My galabiya, my identity… - Ahram Hebdo

To get to his studio, you have to drive around for a while in the alleys of the popular Aïn-Chams district, to the east of Cairo, and pass through embankment roadways. But no matter, loyal customers overcome all obstacles to come. As usual, he looks serious, he is always busy, cutting, measuring or sewing. He lets the client ask for what he wants, hears him carefully, but in the end he does what he sees fit. Because according to him, it would be a crime to change the features of a model. “I carry on my shoulders the responsibility of protecting the national heritage,” says fashion designer Monsef Eskandar proudly. Aged 58, the latter is a "baladi" designer, a specialist in galabiyas (djellabas): he hasn't made anything else for more than 35 years. In fact, the number of these baladi dressmakers has decreased over the years and they are currently only found scattered in the working-class neighborhoods, on the outskirts of the capital and in the villages. Like his colleagues, he sees himself not only as a designer, but also as a craftsman who plays a role in keeping the identity of the Egyptians. He says that at the professional level, he can sew any style of clothing, but that not just any designer knows how to make a djellaba. Because according to him, it is not only a technique that must be applied, but it is also art, knowledge and culture.

Each region has its own model

The djellaba is considered the traditional clothing of Egyptian men. According to Mahmoud Al-Dessouqi, writer and specialist in social heritage, there are several kinds of djellabas which distinguish Egyptians and which differ according to the place. The Sudanese djellaba is the one worn by the inhabitants of the south. It bears the name and features of the djellabas worn by the Sudanese, because the inhabitants of the two countries share almost the same borders, customs and costumes. In the villages of the west and north, the inhabitants of the desert wear a djellaba which resembles that of those of the countries of the Gulf, because they share with them the traits of Bedouin life. As for the inhabitants of the villages of the Delta and Upper Egypt, continues Dessouqi, they wear the djellaba baladi, which is the most common and which distinguishes the traditional costume of Egyptian men. It is this djellaba that Egyptians wear during folk festivals that represent the culture of each country. But this one is not the same in the villages of the Delta and those of Upper Egypt, like the clothes of the great Parisian or Italian haute couture houses, which are distinguished by certain traits that make it very easy to know the signature as soon as you see them.

Under the main title of djellaba baladi, there are two subtitles: “saïdi” for the inhabitants of the south and “fallahi” for those of the other villages of the Delta. Each model of the two has dimensions and features that distinguish it and are highly respected by the designer who makes them. “Especially since the djellaba baladi, you can't find it in ready-to-wear stores. It has to be handmade by a tailor,” says Monsef, who only wears djellabas himself. They are made of wool in winter and viscose in summer. These same two genera sometimes have other names like Chahi, Silka and Frisqa, depending on the quality and degree of purity. And they are all unique colors and limited in degrees of gray, brown, blue or black. In general, a djellaba baladi, "saïdi", must be flared at the bottom, with large sleeves and without a collar, "abba", or buttons, but with an opening in the form of a V, decorated with the "etane », a cord or a ribbon sewn all around the collar and the opening. This "etane" also surrounds the ends of the 35 cm flared sleeves, and also the opening of the false pockets: two openings in place of the pockets, which are used to pass the hand easily towards the underwear and arrange them without having to need to lift the djellaba. These underwear consist of a very tight vest on the body and wide pants at the top and tight towards the end of the legs.

of the faithful

Even if they live in town, those who are of village origin still hold on to their original attire.

According to Mahmoud Dessouqi, the design of these clothes suits the nature of life in the countryside where peasants work in agriculture, ride donkeys, etc. So the costume should be spacious and comfortable. The "fallahi" djellaba is smaller from below, with sleeves with French cuffs, an officer collar and a pocket at the top left. Below it is enough to wear pants. “It takes a certain technique to sew each design with a perfect finish, because the man wears this suit with great pride,” Monsef explains, showing the back of a djellaba and how the work is so perfect that the stitches are not noticed as if the fabric is not sewn. Currently, the majority of its customers are the wholesale merchants of the big souks, the concierges, the employees, the workers… These are those who prefer to wear the djellaba for most of the time or even all the time. But also, Monsef continues, he has clients who are doctors, lawyers and judges who insist on having djellabas that they wear on certain occasions. In the midst of modern clothing that has evolved over the years and the pace of life that has also changed, requiring more practical clothes, the djellaba has lost much of the place it occupied among the Egyptians. However, there are those who still insist on wearing it and those who wear it in exchange for modern clothing.

Currently, in large cities, the common thing is that people who wear djellabas during their daily life are either merchants, janitors or day laborers. "I only wear the shirt and pants when I'm cleaning people's cars for one or two hours every day, because it's more convenient. Otherwise, I stay with the djellaba all the time,” says Zakariya Kamal, a janitor from Minya, Upper Egypt. Others, we only see them in djellaba on Friday during prayer. The djellaba signifies comfort, elegance and pride, as stated by Nasser Al-Tabeï, a 62-year-old doctor. The latter, originally from a village around Cairo, considered the beginning of Upper Egypt, spends most of his weekends and holidays in his village. He comes down from his house in Cairo with the djellaba, because people in his village are not used to seeing him with a shirt and pants. "Sometimes neighbors and cousins ​​come to my clinic for me to examine them and see me in a modern suit, but that's just during work," says Nasser. Arriving in my native village in a djellaba, I feel relieved and I behave like a peasant. The children of the latter refused to wear this traditional costume, because they are not used to it like him. “For them, jeans are the go-to suit, and I see a lot of young people thinking the same way,” Nasser says.

Back to basics

djellaba, chall and turban... a typical "saeidi" style

However, there are young people like Mohamad Ahmad, 30, who keeps a djellaba in his wardrobe to wear as soon as he returns to his parents' house in Batanon, a village in the governorate of Charqiya. “Here, people meet with the common costume, they forget their jobs, their positions and all look alike. It makes you feel comfortable,” says Mohamad, adding that he learned from his father and uncles that it's shameful for real men not to wear a djellaba. Visiting any village during the festivals, we will see a great parade of djellabas which are brand new. Because it is during wedding celebrations that men and children make new djellabas at the couturier. We do not hang them in the wardrobe, we fold them very carefully. Indeed, for the inhabitants of the villages, the djellaba is the garment of all time. The children wear "kastor" djellabas to sleep, play and go out. Same thing for adults who sleep, spend the day at home, receive people or go out, all with the same djellaba. They change it in case it needs to be washed or if there is a special occasion.

In Upper Egypt the link is very strong between the djellaba and pride.

Maybe all djellabas have the same shape, but they don't have the same value. “The djellaba is also an identity card for the person who wears it. One can know his social position and his financial level with a simple look at his djellaba: the kind of fabric, the extensive train, the material used around the neck and the opening of the chest, whether silk, satin or in cotton. All these details, in addition to the accessory that the person wears such as the shawl, the turban and sometimes one or two silver rings with precious stones, determine the social class of the person and the degree of respect that he deserves”, says Dessouqi, asserting that this is how the business unfolds in rural societies far from cities and their jumble. "Show me your djellaba, I'll tell you who you are!" “, he concludes.

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