WEARABLE HERITAGE

Rashaidah veils

 

The Rashaidah are a Bedouin tribe originating from the Arabian Peninsula. A few hundred years ago, some Rashaidah people migrated to Africa and settled on the Red Sea shores in the far South of Egypt and North Sudan. The women of the Rashaida wear a heavy nigab, a face veil accoring to the Arabian tradition.

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The nigab is a face veil that is made out of one piece of cloth, where slits for the eyes have been cut out. The Rashaidah veil is decorated with heavy metal embroidery and coins, which reflects the Arab influence as well. Sometimes, the veils are long, but also shorter versions are found, always decorated with a layer of metal wire embroidery. 

 

Apart from this decoration of the veils and headdresses, other decorative techniques include small metal beads, sewn onto heavy black cloth (below right). The dresses of the Rashaidah are very colorful, reds, greens and yellows are often used.

 

Young women of the Rashaidah often wear a nose and chin veil as can be seen in the two images below. Also on the beaded veil page a Rashaidah veil can be seen.