So You Want to Be a SCAdian Bedouin Woman?

I'll tell you now, it won't be easy. There is a dearth of information regarding the Bedu in period, and women in particular. Do you know how many period depictions there are of Bedouin women? Here, let me share the entire collection with you:

I have read (repeatedly) that this is it, this is our only period illustration of a Bedouin woman...and if that is incorrect, I would love it! As it is, we have to rely on other methods to put together our wardrobe. Over time, though, this is the information I've gathered regarding a Bedouin woman's dress during our time period.

Materials used: Linen, silk, wool, and cotton (yes, we get to wear cotton, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!).  The range of dyes available in medieval Arabia allowed for a tremendous variety of color (if you've ever heard anyone say "pink isn't period," they weren't talking about the Middle East!).  Shades ranged from pastels to rich jewel tones to quite dark.   Some of the more common colors included indigo blue (this was a really common one, and one that could range from pastel to almost black); warm (orange) reds and cool reds (with the latter being more difficult and therefore expensive to achieve); bright yellow; and fabrics with gold and silver metallic thread woven throughout (again a more expensive fabric).  Besides being available in a variety of colors, fabrics included solids, patterns, stripes, and brocades.

Articles of clothing:  Garments tended to be unisex except for the aba, which was a man's garment, and underwear.  Wraps/mantles were extremely common and referred to by a variety of names including  izar, azr, izara, mi'zar, milhafa, mula'a, safsari, and rida'.  "Arabian fashion required both men and women to wear a mantle.... Precisely how these mantles and the many others mentioned in the traditions were draped we cannot know, but it is quite clear from the sources that there was a wide variety of styles...." (Arab Dress: A Short History from the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times by Yedida Kalfon Stillman) Larger wraps were designed not only to cover one from the top of the head to the feet, but to serve as bedding if necessary.  I have yet to determine the differences between all the different styles of wraps (if any), particularly when, as Stillman mentions, we don't know exactly how they were worn; I have seen references to the izar that suggested it was only a wrap about the waist that reached the ankles, but others that stated it was more of a full-body wrap. Somewhat similarly, I've seen reference to the rida' style of wrap that named it a man's garment, but the Geniza women's trousseau records list them, as well. These ardiyya (plural of rida') were apparently pinned in place, as the Geniza records state this was how they were supplied. The most frequent colors for ardiyya in the trousseau records are white and blue. Samia al-Kaslaania found this pin as a possibility for pinning a rida':

       Beneath the wrap, one would wear a tunic commonly referred to as a qamis or kamis (pl. aqmisa, qumsan), which can be short (mid-thigh) to full length, long or short sleeved; according to Stillman, can be "slit down the front or not" and has a round neck. Though in other parts of the Near/Middle East in period the qamis was an undergarment, the Bedouin (and the poor) wore it for an outer garment, also. I've had well-meaning and knowledgeable people "correct" me about the kamis, stating that it was only an undergarment, so remember that Bedouins don't always seem to follow the rules!
       For pants, both men and women wore sirwal.  I've often seen sirwal compared to pajama bottoms, and this is quite apt!  They have loose legs the same width from inseam to ankle, as well as a very roomy gusset.  Pants came in a knee-length version as well called mi'zar.  Both versions could be pleated or unpleated.
       The thawb (or thobe) is a roomy tunic, long or short sleeved, that can be worn over a qamis and sirwal.  The thawb was normally full-length, but "in the fourteenth/eighth century it also became short as part of the general craze for raised hemlines and elbow-length sleeves." (Stillman) Bedouins did not necessarily wear this extra layer of clothing.
       Lastly, the voluminous wraps and qamis would be bound by a belt either of fabric two to three yards long, which could be patterned or embroidered, or of leather.
       Shoes, boots, or sandals are all acceptable footwear. Boots (khuff) were the common outdoor footwear for women. Women's boots could be long or mid-calf length. In some illuminations they are depicted curling up and back to a point over the toes. They could be decorated with gold stamping at the ankles.

Veils:  Bedouin women were far less likely to wear veils, even in public, than their urban counterparts, though they were likely to have some sort of head covering, at least out of doors. "Women wore a variety of compound headdrdesses consisting of one of a variety of caps, winding scarves, wimples, and bonnets.... Early in the Mamluk period, an edict was issued forbidding women to wear turbans, although this probably means male-style turbans since women had worn and continued to wear compound turban-like headdresses for centuries, all the way up to early modern times." (Stillman) More common than "turban-like headdresses," though, were simple head cloths or a niqab, a white or grayish hood with eye holes (sometimes with embroidered or contrasting edging). Head cloths listed in the Geniza trousseau were generally linen and found in a variety of colors (including plain old white). They also could be edged in embroidery or a contrasting color, and could be held on with a ribbon (which could also be used as a head band), a metal fillet, or a piece of cloth wound around the head.

Things to avoid:  Here are a few excellent points I've gathered from other SCA Middle Easterners who generously share their knowledge...one of my favorite things about the SCA.
       When decorating your garb with embroidery, avoid the overuse of cross stitch.  It appeared only rarely and even then as single lines of stitches.  Stitches commonly used include chain, running, satin, brick, stem, and pattern darning, with several different types sometimes appearing on the same garment.
       The ghawazee coats so popular in the SCA and tribal-style bellydance are not period.  The ghawazee coat everyone is familiar with is based on the 19th c. style of Ottoman entari, which is quite different from the period style of Ottoman entari.  Unfortunate, as it is such a popular and flattering garment, but true.  Sigh.
       Embroidery around the openings of clothing may not have been quite as mandatory as we tend to think.  Again, in-period information is sorely lacking, but Alois Musil, who explored Arabia in 1910, stated that the Rualla women's dresses were not embroidered.  Yes, this is out of period by a long way, but as the Bedu generally held to tradition longer than any other group in the Middle East, it could indicate that the Bedouin may not have adhered to this tradition, either.  We have no proof one way or the other, and the lifestyle led by the Bedouin suggests (to me, anyway) that embroidering one's clothes may not have been a high priority.
       I've often read that reenactors who wish to dress cross-culturally-- usually citing their personae's backgrounds as traders, travelers, etc.-- can't do so authentically, but that even world travelers tended to wear the fashions of home throughout the middle ages.  However, in her article "Fashion in the Sand" (Saudi Aramco World, Nov/Dec 1980), Heather Colyer Ross states that "...shaikhs and sultans of long ago once clothed their ladies in the fashions of Damascus and Baghdad...."  Unfortunately she doesn't cite her source for this information, but I'm eager to see if further research turns up anything to support her claim.