Culture

This week I had the opportunity to fly to Abu Dhabi and on my flight I was seated with a very large Arab family, approximately 20 people.  The gentlemen must have been 85 years old and he had several women with him. Many commented that they were his wives, and I do believe that two of them were but perhaps the rest of daughters.  I had never seen so many family members on a flight before but I also was able to observe the culture aspects of family more closely.  The family was very attentive to the older gentlemen needs but it was the relationship among the women that intrigued me the most.  The younger women were very quick to administer to the needs of the older women and to their own mother. My flight was disturbed by two daughter seated near the front of the aircraft that spend their whole time in the aisle checking on their mother. They would help her with her headdress,bring her snacks, just total attentiveness.   You could tell that the younger women have a sense of obligation to their mothers. 

I noticed that all the older women in the group had a metal like mask on their face. I have not seen this in Saudi but I was told that in theUAE you tend to see it more on older women of status. It's an older Bedouin tradition from some of the tribes. The first glimpse of it is very shocking!!

 I was so intrigued that I began to research it and learned that it's called a batulla/batula, which you may see  in Qatar, UAE, and sometimes Bahrain. I have been told that it is traditionally worn by married women, but it is also worn by young women who either want to remain unmarried or who believe they may never marry. As such it represents a symbol in progress through the stages of life as well as a mark of traditional respectability and family status. The decision to wear it can be personal or induced through decisions in the family.

 I am learning that every piece of the Muslim apparel has such significance attached to it that I would like to explore it more, perhaps I will write about it tomorrow.  Thanks for following me, my knowledge base is growing and I am glad to share with you.