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Bedouin Battoulah

TITLE: Bedouin Battoulah
TYPE: face veil
GENERAL REGION: Middle East
COUNTRY: Yemen
ETHNICITY: Arabic
DESCRIPTION: Bedouin Woman’s Battoulah (Veil Mask)
CATALOG ID: MEYE001
MAKER: Unknown
FUNCTION: social control; status
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: dyed cloth
OTHER MATERIALS: dyed cloth; stitching; turquoise pebbles; coral; pearls; silver decorations; gold beads

Arabic women living in rural areas or hewing to old traditions continue to wear the battoulah, a partial veil mask, throughout the Persian Gulf region.  Although the tradition has fallen out of favor among younger and urban Arabic women, some continue to wear it to indicate their status as married or to avoid unwanted attention. In the distant past, the mask was gold or red in color, but today black and silver predominate.

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Harb Bedouin Mask

TITLE: Harb Bedouin Mask
TYPE: face veil
GENERAL REGION: Middle East
COUNTRY: Saudi Arabia
SUBREGION: Arabian Peninsula (Bilad al-Sham)
ETHNICITY: Arab (Harb)
DESCRIPTION: Harb Bedouin Mask
CATALOG ID: MESA001
MAKER: Unknown
FUNCTION: celebration; social control
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: cotton cloth
OTHER MATERIALS: stitching; silver ornaments

In the Hijaz (Islamic holy land), Arabic women of the Harb tribe wear the veil on certain occasions.  The Harb people are a Bedouin tribe living between western Saudi Arabia and Yemen.  The function of the veil is ostensibly to preserve female modesty, which allows male tribe members to control female bodies.  Such masks are not for everyday use; they would be too hot and heavy. They are worn during special events, such as weddings and feasts, and when strangers visit the camp.

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