Palestinian thobe

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
Palestinian singer pictured wearing a thobe

The Palestinian thobe (Arabic: ثوبة, romanized: thawba; Palestinian Arabic: ثوبة or توبة, romanized: tōbe) is the traditional Palestinian woman's long tunic. It is considered Palestinian women's national dress.[1] It is embroidered with tatreez patterns, with different colours and patterns signifying various aspects of the wearer's social position and most importantly its unique village, town or city.[2] The Palestinian Museum in Birzeit has curated a collection of thobes as an example of Palestinian material heritage.[3]

History

[edit]
Woman from Ramallah, c. 1898–1914

The Al Qarara Cultural Museum in the Gaza Strip, which held a collection of these garments, was destroyed in an explosion as a result of an Israeli attack in October 2023, part of an offensive that reportedly deliberately targeted civilian homes and mosques in the vicinity.[4][5]

Cultural significance

[edit]

Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan and the first Palestinian-American woman elected to that body, wore a thobe to her swearing-in ceremony on January 3, 2019.[6] This inspired a number of Palestinian and Palestinian-American women to share pictures on social media with the hashtag #TweetYourThobe.[7] Like the ghutra, thobes were also popular during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kassis, Reem (2023). We Are Palestinian: A Celebration of Culture and Tradition. Studio Press. ISBN 978-1800783287.
  2. ^ Debre, Isabel (February 12, 2019). "Iconic Palestinian robe fashions a new political symbol". AP News. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "The Palestinian museum | the Palestinian Museum".
  4. ^ "خسائر كبيرة في قطاع الثقافة الفلسطينية جراء العدوان الإسرائيلي على غزة". 2023-10-18. Archived from the original on 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  5. ^ "استهداف البشر والحجر والكلمة.. قصص تدمير أشهر المؤسسات الثقافية في غزة - البوابة نيوز". 2023-10-18. Archived from the original on 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  6. ^ Jennings, Rebecca (January 4, 2018). "Rashida Tlaib's thobe and Ilhan Omar's hijab are making congressional history". Vox.
  7. ^ Zrarick, Karen (January 3, 2018). "As Rashida Tlaib Is Sworn In, Palestinian-Americans Respond With #TweetYourThobe". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Debre, Isabel (5 December 2022). "With Ghutra in fashion, World Cup fans seek adventures in attire". The Arab Weekly. Retrieved 30 November 2024.