BY MEKLIT WONDWOSEN
The costumes of the Ethiopian people are as varied and as interesting as the population itself, reflecting ancient and modern trends in decoration, the fanciness as well as the practicality.
Broadly speaking, the basic garment of the Ethiopian highland is the “shamma”. This cotton made linen flat cloth whose size doubles an average person’s body. Such clothes cover the body from head to toe. It is often worn on top of items of modern dress such as a skirt or trousers. In the streets of Addis Ababa a traveler will see the shamma in all its permutations. Other common items of apparel include the “netela”, a light cotton shawl; the “kutta”, a heavier version of the “netela”; the “gabi”, a coarse, blanket-like cloth worn for warmth; and the “bernos”, or cape. The “kemis” is a dress of varying length worn by women and decorated with embroidery and a colored woven border. Children, depending on the family’s income, sometimes wear hand-made downs, short dresses, trousers and shirts. The very young often make do with a single garment, sometimes of animal skin.
A love of ornamentation ruled by a natural affinity for beauty leads Ethiopians to adorn themselves with a memorably dramatic fashion. Timeless symbols such as the cross and the lion’s mien have long been used in decoration. Tattooing of the face, neck, and hands, and elaborate traditional coiffures, though no longer the rule with sophisticated city dwellers, are still seen everywhere among country folks. A profusion of jewelry, whether crafted by skillful smiths of gold and silver or made in the villages of cowrie shells and leather, base metals and colorful beads, is an integral part of the national dress.
Whether rain or shine, umbrellas richly covered with embroidery and brilliants are held above the heads of priests and deacons. Briefly, in dress as in political, cultural, and religious traditions, Ethiopians follow a heritage that is vital, colorful, and unique. One of the great treats awaiting the visitor is the ever-changing pageant of costume that will pass before him as he walks through the cities or drives about the countryside, witnesses a religious ceremony or takes part in a public celebration. To know something of the history and significance of the garments that will catch his eyes should add immeasurably to the tourist’s enjoyment and understanding of Ethiopian society.
Cotton is said to have been imported to Ethiopia in earliest times. At the Red Sea port of Adulis in the first century, during the heyday of the Axumite Empire, cotton was the chief import. We do not know, however, just when local cultivation of cotton began, or when the practices of weaving and spinning became widespread. It has been suggested by various writers that only gradually did cotton replace animal skins and vegetable fibers as the basis for clothing, and that the use of cotton garments was for centuries restricted to members of the aristocracy. Today in southern Ethiopia women still wear garments made of skins, as do shepherds and workers in many rural areas of the country; and now that the National Leather Processing Industry is producing a large variety of skins suitable for high-fashion wear, leather garments in the modern mode are seen widely among city dwellers. Nevertheless, cotton remains the fabric of choice among the bulk of the population, which clings to traditional costumes.
In the past, Ethiopian weavers, potters, tanners, and other artisans have gathered in communities under the protection of royal or ecclesiastical rule, where they were assured of a ready market for their wares at church or court. Thus centers of arts and crafts developed in widely separated areas like Gonder, Harar, Ankober, Adwa, and Jimma for example. The fine cloth produced at Harar and at Gonder has long been renowned, and according to a nineteenth century explorer, the coarse cotton fabric for which Adwa was noted “unrivalled in any other part of the country”
Today, Ethiopian spinners and weavers practice their ancient occupations in much the same manner as their forebears. In the capital city Addis Ababa, many male weavers of the Dorze nationality from the southern regions of Gamo Gofa and Sidamo are employed in large workshops, where they produce not only materials for the traditional costume but also up-to-date suiting and decorative fabrics. In addition to these enterprises, some of which are cooperatively owned, there is the Rehabilitation Agency, where disabled persons are taught the arts of loom and needle as well as a variety of other ways to earn their livelihood. And in homes throughout the country lone weavers and family groups continue to spin and weave, cut and sew, using the same methods employed by their ancestors.
In ancient times dress was an important mark of class. None but the aristocracies were allowed to wear ornate clothing: and even under the progressive nineteenth century monarch, Emperor Tewodros, cotton clothing was ordained for the masses, and only aristocrats might dress in silk and brocade. Until the early years of the twentieth century such prohibitions were general throughout Ethiopia. In the northern regions, only ladies of quality might wear embroidered cloaks and red-bordered “shammas”; while in southern Ethiopia the color green was reserved for the king, as was the use of golden Jewelry.
No more colorful and imaginative costumes could be conceived than those traditionally worn by the Ethiopian warrior. King Tewodros II allowed his soldiers to wear shirts of silk, and the use of animal pelts as part of the military uniform has long been a custom. By the middle of the nineteenth century, soldiers were wearing specially cut trousers and shirts, with cartridge belt, sword belt, and shield of toughened animal hide. Often the shirt was silk, and the shoulders might be covered with a sheep, goat, or wild animal pelt. Status was indicated by the amount of gold decoration on scabbard, sword, and saddle mountings.
Prowess in battle, indicated elsewhere in the world by medals, might be evinced in Ethiopia in a number of ways. Bracelets, earrings, and neck chains often were worn to show that the warrior had rescued a companion, killed many men, or shown unusual bravery as a hunter. In the 1930’s effort was made to popularize the use of khaki cloth among soldiers, instead of the traditional white shirt and trousers that made them an easy mark for enemy rifles. It was not until very recently, however, that the Ethiopian soldier wore boots or shoes with his uniform. Toughened by long marches over rough terrain and a lifetime of barefoot activity, he was able as no Westerner would be, to walk for miles without harm or difficulty. Barefoot cavalrymen secured the stirrups between big and middle toe.
In central and northern Ethiopia the Amhara and Tigrean women are usually seen wearing the “kemis”, a long, full-sleeved cotton gown that is often embroidered at the neck, cuffs and hem. Some “kemis” styles are very simple, with a fitted bodice and full skirt; others are more elaborate, with overall pleats and gathering about the waist. According to the area, the “kemis” may be adorned with cotton thread embroidery in the cross symbol, or studded about the neck and cuffs with small silver beads. Over the kemis goes a shamma, or light cotton length, usually with a border that matches the trimming on the dress.
The shamma is draped over the head and shoulders in a graceful fashion and sometimes held by the wearer over nose and mouth. In cold weather a heavier shamma, or kutta, may be worn, or a conical cape called a barnos. The border of the shamma and kemis may be richly woven with vivid silk or cotton threads to form a border called a tibeb, which lends richness and dignity to the humblest costume. The tibeb design may contain geometrical figures, purely fanciful forms, or classic symbols such as star and cross; and the width of the border varies from a few centimeters in one case to a quarter of a meter or more in another. With her kemis and shamma the Amhara or Tigrean may wear sandals, heelless slippers, or high-fashion shoes, though in the countryside bare feet are usual.
In the north, women stain the soles of their feet and the palms of their hands with a red vegetable dye called ensosela. Coiffures based on regional styles are worn by rural and working classes: often this involves an elaborate arrangement of many small parallel braids. Ladies of fashion or students and young city girls will sometimes choose a western-style hairdo. In the cities a sweater or coat may replace the traditional kutta or barnos in cold weather. Umbrellas, used for protection from both sun and rain, are seen everywhere among rich and poor. Jewelry of silver and gold is widely worn by Amharas and Tigreans. Heavy earrings in pendant, loop, and button styles are popular, as is the crescent, whose tips are slipped through the hole in the ear for an unbroken circular effect. Married women from the north wear elaborately decorated gold pendants on a black ribbon circlet about the neck.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 10 JUNE 2023
