From Anatolian djellaba to the jabador … a story of renewed traditional clothing that Moroccans love during Ramadan

Umm Majd stands in the middle of a traditional clothing store on the outskirts of the capital, Rabat, while the seller displays in front of her a number of different-colored “gabaduras”, and she finally chooses one for her son in a blue color. She seems satisfied with her choice. The color and size seem appropriate for her two-year-old son.

She tells Al-Jazeera Net that she is keen for her young son to wear traditional clothes on religious occasions, as she always seeks to link him with the heritage of her country and its traditions of dress. Read also Ramadan Zaman in Morocco .. Popular songs for children and rituals celebrating the young fasting Ramadan is a time in the countryside of Syria … the blind sorcerers that the people of the village do not forget Ramadan is a time in Lebanon .. Memories of familiarity and simplicity when families were one heart Ramadan is a time in Egypt .. why do cafes acquire a historical special for Egyptians in the holy month?

Ramadan and traditional dress

In Ramadan, Moroccans tend to wear the traditional dress of djellaba, caftans, Daraa and jabador, as they are part of the details of this great month.

Shops selling traditional costumes are known to have a big movement in this period of the year, and they seek to meet customers’ demands in terms of various offers, colors and new designs.

Ahmed, the owner of a store that sells traditional clothes in the old city of Rabat, says that the traditional dress is associated with religious occasions, and Moroccans prefer to wear it during Ramadan during family visits, while they perform prayers in the mosque and also on Eid al-Fitr.

Safaa Bin Ayyad, a fashion designer for Al-Jazeera Net, says that as a designer, she preserves the identity of the jabador, which is reflected in the work of the “teacher”, meaning the sword, knot, and mesh, but she adds a modern touch to it to make it desired and suitable for all tastes and ages.

And after the Gabador was associated in the past with certain dresses such as “Moubra” and “Al Malifa”, Safaa explains that today designers use all dresses such as “satin”, “crepe”, “lace” and others.

Comfort and elegance

Other Moroccans prefer to use fashion designers to get advice and wear traditional clothes that fit what they need, whether they prefer it traditionally with heritage touches or modern touches and modern cuts that fit the current lifestyle.

Safaa says that practical women prefer to wear the jabador over other traditional clothes, because it combines elegance and comfort. In Ramadan, for example, women tend to wear comfortable and practical clothes during the day, whether at work or study, with a traditional touch, so the appropriate choice is the jabador, as it does not hinder her movement and can wear it with any pants or shirt, with classic or sports shoes.

Men’s taste and elegance too

The Jabador is mainly men’s clothing, as is the case with the jilbab and the caftan, but it is currently associated with women more thanks to the work done by fashion designers in developing traditional women’s clothing until they brought it to the world. On the other hand, the men’s traditional dress remained rigid and confined to old designs, according to the words of designer Abdel-Wahab Benhadou.

Abdel-Wahab is trying enthusiastically and effortlessly to get out of this tunnel and make the men’s traditional dress in line with the lifestyle, by creating new designs and sometimes adopting European designs in which he puts his mark and his Moroccan traditional mark, in his view, taste and elegance are not associated with women only, but also with men.

He tells Al-Jazeera Net that Moroccans prefer today to wear the upper part of the jabador only with jeans or with any other trousers, and he pointed out that based on his studies of the market, young people, especially in the age group between 20 and 35, prefer to wear traditional clothes such as the jabador with a modern touch. And close in design to what they wear on ordinary days.

Abdel-Wahab tries – as he says – to put in his designs for men touches that are inspired by yesterday and include all the values ​​and principles inspired by traditional industry, but they keep pace with the times and target the generations of today and tomorrow.

He believes that our traditions should not be limited to dress in religious and national occasions, but should be present every day, and for this he stresses the role of designers in listening to Moroccans and knowing their daily needs and what they want, so they innovate within the scope of traditions and traditional dress.

Ottoman jabador

The Jabadur, as it is rumored among the people, was called (the Jabadol), which is an urban outer garment that is placed above the underwear when a man wants to adorn or go out of his house to spend his private ends, and it is similar to the jilbab but differs from it in that it has no title (i.e. without a head covering) and its sleeves end And his footnotes are all Balsafah and Al-Zafoora tapes.

According to the book of the teacher of Morocco, this dress was transferred to Morocco from the east with the Ottomans when they extended their influence over most of the Levant and North Africa.

Although the Ottomans were not able to enter Morocco and make it within the regions of their empire, their influence was not stopped by the borders between Morocco and Algeria starting from the tenth century AH, especially at the level of food, clothing and some other social customs, especially in urban areas and at higher social circles where the habits of behavior were In matters of life, the Ottomans have a model to emulate and borrow from.

Origin of the word jabador

According to the same source, the word “Jabadol” originally consisted of two Arabic words: “Anatolian jilbab”, the first dip in the second and then softened its pronunciation.

Safaa Bin Ayyad says that despite the Ottoman origin of the Jabador, after entering Morocco, he experienced great changes in the level of length, dresses and decoration, and acquired a Moroccan touch, like many fashion that entered Morocco from other cultures, but it did not remain the same but rather developed according to the new incubating culture. Skilled craftsmen have made their mark on it.