Burnous
Long woolen cloak with a hood, worn in North Africa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A burnous ( in tamazight ⴰⴱⵕⵏⵓⵙ, abernus, in kabyle, ⵉⵠⵉⴷⵉ, ividi[1] or abernus[2], in chleuh ⴰⵙⵍⵀⴰⵎ, aslham,[3] in darija برنوس, bernus ), is a long cloak of coarse woollen fabric with a pointed hood, often white, traditionally worn by Amazigh men in North Africa.[4] In the region know as Tamazgha or the Maghreb.
Origin and etymology
Origin
This cloak is commonly worn in North Africa although its usage used to be more widespread in the past. Nowadays its sighting would become more common in the countryside or during cultural and patrimonial events. Ibn Khaldoun, when talking about the Maghrebis of his time said that the burnous was a garment worn by the Amazigh or Berbers[4]. This tradition remains ancient enough that researchers and academics struggle to pinpoint its exact origin in time[5].
The antiquity of the burnous stayed an unresolved question until A. Berthier and F. Logeait uncovered the rock engraving of Sigus, south of Constantine, where one of them depicts figures wearing a large hooded cloak.[4] In antiquity, this garment carried the name of byruss Numidicus, meaning « numidian hooded cloak » as it is mentioned as such in the Expositio totius mundi et gentium.[6]
The term birrus, birrum or burrus to refer to a cloak worn in Africa was also used by Saint Agustine in his time[4]. Especially since the same cloak appears in the list of products whose prices were fixed by the Edict on Maximum Prices at the end of the 3rd century.[4]
According to the Encyclopédie berbère, Procopius of Caesarea reports that the Moors wore thick cloaks. However, these differ somewhat from the description of the burnous, as they were “the size of a Thessalian chlamys and fastened with a gold fibula.” Corippus (a Roman epic poet of the 6th century) writes that the Moors wrapped themselves in a rough covering, a description reminiscent of the goat-hair fabric used in some brown burnouses (burrus).[4]
It is known that at the time of the Arab conquest, the Arabs distinguished among the Berbers two distinct groups: the Branès and the Botr. It is tempting to connect the name of the former with that of the burnous (plural branès). The appealing hypothesis of William Marçais is therefore that “the Arabs may have designated these groups according to their clothing: on one side the ‘wearers of burnous’, on the other the ‘short-clothed’ (abter, plural botr, meaning cut short, short, and later symbolically ‘without descendants’), which hardly fits Madghès el-Abter who is placed precisely at the head of the genealogy of the Botr.”[4]
There is also a common misconception that Ibn Khaldun called the Berbers in Arabic aṣḥāb al-barānis, meaning “the people of the burnous.” This is actually a false legend attributed instead to a 17th-century Moroccan historian.[7]
Georges Marçais also attests to an old custom dating back to the Roman period of offering a garment similar to the burnous to leaders to whom one wished to show friendship. This practice is still attested during the Byzantine period in North Africa. The Umayyad caliph Al-Hakam II sent Ordoño IV, king of Kingdom of León, a burnous embroidered with gold, with a hood made of solid gold and enriched with gemstones.[8] This custom was still practiced in Algeria during the time of the deys, who presented a burnous to sheikhs as a sign of the authority entrusted to them. The practice continued during the colonial period.
Etymology
Several hypotheses exist regarding the etymology of the term “burnous.”[4] According to the Encyclopédie berbère, one hypothesis is that “the name burnous could derive from the Latin burrus which refers to a brown-colored cloak.” This Latin root also gave the French word bure[4]. In his Dictionary of Common Berber Roots, Mohand Akli Haddadou mentions the existence of a root “BRNS” shared by Berber languages, which produces words such as abernuh, abernuz, or abernus...[9]
Depending on the region, the burnous is also called abidi or abernus (in Kabylia, the Mzab, and the Oued Righ in Algeria), aâlaw, selham, or aselham (in Morocco), ahitus (in the Middle Atlas), azennaṛ (in the eastern High Atlas), etc. The multiplicity of terms used to designate it in Berber may cast doubt on the Latin origin of the word. Augustine of Hippo mentions a cloak called birrus, birrum, or burrus, worn in Africa in his time; the same cloak appears in the list of products whose prices were fixed by the Edict on Maximum Prices at the end of the 3rd century, meaning it was known throughout the Empire.[4]
In Algerian Darija, the term Branès, referring to a branch of the Berbers, is the plural of burnous. The hypothesis is that this name grouped together all the tribes wearing this garment, as opposed to other Berber groups dressed in short tunics, the Botr.[10]
According to Georges Marçais, the etymological origin is uncertain. He proposes two theories: an Arabic origin and a Latin origin. He notes that a root birrus exists in Latin, but that the term burnous is “very ancient in Arabic.”
Indeed, in Arabic the term is mentioned notably in a hadith (collections of the sayings and oral teachings of the Prophet in Islam). However, in older Eastern texts it refers to a garment: “a long cap, a hood, or a body garment whose form may vary but which is always extended by a head covering, a hood…” The Arabic etymology tends to attribute the word to the hood that finishes the garment, whereas the Latin etymology focuses on the body of the cloak as the original element.
The fact that the latin sources describing the garment as a Berber cloak date back to antiquity and much precede the Arab invasions demonstrates that Arabs could not have possibly introduced the Amazigh to it nor could they have been the origin of the name.
More broadly, in the Iberian Peninsula, where the burnous was used during the time of Al-Andalus, the word was adopted into Spanish and became albornoz, described by Sebastián de Covarrubias in the Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española (published in 1611) as follows:
“It is a closed cloak fitted with a hood and worn during travel.”
Usages
In North Africa
A white burnous, rarely black or blue, is worn as a cloak when it is cold. Burnouses are woven from very fine wool. In Egypt the burnous was worn by the Mamluks. In Morocco the burnous is also referred to by the term selham.
In Algeria
Abd el-Kader wearing a burnous
The burnous is a typical and traditional garment, but also an emblematic symbol in Algeria, representing dignity, social status, and nobility.
The brown burnous made of dromedary hair, also called louabri (a name derived from the Arabic word loubar — وبر — meaning camel wool), is light and extremely fine. It is an exclusive specialty of the oasis of Messaad, located southeast of Djelfa in Algeria. It is generally prized throughout the Saharan Atlas, particularly in the Ouled Naïl Mountains and the Amour Mountains, which are considered centuries-old centers for weaving and making this classic garment by women working at home.
It is a hooded men’s cloak, hand-woven from brown dromedary wool, a thick, soft, curly fiber obtained once per season after shearing. Its production on a traditional loom follows a complex process involving a long chain of laborious steps: removing impurities, washing, drying, untangling, and softening the wool until it becomes clean yarn ready for weaving according to several weaving patterns. All of these operations, exhausting for the women who perform them, require dexterity and memorization of the gestures involved.
A symbol of power, the burnous gained prestige in the circles of the Algerian state and high society.
The city of Mascara specialized in the manufacture of black burnouses, called zerdani. These burnouses, made from black sheep wool cloth (khidous), are still produced in western Algeria. The burnous of Mascara in particular is distinguished by its lightness and durability.[11] During the Ottoman period in Algeria, this burnous was adopted by the Turks and exported throughout the Mediterranean basin, from Turkey to Egypt.
In Kabylia, the burnous is made from sheep’s wool. Traditionally produced at home by women, the craft is passed down from mother to daughter. Often white, it may also be brown. Although worn by men, women also wear a similar garment, though different, as it is made from cotton. During an Algerian wedding, the bride wears a specific burnous.
One of the famous works of the French sculptor Charles Cordier depicts an Arab from Algeria wearing a burnous. Created in 1856, this sculpture exhibited at the Musée d'Orsay is titled Arabe d'el-Aghouat en burnous (“Arab of El-Aghouat in a burnous”).
The burnous is also a symbol of peace and purity. This traditional garment has survived modernity and continues to be highly valued throughout the country. Besides being worn in the Aurès Mountains, Kabylia, the steppe regions, and the high plains of Sétif, the burnous is still worn during ceremonies and Algerian wedding celebrations.
Young boys still wear it during their circumcision ceremony. During wedding festivities, the groom proudly dons the white burnous, while his bride often crosses the threshold of the family home dressed in a burnous and under one side of the patriarch’s burnous (her father’s or the eldest man in the family). The latter lifts the hood as a sign of his blessing.
See also
Related articles
- Suelburnus, a character in Asterix (the joke comes from the expression “suer le burnous”, meaning “to make someone sweat under the burnous,” i.e., to make **Maghrebis work without paying them”).
