 Tuareg man wearing a litham | |
| Type | mouth-veil |
|---|---|
| Material | cloth |
| Place of origin | North Africa |
| Manufacturer | Tuareg, andSanhaja people |
Litham (Arabic:لِثَام,romanized: lithām, sometimes pronouncedlifam) is a mouth-veil which theTuareg and otherWest and North African nomads, particularly men, have traditionally used to cover the lower part of their face.[1]
The litham has served as protection from the dust and extremes of temperature characterizing the desert environment.[1] In cases ofblood feuds, it also served as protection against violence by making the wearer difficult to recognize.[1] Wearing of the litham is not viewed as a religious requirement, although it was apparently believed to provide magical protection against evil forces.[1]
Ancient African rock engravings depicting human faces with eyes but no mouth or nose suggest that the origins of litham are not only pre-Islamic but even pre-historic.[1] The litham was commonly worn among the BerberSanhaja tribes in north-west Africa.[1] Its use by theAlmoravids, who originated from a Sanhaja clan, gave it a political significance during their conquests in the 11th and 12th centuries.[1] This practice gave rise to Almoravids being pejoratively nicknamedal-mulaththamun (the muffled ones).[2] TheAlmohads, who succeeded the Almoravids as the dominant dynasty in the North African region, opposed the practice of wearing the litham, claiming that it is forbidden for men to imitate women's dress, but they never managed to suppress its use.[1]
Among theTuareg, men wear the litham, also calledtagelmust, while women go unveiled.[3] Tuareg boys start wearing the litham at the onset of puberty and the veil is regarded as a mark of manhood.[3] It is considered improper for a man to appear unveiled in front of elders, especially those from his wife's family.[3] The Tuareg litham is made of several pieces of Sudanese cloth which are sewn together to yield a strip about four yards long.[4]
Thetagelmust (also known ascheich,cheche andlitham) is anindigo-dyedcotton litham, with the appearance of both aveil and aturban. The cloth may exceed 10 metres (33 ft) in length. It is mostly worn byTuaregBerber men, theHausa of the far northern Sahel region and theSonghai. In recent times, other colors have come into use, with the indigo veils saved for use on special occasions. It usually has many layers that cover the head, and it drapes down to loosely cover the neck. It is worn by some French people as a scarf.[citation needed]
The tagelmust covers the head. It prevents the inhalation ofwind-borne sand by its wearers in theSahara region.[5] The indigo is believed by many of the wearers to be healthy and beautiful, with a buildup of indigo in the skin of the wearer being generally considered to protect the skin, and denote affluence.[6] Because of the scarcity of water, the tagelmust is often dyed by pounding in dried indigo instead of soaking it. The dye often permanentlyleaches into the skin of the wearer, and because of this, the Tuareg are often referred to as the "blue men of the desert".[7]
Among the Tuareg, men who wear the tagelmust are calledKel Tagelmust, or "People of the Veil".[8] The tagelmust is worn only by adult males and taken off only in the presence of close family. Tuareg men often find shame in showing their mouth or nose to strangers or people of a higher standing than themselves and have been known to hide their features using their hands if a tagelmust is unavailable. The tagelmust has other cultural significance, since the manner in which it is wrapped and folded is often used to show clan and regional origin, and the darkness to which it is dyed shows the wealth of the wearer.
A number of legends were invented to explain the custom of male veiling.[1] When one fell in battle and lost his litham, his friends could not recognize him until it was put back on.[1] The wordlitham and its derivatives have been widely used in Arabic literature, in particular by the poets, who commonly employed puns between the general meaning oflitham as veil and the verbal rootlathama, which means "to kiss".[1] InOne Thousand and One Nights women use the litham to disguise themselves as men.[1][9] The classical dictionaryLisan al-Arab byIbn Manzur treatslifam as a separate word, describing it as a mouth veil worn by women.[1]
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