Having fun with bedouin jewelry!

It's funny how some things catch your attention after years of passing them by while out and about. That's just one of my specialities here in Egypt--being out and about and poking around and looking for interesting things.

Egypt is so old! Most people think of Egypt as the land of the pharaohs but it's so much more than that, including the Greeks, Romans, Turkish Ottomans, Mamluks from eastern Europe, nomadic bedouin tribes from all over northern Egypt, Coptic Christians, and Europeans, all of whom have left their mark on the culture of modern Egypt. And for me the fun part of all that is finding old and new interesting things.

My hugely adventurous friend Penni actually planted the seeds in my bedouin interest with this book she gave me a year ago about Siwa (bottom right). After I bought my first piece of jewelry about two months ago I was happy to find these books specifically about bedouin jewelry. The open book at the top describes jewelry from Yemen. These fascinating books are my references and are filled with great photographs, as you can see. 

Old bedouin jewelry is both similar and distinctive. Made from silver, they incorporate a variety of symbols to protect against the "evil eye." "Silver is associated with goodness, and is prized for its healing properties and as a defense against evil. It's highly reflective surface will surely deflect the first glance of the evil eye." (Siwa, Jewelry, Costume, and Life in an Egyptian Oasis). The evil eye is a fascinating and common belief in this part of the world.


For generations jewelry has been a bedouin woman's most prized possession. When a bedouin couple become engaged part of the contract is how much jewelry the groom will give to the bride. The jewelry belongs only to her. It's her savings account, her retirement, her safety nest in times of need. Even in modern Egypt a bride gets a certain amount of gold from the groom. The marriage contract states the gold content and how many grams are to be given. The jewelry is then displayed at the engagement party that is almost as large as the wedding.

Bahariya

Silver was traditionally the prized metal for jewelry although now bedouin women want gold because it is more fashionable. The silver content in old bedouin jewelry ranges from .600, .800, and .900 silver. The poorest families could only afford "white metal" or "low silver" jewelry that was made of nickel and brass. When we are poking around we always look for the tiny hallmark stamps and get really excited when the artist has stamped his name or icon. One of the most famous artist was a jewelry maker named Gab Gab who made Siwan jewelry. It would be a miracle to find something with his signature.

This bracelet (left) is from Bahariya oasis and the big flowery stamps indicates the name of the artist (though I've forgotten his name). The three tiny stamps tell me that its .800 silver , made in 1943, and silver because of the lotus icon. Before 1940 the silver icon was a cat. I have a few pieces with the cat stamp.

This matching set (shown front and back) was the first pieces of bedouin jewelry to catch my eye. I think it was the sharp pin--what on earth is that for? Earrings?? The man in the shop thought it was for nipples! It was my driver who showed me how they are pinned into clothes and I've demonstrated it here. They are pinned on a dress or on a headband which then hang almost like earrings. They are "Berber"which generally denotes bedouin cultures from Morocco and that area west of Egypt. They are made of white metal with no stamps. Bedouin jewelry is full of symbolism; the red coral beads here are for fertility, fake coins at the bottom for wealth. I paid $65 for these and saw the same set on eBay listed for $450.00.  I was lucky to find these pieces because they are not common in the shops we go to in the Khan and elsewhere.

Okay here are my favorite pieces of bedouin jewelry!! These pieces are known as zar. "Zar is a healing ritual complex practiced in societies around the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. The word zar also refers to any number of djinn spirits who possess humans and afflict them with troubles and ailments." (Zar, Spirit Possession, Music, and Healing Rituals in Egypt). Zar jewelry is worn during zar ceremonies in which the healer tries to rid the person of the bad spirits. They always have bells and noise makers attached to them to drive the spirits away. They also have verses from the Quaran inscribed on them. See the big round disc I am holding? Its very similar to the necklace on the cover page of the book titled The Traditional Jewelry of Egypt.

My favorite Khan shopkeeper has promised to text me when he has new zar pieces. 😊😂

These bracelets are from Nubia, which used to exist between central Sudan and southern Egypt. The stamps on the single bracelet include a cat stamp and tell me that its .800 silver and made in 1937-1938.

The three-piece bracelet is interesting because its made of single bracelets soldered together, each with their own set of stamps. The more you could afford the more bracelets you could have. This bracelet has the the lotus stamp, is .600 silver, and was made in 1944-1945.

Here are brass earrings and a white metal amulet from Yemen. The shape of the amulet was designed to hold verses from the Quaran or pieces of paper with magic symbols. This is just a bit of a large necklace. Bedouin necklaces can be quite large and heavy because they also used beads made of glass, amber, and coral.












These white metal necklaces are from Siwa. The rectangular ring is .800 silver and handmade. The other ring, I learned, is also .800 silver but machine made. The large pendant in the center is called an adrim and is worn by all unmarried girls. This adrim is kind of on the dull side. I've got my eyes out for one that is more representative of the style.



It's so much fun looking for bedouin jewelry. There is a range of shopkeepers who are honest and not-so-honest. Our first question is always "where is this from?. So far we've seen jewelry from Siwa, Sinai, Nubia, Yemen, and Afghanistan. But even within Yemen, Egypt, and elsewhere the jewelry changes from region to region. I am building my collection with jewelry from as many regions/tribes as I can find. Though not a big fan of jewelry from Afghanistan. Too big and clunky. My goal is to have a box full of fun and interesting things to try on, handle, and learn about.