FOTOT/ Femrat e maskuara: Tradita e rrallë shekullore irakene që ndiqet ende

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FOTOT/ Femrat e maskuara: Tradita e rrallë shekullore irakene që ndiqet ende

Më: 11 shkurt 2016 Në ora: 00:29

Një fotograf francez ka vizituar disa fshatra në Gjirin Persik dhe ishullin e Qeshm.

Aty ai ka hasur me një traditë tepër të veçantë të femrave vendase.

Ato përdorin një maskë të çuditshme në formë mustaqesh në fytyrë.

“E kemi vendosur që në moshën 9-vjeçare”, thotë një prej femrave irakene teksa shpjegon historinë e këtyre maskave.

Ato përdoreshin shekuj më parë për të mashtruar pushtuesit.

Nga larg, femrat me këto maska dukeshin si meshkuj me mustaqe dhe nuk ngacmoheshin.

Por megjithë evoluimin e traditave, femrat irakene e kanë mbajtur të paprekur ndër shekuj këtë traditë të çuditshme.

A Bandari woman wears a traditional mask with a moustache shape, Qeshm Island, Salakh, Iran. A French photographer has captured a set of stunning portraits of women in Southern Iran who wear an intriguing face mask called the boregheh. The traditional accessory has have been worn for centuries by the Bandari people - Arab Iranians who live on the southern coast and on islands in the Persian GulfA smiling woman wears a traditional mask with a moustache shape. Qeshm Island is home to several masks styles and local people are able to immediately recognise which village someone is from by their mask and they are worn by both Shiite and Sunni Musilms. But Shiites tend to wear red rectangular masks, while Sunnis usually wear black or golden ones with indigo and less geometric shapes

A Bandari woman wearing a traditional mask at Panjshambe Bazar market held in Minab on the mainland every Thursday. It's a meeting place for women who come to buy and sell masks, belts and shalwars - beautiful multicolored embroidered pants - and exchange news and gossip over a shisha pipe

A Bandari woman wearing a traditional gold mask with a moustache shape on Qeshm Island, Salakh, Iran, which gives a severe and enigmatic appearance. The moustache shape was designed centuries ago to fool invaders, so they would mistake women for male soldiersThe prominent vertical part of the mask that runs along the nose is made from depressor sticks, used by doctors to push the tongue down to examine the throat. If they're not available from the local pharmacy an ice cream stick (pictured) makes a good substitute, while other rigid structures of the mask are made of small branches from palm trees

Eric describes the making of the boregheh as being like a 'folding game' of cotton and indigo coloured sheets, which are specially made in Mumbai and have been imported for centuries

Eric visited Ameneh, one of three Sunni seamstresses who make masks in the village, to learn about the process of mask-making. While her husband was sailing from port to port, visiting places such as Muscat, Mukala, Mogadishu, Berbera, Zanzibar and Lamu, she learned to sew and make the boreghehs

A Bandari woman wearing a traditional mask showed Eric one she was sewing when he visited Hormozgan in Minab, Iran. Each mask takes two days to make and is made-to-measure for the wearer

The golden ornaments on the veils and masks are reserved for weddings, to add a touch of sparkle during ceremonies. They also signify good financial health for anyone who wears such an ornate mask in everyday life, according to Eric

Shiite Muslims tend to wear red rectangular masks and the embroidery style also shows the ethnicity of its owner

Eric explained that he had to seek permission before taking pictures of anyone as 'stealing' an image is considered an insult. When he travelled to the village of Jargan where the finest Shiite rectangular red embroidered masks are made, women remained indoors and none were willing to be photographed by him

A traditional woman pictured on Qeshm Island, Salakh, Iran. One woman explained to Eric that she would feel shame if she went out on the street without her mask

A father is pictured with his son and second wife who is much younger than him at 20 years old. Polygamy is very common among the Baluch people, a conservative ethnic group who live mainly in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan

A bandari woman wearing is pictured with her husband on Qeshm Island. One man told Eric that he prefers his wife when she's wearing a mask because it's more beautiful, and also because it's in line with their religious beliefs

At the Panjshambe bazaar in Minab, masked women sell multicoloured bras which Eric observed are in contrast with the rigor of their own modest clothing

At an artistic performance at Zinat's home, she puts an iron mask to a girl, to represent the oppression she suffered when she was young and was forced to wear the mask in her village of Salakh

It's becoming less common for young people on Qeshm Island to wear the masks that cover most of their faces and it's mainly a tradition among older Bandari women. 'It's to hide our wrinkles, we are not pretty to look at,' one grandmother told Eric

Eric pointed out that the mask in no way prevents women from enjoying a social life or speaking to men as happens in a strict regime such as Saudi Arabia

Wearing the mask has became for many a cultural sign rather than a religious one. But one woman told Eric she would never go out in the street without one

A girl traditionally starts wearing the boregheh once her parents have agreed a marriage with the groom's family

A market like Bandar Abbas bazaar is the kind of conservative setting where women would not be seen in public without their mask

Women used to embroider the masks by hand, however sewing machines have taken over. But it still takes two days to create a mask as they are always made to measure. Two holes must fit perfectly in front of the eyes so they don't cause blurred vision. The forehead and nose have to be covered, and the mouth is often hidden by adding a veil

Sunni Muslim women tend to wear black or golden masks with less geometric shapes, especially in the coastal village of Salakh on Qeshm Island, where ancestral traditions are still closely followed

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