Close relative to the European beret, the chechia is originally a cap-shaped bonnet, colored vermillon red in Tunisia as well as in the Libyan regions of Tripolitania and Benghazi (where it is called chenna),[1] whereas in the rest of Libya, it is colored black. Until the 19th century, the chechia was often worn surrounded by a turban.
The chechia, which is flexible, should not be confused with the fez (also called in Tunisia chéchia stambouli[2] or chéchia megidi[3]) which is rigid, conical and high in shape.
The word chechia designates in the Maghreb the cap that is placed on the head and around which a piece of cloth has been rolled for a long time to form the turban. Tradition dates the first manufacture of this headgear in the Tunisian city of Kairouan, in the ninth century. According to the maghrebi traveller and explorer Ibn Battûta during his stay in Chiraz in 1327, the word chechia itself takes its name however from the adjective derived from Shash, name of the current Tachkent in Uzbekistan:
"The next day, an envoy from the King of Irak, sultan Abou-Saïd Bahadour, arrived near the sheikh: it was Nâcir eddîn Addarkandy, one of the main emirs, originally from Khorâçân. When he approached the sheikh, he took off his head his chachiiah, which the Persians call "cala".[4][5]
History
Origins
Cylindrical in shape, the chechia was imported into Tunisia in its current form from Spain, by the Moors, expelled after the capture of Granada in 1492. Finding in Tunisia a second homeland, they established the craft of the chechia there. Its manufacture is quickly considered a refined art and responds to strict traditions.
The archives of the Spanish consulate to the Beylik of Tunis at the end of the 18th century show that Spain was interested in the manufacture of chechias, the secret of which it lost when the Moriscos were expelled at the beginning of the 17th century and that the Spanish government would like to recover to relaunch its production in Spain in state factories,.[6]
In Tunisia, anyone wishing to engage in this particular craft must first pass a thorough examination before a designated committee of craftsmen. Made by skilled "chaouachis", the chechia soon occupied the entire souks, built in 1691 in the Medina of Tunis,[7] so great was its success, which gave work to thousands of people.
From the 1920s, Tunisian separatists increasingly wore the chechia testouriya (originally from the city of Testour) because its name was close to that of their party the Destour.
After Tunisia's independence in 1956, with the arrival of manufactures and customs from Europe, the wearing of the chechia tended to be limited to holidays and religious festivals; it is often associated with elderly people.[8] Manufacturers' incomes were affected and many were forced to give up this craft. Moreover, people living in the countryside tend to abandon this traditional headgear in favor of its less expensive and industrially manufactured equivalents. The absence of a coherent government program contributes to this decline in the eyes of traditionalists.[8]
Moreover, many specialists attribute the decline of this craft to the manufacturers themselves, who lacked creativity and innovation. However, at the end of the 1990s, in an effort to revitalize this industry, many artisans began to manufacture new varieties of chechias in different colors, shapes and decorations, in order to attract a younger clientele. However, very quickly, this momentum wanes as exports of the Tunisian chechia to African countries also run out of steam.[8]
However, official figures given in 2007 by the Tunisian Bureau of Traditional Industries indicate that 80% of chechias are exported to[8]Algeria, Libya and Nigeria, but also throughout the Near East and as far as Asia.
Fabrication
Workshop of a Tunisian chaouachi
The traditional chechia is made of combed wool, knitted by women. The caps are then sent to the fulling. They are wetted with hot water and soap and trodden under foot by men in order to soak them, so that the stitches of the knitting almost disappear. Then comes the treatment of the thistle, which is used for carding or combing the hat, in order to transform the felt into downy velvet. However, more and more often, the thistle is replaced by a wire brush. It is at this stage of manufacture that the chechia is tinted with its famous vermilion red color.
Division of labor and geographical distribution allow its artisanal production on a large scale while maintaining the quality that makes the reputation of the chechia of Tunis. A dozen people, including a third of women, participate in its manufacture in several points of the country chosen according to their human resources or material resources:[9]
Water quality plays an important role, hence the different choices for fulling and dyeing.
References
^"Photo d'une chéchia de la région de Benghazi" (image). sites.google.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020..
^"Photo d'une chéchia stambouli" (image). img.webme.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020..
^"Photo d'une chéchia megidi" (image). img.webme.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020..
^In Persian, kulāhکلاه refers to all kinds of headgear.
^Ibn Battuta (1982). Voyages: de l'Afrique du Nord à La Mecque(PDF). FM/La Découverte (in French). Vol. I. Translated by Defremery, Charles; Sanguinetti, Beniamino Rafflo. Paris. François Maspero. p. 337. ISBN2-7071-1302-6..
^María Ghazali (2002). "La régence de Tunis et l'esclavage en Méditerranée à la fin du XVIIIe siècle d'après les sources consulaires espagnoles". Cahiers de la Méditerranée (in French) (65): 77–98. doi:10.4000/cdlm.43. ISSN 0395-9317. Retrieved 22 November 2020..
^Azzedine Guellouz; Abdelkader Masmoudi; Mongi Smida; Ahmed Saadaoui (2007). Histoire générale de la Tunisie (in French). Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose. p. 137. ISBN978-9973844767..
^ abcd. Magharebia. March 16, 2007. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
^Hassen Annabi (1995). Itinéraire du savoir en Tunisie (in French). Paris: CNRS. p. 182. ISBN978-9973220189..
Bibliography
Mika Ben Miled (2010). Chéchia, le bonnet de feutre méditerranéen (in French). Carthage: Cartaginoiseries. p. 182. ISBN978-9973-704-15-3..
Sophie Ferchiou (1971). Techniques et sociétés (in French). Paris: Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. p. 239.
Nora Lafi (2017). "Une mobilisation de travailleurs contre le machinisme: la Tunisie ottomane entre industrialisation et colonisation". Revue internationale de politique de développement (in French) (8). Retrieved 24 October 2017..
Mohamed Bouamoud (19 October 2007). "Enquête: comment se porte la chéchia ?". webmanagercenter.com (in French). Retrieved 24 October 2017..
February 07, 2023
chechia, country, czechia, star, 192699, chechia, tunisian, arabic, شاشية, ʃɛːʃiæ, listen, traditional, headgear, worn, tunisia, libya, considered, tunisia, national, headwear, tunisian, wearing, chechia, close, relative, european, beret, chechia, originally, . For the country see Czechia For the star see HD 192699 The chechia Tunisian Arabic شاشية ʃɛːʃiae listen is a traditional headgear worn in Tunisia and Libya It is considered in Tunisia to be the national headwear Tunisian man wearing a chechia Close relative to the European beret the chechia is originally a cap shaped bonnet colored vermillon red in Tunisia as well as in the Libyan regions of Tripolitania and Benghazi where it is called chenna 1 whereas in the rest of Libya it is colored black Until the 19th century the chechia was often worn surrounded by a turban The chechia which is flexible should not be confused with the fez also called in Tunisia chechia stambouli 2 or chechia megidi 3 which is rigid conical and high in shape The word chechia also designates the long soft cap adopted by certain French colonial military forces such as the zouaves the tirailleurs and the spahis Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Origins 2 2 Crafts in crisis 3 Fabrication 4 References 4 1 Bibliography 4 2 Related article 4 3 External linksEtymology EditThe word chechia designates in the Maghreb the cap that is placed on the head and around which a piece of cloth has been rolled for a long time to form the turban Tradition dates the first manufacture of this headgear in the Tunisian city of Kairouan in the ninth century According to the maghrebi traveller and explorer Ibn Battuta during his stay in Chiraz in 1327 the word chechia itself takes its name however from the adjective derived from Shash name of the current Tachkent in Uzbekistan The next day an envoy from the King of Irak sultan Abou Said Bahadour arrived near the sheikh it was Nacir eddin Addarkandy one of the main emirs originally from Khoracan When he approached the sheikh he took off his head his chachiiah which the Persians call cala 4 5 History EditOrigins Edit Cylindrical in shape the chechia was imported into Tunisia in its current form from Spain by the Moors expelled after the capture of Granada in 1492 Finding in Tunisia a second homeland they established the craft of the chechia there Its manufacture is quickly considered a refined art and responds to strict traditions The archives of the Spanish consulate to the Beylik of Tunis at the end of the 18th century show that Spain was interested in the manufacture of chechias the secret of which it lost when the Moriscos were expelled at the beginning of the 17th century and that the Spanish government would like to recover to relaunch its production in Spain in state factories 6 In Tunisia anyone wishing to engage in this particular craft must first pass a thorough examination before a designated committee of craftsmen Made by skilled chaouachis the chechia soon occupied the entire souks built in 1691 in the Medina of Tunis 7 so great was its success which gave work to thousands of people From the 1920s Tunisian separatists increasingly wore the chechia testouriya originally from the city of Testour because its name was close to that of their party the Destour Crafts in crisis Edit Inhabitants of Medenine wearing the chechia After Tunisia s independence in 1956 with the arrival of manufactures and customs from Europe the wearing of the chechia tended to be limited to holidays and religious festivals it is often associated with elderly people 8 Manufacturers incomes were affected and many were forced to give up this craft Moreover people living in the countryside tend to abandon this traditional headgear in favor of its less expensive and industrially manufactured equivalents The absence of a coherent government program contributes to this decline in the eyes of traditionalists 8 Moreover many specialists attribute the decline of this craft to the manufacturers themselves who lacked creativity and innovation However at the end of the 1990s in an effort to revitalize this industry many artisans began to manufacture new varieties of chechias in different colors shapes and decorations in order to attract a younger clientele However very quickly this momentum wanes as exports of the Tunisian chechia to African countries also run out of steam 8 However official figures given in 2007 by the Tunisian Bureau of Traditional Industries indicate that 80 of chechias are exported to 8 Algeria Libya and Nigeria but also throughout the Near East and as far as Asia Fabrication Edit Workshop of a Tunisian chaouachi The traditional chechia is made of combed wool knitted by women The caps are then sent to the fulling They are wetted with hot water and soap and trodden under foot by men in order to soak them so that the stitches of the knitting almost disappear Then comes the treatment of the thistle which is used for carding or combing the hat in order to transform the felt into downy velvet However more and more often the thistle is replaced by a wire brush It is at this stage of manufacture that the chechia is tinted with its famous vermilion red color Division of labor and geographical distribution allow its artisanal production on a large scale while maintaining the quality that makes the reputation of the chechia of Tunis A dozen people including a third of women participate in its manufacture in several points of the country chosen according to their human resources or material resources 9 wool spinning Djerba and Gafsa knitting Ariana by specialized women called kabbasat fulling El Battan in the waters of the Medjerda carding El Alia of which the thistle is from dyeing Zaghouan shaping Tunis finishes TunisWater quality plays an important role hence the different choices for fulling and dyeing References Edit Photo d une chechia de la region de Benghazi image sites google com Retrieved 22 November 2020 Photo d une chechia stambouli image img webme com Retrieved 22 November 2020 Photo d une chechia megidi image img webme com Retrieved 22 November 2020 In Persian kulah کلاه refers to all kinds of headgear Ibn Battuta 1982 Voyages de l Afrique du Nord a La Mecque PDF FM La Decouverte in French Vol I Translated by Defremery Charles Sanguinetti Beniamino Rafflo Paris Francois Maspero p 337 ISBN 2 7071 1302 6 Maria Ghazali 2002 La regence de Tunis et l esclavage en Mediterranee a la fin du XVIIIe siecle d apres les sources consulaires espagnoles Cahiers de la Mediterranee in French 65 77 98 doi 10 4000 cdlm 43 ISSN 0395 9317 Retrieved 22 November 2020 Azzedine Guellouz Abdelkader Masmoudi Mongi Smida Ahmed Saadaoui 2007 Histoire generale de la Tunisie in French Paris Maisonneuve et Larose p 137 ISBN 978 9973844767 a b c d Le chechia tunisien lutte pour survivre Magharebia March 16 2007 Archived from the original on October 10 2008 Retrieved July 19 2022 Hassen Annabi 1995 Itineraire du savoir en Tunisie in French Paris CNRS p 182 ISBN 978 9973220189 Bibliography Edit Mika Ben Miled 2010 Chechia le bonnet de feutre mediterraneen in French Carthage Cartaginoiseries p 182 ISBN 978 9973 704 15 3 Sophie Ferchiou 1971 Techniques et societes in French Paris Museum national d histoire naturelle p 239 Nora Lafi 2017 Une mobilisation de travailleurs contre le machinisme la Tunisie ottomane entre industrialisation et colonisation Revue internationale de politique de developpement in French 8 Retrieved 24 October 2017 Related article Edit List of headgearExternal links Edit Category Chechias at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Mohamed Bouamoud 19 October 2007 Enquete comment se porte la chechia webmanagercenter com in French Retrieved 24 October 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chechia amp oldid 1136291345, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
