Garment and Adornment

Designing Danceable Fashions for Hamdan
Designing the costumes for the ballet was a challenge. Our aim was to be culturally sensitive, yet accommodating to the movement of the choreography. Costume Designer Tim Burrow and Choreographer Ray Mercer had in-depth conversations on how to respect cultural relevancy while properly presenting dynamic movements.

The male dancers were outfitted in traditional Omani menswear: the long white Dishdasha (traditionally these garments would not have a split neck opening) with accessories including the Wazar waist wrap, usually made of cotton, and the Kasmir wool turban called Massar. Due to some of the choreography, not all dance sequences with males featured the Wazar, which allowed for increased movement.

The women dancers' costumes had to be designed modestly; colorful yet still allowing room for movement. The Abaya head scarves had to be tightly secured. Some of the Dishdashas had more of a silhouette while the trousers or serwals were loose fitting, allowing for movement.

Abaya Costume from the Opera Qadar
For the drama of the stage, a rhinestone adorned black colored full Abaya, a "cloak" sometimes also called an aba, is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in parts of the Muslim world including in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

Traditional abaya are black and may be either a large square of fabric draped from the shoulders or head, or a long caftan. The abaya covers the whole body except the head, feet, and hands.

It can be worn with the niqāb, a face veil covering all but the eyes.

Some women also wear long black gloves, so their hands are covered as well. This niquab was worn as a costume for the Opera Qadar in 2014. This style of abaya has become popular with young women in these regions and has trumped the colorful traditional khanga coverings that we will explore next.

A Never Ending Variety of Kangas
During Portuguese colonization of the east African coast, kangas were fashioned out of handkerchiefs by women. Today these rectangular panels of brightly dyed cotton cloth are worn by women and men as wrappers and serve a variety of household uses.

Here a woman poses in her kanga in a tent full of Kenyan designs at the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Factory-printed kanga
Found particularly in Tanzania and Kenya, kangas feature popular sayings and proverbs in the Swahili language.

These ornate adornment are comprised of three essential parts:

the pindo, which is the border that runs around all four sides;

the mji, which is the central part of the fabric;

and a strip of text called the jina. It is the jina that gives a kanga its name.

In this instance Wawili wakipendana adui hana nafasi translates as “The enemy has no chance when two are in love.”

Filled with religious meaning, and often designed to be heard as well as seen, Omani and Somali jewelry is alive with symbolism. Like dress, jewelry can project both style AND substance.

Door-motif Earrings
Oman is well known for its silver craftsmanship. These earrings manifest the floral and arched lintel motifs found throughout the region and attest to the Omani presence in and around the Indian Ocean communities.

Silver alloy
Omani Artist, Nizwa.

Fashion and Belief
In and around the Indian Ocean community “hersi” amulet necklaces are used as a form of adornment and protection.

The necklaces features simulated amber beads,

and a silver alloy amulet box embellished with floral and leaf designs with three conical studs. “Hersi” means protection and it’s the purpose of these necklaces to promote health and well-being through the Quranic verses they carry.

Somali Necklace with Amulet case (Hersi)
This Hersi necklace of carnelian and silver features hanging rattles or bells and is believed to be inspired by Arabian and Indian prototypes.

silver alloy, carnelian

Somali Artist - Mogadishu, Somalia

Like other amulet necklaces this one would have contained tightly scrolled parchment with verses from the Quran, used to protect the wearer and promote well-being.