A ''bisht'' ( ar, بِشْت; plural: ''bishūt'' and ''bshūt''), known in some Arabic spoken dialects as ''mishlaḥ'' (Arabic: ) or ''ʿabāʾ'' (Arabic: ), is a traditional men’s
cloak
A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, serving the same purpose as an overcoat, protecting the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. Cloaks have been and ar ...
popular in the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
, and worn in general for thousands of years.
[
According to ancient Christian and Hebrew paintings, a similar robe was worn in the days of Jesus, by the people of the Levant.
The ''bisht'' is a flowing outer cloak worn over a '' thawb''.
]
A symbol of Arab identity
A bisht is usually worn for prestige on special occasions such as weddings, or festivals such as Eid
Eid as a name may refer to:
Islamic holidays
An Eid is a Muslim religious festival:
* ''Eid Milad un Nabi'', alternate name for Mawlid (, "Birth of the Prophet"), the date of observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
* Eid al-F ...
, or for Ṣalāt al-Jumuʿah or Salat al-Janazah
( ar, صلاة الجنازة) is the Islamic funeral prayer; a part of the Islamic funeral ritual. The prayer is performed in congregation to seek pardon for the deceased and all dead Muslims. The is a collective obligation upon Muslims () ...
. It is usually worn by secular officials or clergy, including tribal chiefs, kings, and imams over a thawb, kanzu
A kanzu is a white or cream coloured robe worn by men in the African Great Lakes region. It is referred to as a tunic in English, and as the Thawb in Arab countries. The kanzu is an ankle or floor length garment. It serves as the national costume o ...
or tunic. It is a status garment, associated with royalty, religious position, wealth, and ceremonial occasions such as weddings, like the black-tie
Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element f ...
tuxedo in the West.
Etymology
The triliteral root of the word ''bisht'' is widely used in Semitic languages, including Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
, and is related to the Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic ...
''bishtu'', meaning 'nobility' or 'dignity'.
The alternate name of ''ʿabāʾ'' ( ar, عَبَاء) is from the Arabic triliteral root
The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or "radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowe ...
'' ʿAyn-Bāʾ
Bet, Beth, Beh, or Vet is the second letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Bēt , Hebrew Bēt , Aramaic Bēth , Syriac Bēṯ , and Arabic . Its sound value is the voiced bilabial stop ⟨b⟩ or the voiced labiodental fric ...
-Wāw
Waw/Vav ( "hook") is the sixth letter of the Semitic abjads, including
Phoenician ''wāw'' ,
Aramaic ''waw'' ,
Hebrew '' waw/vav'' ,
Syriac ''waw'' ܘ
and Arabic '' wāw'' (sixth in abjadi order; 27th in modern Arabic order).
It repres ...
'', which relates to 'filling out'.
Colour
It is usually black, brown, beige, cream or grey in colour.
Manufacturing
Bisht is made from camel's hair and goat wool that is spun and wove into a breathable fabric. Some bisht garments include a trim, known as "zari", made out of silk amd metals such as gold and silver.
The fabric has a soft yarned for the summer and the coarsed-haired for winter.
In popular culture
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani placed a bisht on the Argentine captain Lionel Messi before the 35-year-old was handed the trophy.
See also
References
{{Reflist
External links
Bisht on alrashidmall.com
Islamic male clothing
Middle Eastern clothing
Arabic clothing
Robes and cloaks