Wearable Art
Moorish,
Beauty Standards
According to the traditional Beydan standards of beauty, curves and roundness are considered to be signs of femininity.
This voluptuous look in women owes a great deal to the bluh.
During the years of abundance, in the camps, young girls are subjected to an intensive, nutritious diet : they are to drink copious quantities of camel milk.
This overload of camel milk is part of a specific ritual, whose secret the Moorish women keep, and pass on from generation to generation.
Women's
Traditional Draping
The melhfa is the the Moorish woman’s clothing. This draping has evolved, with grace, from the original nila (indigo), to the silky-textured and glistening fabric that it is today.
Each occasion calls for a specific melhfa.
The negcha is the underskirt that is worn beneath the melhfa to bring out its contours. One can catch a glimpse of it through the melhfa during the moves of the Beydaniya, the Beydan woman.
The Beydaniya, an expert in the art of beautiful draping, knows how to wrap around her this veil, for a harmonious overall look, much like the Greek himation and the Indian sari.
During the first wrapping, the veil is placed on the left shoulder and covers the back, then the chest after being passed through the arms.
Today, the melhfa is testifying to Saharan Morocco’s traditional dressing art. It is an ensemble of dazzling colours and specific geometrical motifs. The Beydaniya combine this draping’s elegance with its fine transparency. The textile of this draping is luxurious, sometimes with the signature of a top designer.
Men's Traditional Clothing
On the other hand, the traditional male Moorish costume is made of four essential pieces : one long, flowing robe, deraa, the serwal pant, the hawli turban, and light sandals, n’ail.
The dress, derâa, is a long shirt made of three pieces of percale, a closely woven plain-weave fabric, assembled by large seams, which are folded at the shoulders.