Farida Ahmed
In the territory of the province of Cadiz in southern Spain, "Fijer de la Frontera" is a region in which diverse cultures melt, embracing the relics of Andalusia that appear in its buildings, next to the Church of the "Divine Savior" and the remains of Roman antiquities and ancient windmills, and was classified in 1976 as a "historical complex of art."
In 2007, a statue of a woman in a traditional black abaya-dress, the garment that covers the entire body with the exception of one eye, was intended to honor "pottery" women, according to Lonely Planet.
Embroidery for social discrimination
The origins of this outfit have multiple narratives, but the constant is that it consists of white skirts with embroidered belts, white shirts decorated with lace, and a "Saya" or a black belt that attaches to the waist and above it a black cloak lined with white fabric.
Of course, the cost of that outfit is not that high, for the only details that have helped distinguish the economic and social status of its wearers are the unique and exclusive composition of the lace and embroidery of the shirts.
Islamic heritage
Muslims had long ruled the city of Fekher, but the Catholic kingdom of Castilla, known as "Castile", occupied it, after King Ferdinand's victory over the Muslim army.
Some believe that this costume, called "El Cobijado", is an Islamic tradition, according to the Spanish website "Escultura Banarajon".
This theory is supported by the presence of the same garment in the Spanish city of Tarifa, which was also under Islamic rule, but the costume in it has a different name, which is "Tabada".
The accounts indicate that the "Copechado" in "Fekher" is linked to the Islamic presence in Andalusia, because of the city's preservation of the remains of Andalusian heritage, as in the province of Kadesh.
In the center of the city square of "Fijer", there is a fountain dating back to the Andalusian era, as well as the roads surrounding the old city bearing Andalusian inscriptions, and the castle "Fijer de la Frontera" which is located at the top of the city that was built in the 10th and 11th centuries in Andalusian style.
Historical tradition
However, the belief that the "Cobijado" robe is linked to the ancient Islamic presence in that region is denied by Dr. Juan Jesus Cantillo, professor of history and director of the Museum of Fashion and Traditions in Fijer.
He indicated - in an interview with the Spanish newspaper "El Pais" - that the origin of this costume worn by women came after the end of Islamic rule in that region, and dates back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, saying, "At that time, the Islamic heritage in clothing did not exist." "But this method of covering the woman's head and body completely was a well established tradition in the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula," he added.
Pure white skin
A third account indicates that the "Copechado" costume had absolutely no connection with belief or religion, and was originally intended for women of the upper classes, who wanted to preserve the color of their white skin, in order to differentiate them from women belonging to the popular and poor groups who had to work Under the flames of the sun.
Prohibition of wearing
During the civil war in Spain from 1936 to 1939, the Spanish government then banned the wearing of "Copechado," because the costume was used to hide after committing crimes.
The costume, which was prevented due to his association with the crime, became the same as a savior for poor families who were made poor by the war, as women began to take advantage of the cloth used to make it and transform it into children's clothes, bed covers and blankets to make them feel a little warm, and perhaps for its human role is still the National Museum of Fashion in Madrid Keeping one original cobijado.
Victory and honor
In the seventies of the last century, the "Copechado" reappeared again, but timidly, and in the nineties it began to be worn during celebrations of "honoring olives" and on some public occasions, and it became a promotional costume for fashion tourism, and an expression of the "pottery" identity that reached America and was launched On "Cupidado" there is the name "Tabada Limina".
Whatever woven novels and tales about that traditional costume and its affiliation with any religion, belief or culture, it expresses the identity of women in that region that has witnessed civilization, progress and regression, and faced difficulties and prevented from wearing what is expressed, and resisted and clung to it and demanded over the years .