Traditional Kurdish dress in decline
2,262 views · Published 12 October 2018 · 3:49 · Indexed 27 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(7 Oct 2018) LEADIN A traditional Kurdish male costume known as Shal and Shekip is facing a decline. The long hours required to make the products along with the high cost of fabric are partly to blame. STORYLINE Rows of colourful woolen fabrics sit on the shelves in this shop in Dohuk, Iraq. They're typically used in a traditional Kurdish male costume known as Shal and Shepik. The dress automatically gives the appearance of a high social class to the person who is wearing it. They are often worn to weddings, funerals, meetings, and other important social and community events. "Shal and Shepik is an old Kurdish traditional clothing, used by our father and grandfathers and we are very proud of it," explains Kurdish clothes seller Jamil Nuri Rustem. "This old and well-known dress becomes like an identity for the Kurds. If you wear them and wherever you go, no one will ask your ID, because your dress will show that you are a Kurd." However, Rustem points out, the Shal and Shepik is declining "day after day". The making of the costume is a very long and complicated process. It must be made of pure goat's wool, which must be premium and carefully selected. The wool has to be cleaned, combined and converted to wool yarn via a hand spindle. Then the yarn is made into pieces 15 centimetres in width and 6 metres in length. Two of these pieces are needed in order to tailor one costume. It's a process which commonly takes place in the Christian villages in the Barwari area, north of Dohuk governorate in the nothern Kurdish region of Iraq. The fabrics are normally brown in colour but can be also dyed with special dye to become blue, white, and green. "Each costume needs about a month, because the required work is very difficult. The woman needs a long time to clean and combine the wool, along with spinning. Approximately 20 days are needed to produce the one kilo of wool that is enough for one costume, and then the manufacturing here in the factory also takes five to six days to make them. Then it will be finished here," says fabric manufacturer Zeiya Audishu Dawoud. The prices vary. A very high quality Kurdish costume could cost up to 1,500 US Dollars, average ones cost between 600 to 800 US Dollars, while a polyester made costume could cost only 200 US Dollars. The high prices and long hours required for the Shal and Shepik are believed to be behind the drop in those making it. However, despite the spread of Western trends in Kurdish society, the vast majority of the old people in Dohuk still wear the clothing. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/cf3943e8b382bff99e295d05b36abd49
