This photo essay was produced by a member of the Al Jisr Collective.
Yemenis were among the most famous crafts people in the silver industry in the Arabian Peninsula from the 18th century to the 20th century. Yemeni silver was famous for its use of fine grains of silver and ornaments that form an important part of Yemeni traditional clothing.
Folk fashion still holds an important place in societies across the Middle East. Yemeni traditional clothing, specifically, has influences from regional cultures, even as modernization has accompanied great changes in clothing and fashion.
Though the economic and living situation in Yemen poses many challenges, Yemenis still preserve and wear their popular traditional clothing to this day, especially at weddings and social occasions focused on cultural heritage. And traditional clothing varies from one governorate to another, according to different cultures throughout the country.
Here we share a collection of traditional Yemeni outfits.
Sana'a Popular Clothes
Traditional Sana’a dresses worn by women consist of velvet cloth, which has embroidery and silver stitched into it. A hat is covered with an embroidered and decorated fabric that matches the shape of the dress. In cultural fashion, the side of the face is also decorated with antique silver accessories using pieces of precious stones extracted from the mines of Yemen.
Sana'a curtain
The “Sana’a curtain” is a large, colorful piece of cloth, which is decorated with different shapes. In its entirety, the fabric looks like a painting. The types of material used for the “Sana’a curtain” fabric vary, yet include cotton and silk.
Lahej Sultanate folk clothes
The Sultanate of Lahej, also called the "Sultanate of Abdali" was involved with signing protection agreements with the British Empire in the early 19th century in the area that became part of British Aden, where the Lahej governorate is located in the southwestern part of the Republic of Yemen.
The area is located north of the city of Aden. "Lahej is a new Yemeni governorate and the system there of the Sultanate of Lahej was a sultan regime that lasted from 1728 to 1967.
"Yemeni Lahej" clothes are simple, light, and made of cotton most of the time.
As for feasts and social occasions, especially weddings, Lahej people often wear traditional clothing, originally worn by the sultans and the Lahej families who passed down the tradition from one generation to the next.
Yafa traditional clothing
Yafa is a large mountainous area belonging to the Lahij governorate and is home to one of the largest and oldest tribes in the Arabian Peninsula.
The Yafa wrapper, “Al Ma’oz,” is a piece of traditional art and the most popular wear. The dagger worn by the model is more than 50 years old and is made of cowhide.
The woman in these photos is also wearing traditional clothing. The Yafa'i dress worn by the woman is made of heavy velvet fabric.
The "silver belt" has silver pieces in the form of small bells hanging from it that ring with movement.
Aden folk clothing
Located in the south of Yemen, Aden is one of the oldest Yemeni port cities and is considered the economic capital of the country. The city overlooks the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This strategic location allows the city to control maritime trade passing between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, making it one of the most important ports in the Middle East.
Most of the time, people like to wear light clothing there as well. The wrapper here is known as, "Ma'oz," a shirt and a scarf.
Adeni dress is characterized by inscriptions, ornaments and embroidery. Plain dresses without embroidery are worn at home. The version of the dress that is worn on special occasions is made of a fabric that is embroidered with either gold or silver threads.
In winter, a different dress of heavier fabric with a thicker texture is worn.
Adeni Shader
Adeni dress is one of the traditional garments worn by women in Yemen, specifically in the city of Aden.
It is a black dress made of shiny silk fabric that women wear over their heads and clothing. The dress is without buttons or zippers. It is wrapped around the woman leaving her face exposed. The garment is tightly held with the right hand under the face and is raised from the ground with the other hand. It covers the body and the hair and is used as a veil.
Hadramout folk clothing
Hadramout is in the eastern part of Yemen and is considered an ancient kingdom, as it was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an in the name of "Al-Ahqaf" and it was called “Hadramit” in the Bible. Amer bin Qahtan established his kingdom in the region on the ruins of the state of Aad, which was established 18 centuries before the birth of Christ.
The Hadrami wrapper, “Al Ma’oz,” is a homemade fabric decorated with inscriptions. It is a rectangular piece of cloth that is wrapped around the lower part of the body and is usually worn with a shirt.
The dagger, "Janabiya," is considered an important cultural symbol in Yemen. It has many forms and different cultural meanings. It may be associated with treachery and deception and it also represents boldness and courage in Yemeni culture.
The Yemeni Hadrami dagger, "Janabiya," is a type of Arab dagger that is tied with a belt around the waist.
Shabwa folk clothing
Shabwa region is named after the ancient historical city of Shabwa, the capital of Hadramout. "Shabwa" is an independent governorate that was formed in 1967.
Al Jisr – The Bridge – is a collaboration among students and faculty from four public universities in Yemen and faculty and students at The University of Arizona. Students from University of Aden, Hadramout University, Taiz University, University of Saba Region and the UA are participating in this nine-month cultural exchange project that includes talking about media practices in Yemen and the U.S. Some student work is presented under the Al Jisr collective name for the security and safety of those contributors.