.jpg) ABahraini man wearing a keffiyeh with an agal over it | |
| Type | Arab clothing |
|---|---|
| Material | Goat hair |
| Place of origin | Arabian Peninsula |
Anagal (Arabic:عِقَال; also spellediqal,egal, origal) is a clothing accessory traditionally worn by tribalArab men. It is a doubled black cord used to keep akeffiyeh in place on the wearer's head.[1] Agals are traditionally made ofgoat orcamel hair.[2] Modern agals typically use cord manufactured for this purpose (rulers ofBahrain in particular are known for wearing elaborate agal designs), but plain rope is still occasionally utilized.[3]
It is traditionally worn by Arabs from theArabian Peninsula,Iraq,[4]Jordan, parts ofPalestine, theNegev in Israel,Deir ez-Zor andHauran and Rural Areas like Rif Dimashq and Homs and Aleppo countrysides and Hama in Syria,Sinai andSharqia in Egypt), and byAhwazi Arabs.
The use of the agal andghutra is dated through antiquities includingbas-reliefs and statues going back to ancient times. The agal is traced inSemitic[5] and Middle Eastern civilizations and even inancient Arabian kingdoms. In his bookIran in the Ancient East, the archaeologist and IranologistErnst Herzfeld, in referring to theSusa bas-reliefs, points to the ancient agal as unique headwear of Elamites that distinguished them from other nations.