ago while they worked in the fields. And in some regions these outfits are still worn today.
The women-only exhibition featured daywear, evening wear and special-occasions wear by men and women with all the accompanying accessories from the twelve different regions of the Arabian Peninsula representing Saudi Arabia today. The differences in the outfits in terms of colors, fabrics and design indicates the effect of the climate, topography, lifestyle and influence of other cultures in these various regions with their unique tastes and habits.
The audience was amazed by the collection of outfits and their different looks. They cheered the inexperienced, nervous models as they paraded their customs, and when they all came on stage for the finale, the audience stood up and clapped enthusiastically to the rhythm of the Arabic music filling the hall.
In order to promote and raise awareness for appreciating this unique culture and heritage, Mansoojat has participated in several national and international exhibitions including the “Arabian Weekend — Souk, Scripts and Soundbites” exhibition at Victoria and Albert Museum in London in August 2006. It has also produced some documentaries, gave lectures, and provided consultations to various museums and researchers on traditional customs of Arabia. In 2007, it launched the Mansoojat Foundation Museum of Saudi Arabia Custom Online (www.mansoojat.org). The website is a treat to enthusiasts for traditions and researchers interesting in knowing more. It features a glossary of terms of the clothing, accessories and objects, details on the customs and the people, as well as pictures and other information.
