Fez (hat)
The fez (
The modern fez owes much of its popularity to the Ottoman era. The fez became a symbol of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century. In 1827, Mahmud II mandated the fez as a modern headdress for his new army, the Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye. The decision was inspired by the Ottoman naval command, who had previously returned from the Maghreb having embraced the style. In 1829, Mahmud issued new regulations mandating use of the fez by all civil and religious officials. The intention was to replace the turban, which acted as a marker of identity and so divided rather than unified the population. A century later, in 1925, the fez was outlawed in Turkey as part of Atatürk's reforms. Since then, the fez has not been a part of Turkish men's clothing.
The fez has been used as part of soldiers' uniforms in many armies and wars for centuries, including the Bahawalpur Regiment in Pakistan as late as the 1960s.
It is still worn in parts of South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and in Cape Town, South Africa. It has also been adopted by various fraternal orders in the English-speaking world.
Etymology
The fez (
The fez takes its name from the Moroccan city of
History
The origins of the hat are obscure.[11] It is either of ancient Greek,[8][9][12] Tunisian,[13][12] Moroccan,[14][15] or Turkish origin.[10][16] It was popular especially during the later period of the Ottoman Empire and its use spread throughout the empire,[17][10][18] and much of its popularity derives from this era.[19][20]
Initially, the fez was a brimless red, white, or black bonnet over which a turban was wrapped (similar to a wrapped keffiyeh). Later the turban was eliminated, the bonnet shortened, and the color fixed to red. Praying while wearing a fez—instead of a headdress with brim—was easier because Muslims put their heads to the ground during Salah (daily prayers).[21]
The tarboosh was depicted as an element of Turkish clothing as early as around 1460.
The original centre of production appears to have been in
The 1908
The societal position of the fez as a symbol of tradition led to its ban in
Symbolism
The fez was a symbol not only of Ottoman affiliation but also of religious adherence to Islam.
Through the 19th and early 20th centuries the fez was the preferred headwear for Christians and Muslims in the Balkans, which at the time was still mostly under Ottoman suzerainty. There were variations on the fez in the Balkan states, mainly involving the addition of religious symbols on the front. In semi-independent Montenegro, a client state of the Ottoman Empire that enjoyed complete autonomy, its Orthodox citizens wore their fezzes with a Greek cross on the front. Supporters of the Illyrian movement among South Slavs, especially in Croatia, wore their fezzes with a star and crescent on the front irrespective of religion, believing that the symbol predated the introduction of Islam in the Balkans. In 1850, regulations in the newly-autonomous Principality of Serbia concerning uniforms of ministerial officers specified the wear of red fezzes displaying the Serbian coat of arms.[34] The fez was a symbol of Arab nationalist resistance against the Zionism during the Arab revolt in Palestine between 1936 and 1939 in the British Mandate.[35]
Over time, the fez came to be seen as part of an
Military use
From the mid-19th century on, the fez was widely adopted as the headdress of locally recruited "native" soldiers among the various
The Belgian
While the fez was a colorful and picturesque item of uniform, it was in several ways an impractical headdress. If worn without a drab cover, it made the head a target for enemy fire, and it provided little protection from the sun. As a result, it was increasingly relegated to parade or off-duty wear by World War II. However, France's West African tirailleurs continued to wear a khaki-covered version in the field until about 1943. During the final period of colonial rule in Africa (approximately 1945 to 1962), the fez was seen only as a full-dress item in French, British, Belgian, Spanish, and Portuguese African units, being replaced by wide-brimmed hats or forage caps on other occasions. Colonial police forces, however, usually retained the fez as normal duty wear for indigenous personnel.
Post-independence armies in Africa quickly discarded the fez as a colonial relic. It is, however, still worn by the ceremonial
Two regiments of the
-
Otto of Greece in an Evzones uniform
-
Serbian voivode Stevan Knićanin, 1849
Modern use
In Arab countries
In
In the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan), the tarboush is still worn, but it is becoming rarer in recent times, and mostly worn by minstrels, or people who work in the tourist industry in historical places.[4] It is still regarded as traditional Syrian headwear.[3]
However in Morocco the tarboush is still worn as part of everyday attire.[4]
In South Asia
In
The fez was also a symbol of the support for the
In
The name "songkok" is also used in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, while in Java, it is called "kopiah"; this headwear is also known widely in Indonesia as "peci", although peci is somewhat different. This hat has been commonly worn in Maritime Southeast Asia since the 19th century, when it was introduced by Muslims from South Asia.[50][51]
In South Africa
The Turkish-style fez was introduced to
Muslim men have continued to wear the fez there,
The "Silver Fez" is a competition of all-male choirs from the Cape Malay community in Cape Town,[58] involving thousands of musicians and a wide variety of tunes. A documentary film, The Silver Fez, was made about the competition and released in 2009.[59][60]
Use by fraternal orders
Many fraternal orders are known for wearing fezzes.[61]
- Shriners are often depicted wearing a red fez; the headgear became official for the Shriners in 1872.[62]
- Members of the International Order of Alhambra wear a white fez.[citation needed]
- Members of the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm wear a black fez.[citation needed]
- The Knights of Peter Claver wear a blue fez.[citation needed]
- Members of the Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans wear fezzes of various colors, based upon rank.[citation needed]
- The Knights of Khorassan wear a navy blue fez.[citation needed]
- Members of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World wear fezzes of various colors, based upon rank.[citation needed]
- The Loyal Order of Moose's second-degree body, the Moose Legion, wear a purple fez.[citation needed]
- The Sons of the Desert is an international fraternal organization devoted to the lives and films of comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The group takes its name from a fictional lodge that Laurel and Hardy belonged to in the 1933 film Sons of the Desert. A special fez is worn occasionally by some members.
In popular culture
In Western pop culture, the hat represents leisure.[63]
In the Laurel and Hardy film Sons of the Desert members of the fictional order of the same name wear fezzes, and consequently, so do those of the Laurel and Hardy International Appreciation Society, which is itself named after and modeled on the one seen in the film.[citation needed]
British comedian
In the television show Gravity Falls, the character Grunkle Stan is known for wearing a fez with a goldfish eating fishfood emblazoned across the front of the cap.
Matt Smith occasionally wore a fez in his incarnation as the Eleventh Doctor in the popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who.
The popgroup Madness have often worn fezzes, as seen in the music video to their 1979 song Night Boat to Cairo, becoming a well-known symbol for their band since.
The video game Fez features main character Gomez wearing a fez.
See also
- Kalpak, a similar Turkic head cap
- Kopiah
- Kufi, brimless rounded cap
- List of headgear
- Moorish Science Temple of America, where male members wore fezzes
- Qeleshe, a white rounded cap worn by Albanians
- Sidara, an Iraqi cap that can be folded
- Songkok, a truncated conical felt hat in Southeast Asia
- Taqiyah, a brimless rounded cap
Footnotes
- ^ Note that the kofia usually describes a different type of hat.
References
- ^ Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680), "فس", in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum, Vienna, column 3519
- Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th ed., page 649.
- ^ a b "The Truth Behind the Tarboush". World Youth Alliance. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Alallawi, Bashar (29 August 2021). "The fez throughout history". edSeed. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ Balteiro, Isabel. "Foreign words in the English of textiles." (2010).
- ^ a b Pennacchietti, Fabrizio A. "Sull'etimologia del termine tarbusc "fez"."
- ^ "History of the Fez | Iconic Hats | Village Hats".
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8156-2368-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-486-31830-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0486136585.
FEZ. (From Fez in Morocco). Of Turkish origin.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-61069-063-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7591-2150-8.
- ISBN 978-0-253-04219-4.
- ^ EKREM BUĞRA EKINCI (2016), Fez: A time-honored Ottoman hat from the Mediterranean, Daily Sabah,
The fez used to be common headwear in Mediterranean countries and originated from Morocco.
- ^ "fez | hat | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ Ann LoLordo (1997), "That brimless hat signified style Fez: In such countries as Morocco, Turkey, Syria and Egypt, the tarbush has had a colorful political past, favored by king and commoner and then banned by governments. Only two makers remain in Cairo.", The Baltimore Sun,
The origin of the fez is disputed. One historian, Jeremy Seal, says the hat originated in Turkey where the Sultan Mahmoud II sought to replace the cloth turban with a modern headpiece. The fez bore no brim to enable good Muslims to press their heads to the ground in prayer, according to Seal's "A Fez of the Heart," a history of the hat. Others say the hat got its name from the city in Morocco from which the red-berry dye originates.
- ^ "Fez Journal; Last Refuge of the Tall Tasseled Ottoman Hat". The New York Times. 22 March 1995. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ISBN 978-0486318301.
The Turkish fez
- ^ Amphlett, Hilda (2003). Hats: a history of fashion in headwear. Mineola, New York: Courier Dover.
- ^ Kaya, Ibrahim (2004). Social theory and later modernities: the Turkish experience. Liverpool, England: Liverpool University Press. p. 119.
- ISBN 978-0-688-08093-8.
- ^ Postcolonial Approaches to the European Middle Ages: Translating Cultures. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
- ^ Dunham, Dilmeran Akgöze. The Hat as Symbol of Westernization in Turkey. Cornell University, June, 1985. p.22.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84854-647-9.
- ^ a b Jirousek, Charlotte (2005). "Islamic Clothing". Encyclopedia of Islam. New York: Macmillan.
- ^ Quataert, D. (1997). Clothing Laws, State, and Society in the Ottoman Empire, 1720-1829. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 29(3), page 412
- .
- S2CID 54626714.
- ^ S2CID 145056061.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7619-2729-7.
- ^ "Jewish Community in Ottoman Empire". Daily Sabah. 13 October 2017.
- ^ Bywater, Maria (30 July 2014). "The Fabric of Jewish History: Ottoman Jews". Sew Jewish.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "April 1897 - Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem (speed corrected w/ added sound)". YouTube. 6 October 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-137-27714-5.
- .
- ISBN 0-684-16304-7.
- ISBN 1-85532-412-1.
- ^ Rinaldo D'Ami, pages 53 & 59 "World Uniforms in Colour", Volume 2, Casa Editrice AMZ Milqn 1966 SBN 85059 X.
- ISBN 0-684-15130-8.
- ^ Elioe Vittorio, tavola XLVI "Atlante dell Uniformi: military italians dal 1934 ad oggi", Ermanno Albertelli 1984.
- ISBN 0-89141-292-1.
- ISBN 978-3-902526-17-5.
- ISBN 978-3-902526-17-5.
- ISBN 978-3-902526-17-5.
- ISBN 0-8014-9275-0.
- SBN 85059 040 X. p. 72.
- ^ بابان, صلاح حسن. "أدخلها الملك فيصل الأول وتميز بها البغداديون.. ماذا تعرف عن السدارة العراقية؟". www.aljazeera.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ a b Moulika KV (28 January 2018). "Nizam's Rumi topi now makes style statement | Hyderabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ Syed Akbar (1 November 2021). "Hyderabad: Rumi topi defies time, still popular | Hyderabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ Rozan Yunos (23 September 2007). "The origin of the songkok or 'kopiah'". The Brunei Times. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ Abdullah Mubarok (21 February 2016). "PDIP: Kopiah Bagian Dari identitas Nasional" (in Indonesian). Inilah.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ Argun, Selim (2000). "Life and Contribution of Osmanli Scholar, Abu bakr Effendi, towards Islamic thought and Culture in South Africa" (PDF). pp. 7–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2011.
- ^ Green, L.G. (1951). Grow Lovely, Growing Old: The Story of Cape Town's Three Centuries-the Streets, the Houses, the Characters, the Legends, Traditions and Folklore,the Laughter and Tears. H. Timmins. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ "Malay Pilgrims from Cape Town on their way to Mecca" (photo). Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ "Kofia". A Dictionary of South African English. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
1951 L.G. Green, Grow Lovely, 189: Cape Malays call the fez a kofija.
- ^ "Muslim man wins fez court battle". IOL. 24 February 2006. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ Landsberg, Ian (14 March 2022). "Last of his kind: Traditional fez maker in Kensington hangs up his hat". IOL. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "The Silver Fez" (text and video). Al Jazeera. Witness. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa / Tarifa African Film Festival(FCAT). May 2010. pp. 86–87.
- ^ "The Fez Museum - Dedicated to Fraternal Fez Hats". www.fezmuseum.com.
- ^ "Shriners International: History: The Fez". Shriners International. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ The Fez
- ^ Logan, Brian (5 December 2016). "Just like hat! Why Tommy Cooper's fez was much more than a prop". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
Further reading
- Patricia Baker, "The Fez in Turkey: A Symbol of Modernization?". Costume 20 (1986): 72–85
- Donald Quataert, "Clothing Laws, State, and Society in the Ottoman Empire, 1720–1829". International Journal of Middle East Studies 29, no. 3 (1997): 403–425
- Wilson Chacko Jacob, "Working Out Egypt: Masculinity and Subject Formation Between Colonial Modernity and Nationalism, 1870–1940" (PhD thesis, New York University, 2005), chapter 6 (326–84).
External links
- Media related to Fezzes at Wikimedia Commons