We have learnt that when in Rome, behave like the Romans. What about in Ethiopia? You don’t just learn how to behave like the Ethiopians; it is also awesome to learn how to dress like them. Sit back and relax as we take a look at the traditional dresses in Ethiopia.
In Ethiopia, the way of dressing is greatly influenced by several factors, majorly the climatic condition (which is greatly influenced by the landscape) and the culture of the people in a particular area.
Even though there are still many people who think that all Ethiopians put on the typical snow white attire, it is still difficult to point out a single traditional dress for all of Ethiopia. With that said, the Ethiopians generally wear the Habesha Kemis, which is the traditional dress of the Ethiopians.
Cotton is the main material used in making this dress, giving it that unique and elegant appearance. Usually, the Habesha Kemis comes in white, light-brown and gray colors.
Traditionally, the dress runs down to the ankle and some shiny treads (known as tilet) are used to decorate the bottom of the dress and also around the middle.
Nevertheless, when designing for men, the tilet is fixed at the collar and sleeves, not just at the bottom and around the middle. This gives the Habesha Kemis an astonishing appearance.
Even though this attire originates from the northern parts of the country, each region has a slight modification to the dress.
This dress is usually worn with netela, a scarf which is typically lighter and thinner than the dress. In order to make it complement any other outfit, the netela is crafted in bright colors.
Now, here is one interesting thing about it. Do you know you can tell the mood or activity of an Ethiopian just by the way the netela is worn?
In some regions, the netela is tied on the waist. Likewise, there are parts of Ethiopia it is worn around the arms and shoulders. When relaxing, the embroidered end is wrapped across the left shoulder. In some regions, while mourning the loss of someone, the end of the netela with decorations is used to cover the face.
During some religious activities, the netela is wrapped over the shoulders and back, while the decorated end is folded across the right shoulder.
With that said, even though the netela is the most popular form of scarf used by Ethiopians, there are still other types, especially for Ethiopian women.
They have the "gabi’’, the "docho" and the "fota". In reality, the gabi is bigger than a scarf and looks more like a blanket. As for the docho which is very long, only married women use it. The fota looks more like a towel and usually have a brighter color.
Also, the same tilet (shiny threads) used in decorating the dress is also used on the netela, bringing out more beauty from this Ethiopian attire.
There is this special thing about the tilet that makes it appealing to the eyes. In order to boost creativity, some modern designers also use the tilet in modern bags and other outfits.
