My Tobe Is My Identity
Khartoum - Khartoum witnessed recently the first of its kind Sudanese Tobe Festival under the sponsorship of Sudanese Businesswomen chairmed by Mrs. Samia Shabbo.
The festival included shows from Sudanese mannequins who presented several designs and colours of the Sudanese Tobe
The Sudanese Tobe, is a traditional women costume which enjoys a distinguished position in the Sudanese society with a deeply-rooted history where it is essential in any women wardrobe, not to mention that it has become an inseparable part of the Sudanese culture and a promoter for the Sudanese cultural identity.
The Sudanese Tobe is known for its stylish beauty which made it a theme of many Sudanese poems and lyrics.
There are famous songs which reflect the admiration of the Tobe and the lady who wears it such as
“I have seen the Tobe and never seen what is more gorgeous,
If so is the Tobe, then how the person dressing in the Tobe would look!!
or
“I have seen the dear love decently dressing in the Tobe, oh; it has added to your splendor, dear charming love…”
According to Mrs. Samia Shabbo who is the Chairman of the Sudanese Tobe Festival they succeeded in encouraging the women to present their innovations and are sure that the Sudanese women can do a lot.
Sudanese Businesswomen started with the Sudanese Tobe Festival, the Sudanese Perfumes Festival. There are still lots of surprises in mind.
The Sudanese women in general respect the Sudanese Tobe and are proud of mothers and family members when they wear the Tobe as an essential dress. Nowadays you can find fashions of Tobes on the occasion including young ladies.
Plastic artist, Dr. Rashid Diab said that the Tobe in general represents a moving and continuous abstract painting especially that we have what we call colours' dryness in our lives. The Tobe whatever its quality can give new spirits to the place
Dr. Zainab Abdallah, Lecturer of costumes in the Music and Drama College said: "Our bodies as African are not similar to the European bodies so the Tobe is the best way to cover the body of Sudanese women. Women from other countries followed the Sudanese method considering that Sudan is the midway for African Muslims in their route to Hajj. It is natural to follow suit the Sudanese way considering that women in other African countries like Mauritania have the same features of Sudanese women.
Regarding whether the Tobe is of Sudanese origin or imported Dr. Zainab Abdallah insists that the Tobe is a pure Sudanese fashion and its materials, design, colour passed through several stages and gradually moves from the locally made cotton fabric towards silk of these days."
Number of studies have proved that the Tobe had appeared since the Sudanese Bajrawiya civilization, i.e. more than 10.000 years ago.
It was a national costume for the queens.
The first Sudanese Tobe appeared in two types, the first was known as the Kanja and the second Al-Zaraq or what is known as Al-Neela and which is made of woven strings of the Sudanese cotton.
Latter on appeared Sudanese Tobes such as Al-Taraqa and the blank Krip which was brought from Egypt by merchants known in Sudan as Al-Nagada, noting that Al-Kirip Tobe is characterized by its black color and soft fabric.
Al-Kirib, which is also known as Masr Al-Baida, was a treat of the rich women, After Al-Kirib, appeared Al-Farda Tobes which are also made of the Sudanese cotton.
The Sudanese tobe has witnessed several changes in terms of design and size, as it used to be of two pieces of the same shape and length, four and a half meters each, then the two pieces are woven together in a parallel manner.
Presently the imported Sudanese tobe has become one piece but with the same length and width of the old tobe, i.e. four and a half meters, which is perfect to cover the whole woman’s body.
Regarding the shapes of the Sudanese tobe, the designs and color include drawings, embroidered, blank and water-colored designs, and all these matters are governed by the fashion and style.
The Sudanese tobe is decent and reflects the Sudanese woman’s style and good taste despite its renewable designs.
Additionally, the Sudanese tobe is a traditional woman costume and an important indicator of the economic status of the woman’s husband where the quality and the price of the tobe define the buyer and therefore it’s a means of showing pride among women, particularly during social events where the women compete to wear the most fashionable tobes.
Here, we must mention that any social occasion has a specific type of tobe, for instance, when a woman visits her neighbors, she puts on a simple tobe known as toubal-Jiran (the neighbours’ tobe) and so on.
The term tobe (cloth) is an absolute tern for any dress, but it has a very special meaning for the Sudanese woman as it represents the most important component in her national costume. The tobe therefore constitutes the title of the women’s social and economic status and tops the gifts brought to all women regardless of their age, not to mention that the quality and the price of the tobe reveals the woman’s taste and style.
Any watcher when using the remote control and sees a presenter wearing a Tobe, he will immediately know that she is a Sudanese. The Tobe distinguishes our identity besides it is a Sudanese heritage.
By Muawad Mustafa Rashid, 1 day 18 hours ago
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