Haik (garment)

The haik (Arabic: حايك) is a traditional women's garment worn in the Maghreb.^[1] It can be white or black, though is usually white. It consists of a rectangular fabric covering the whole body.^[2]

Algerian women wearing haik during a demonstration in Algiers.

Etymology

The word is borrowed from the Maghrebi Arabic word hayk, which comes from the Arabic verb hāka which means "to weave". First used in French in the form heque (1654), it underwent many variations – hayque (1667), alhaic (1670), eque (1670), haic (1683), hayc (1686). The word haik in French was at first of the feminine gender (1725) and became masculine in 1830.^[3]

Origins and description

Illustration of an Algerian wearing a haik in the 16th century.

The haik is of Arab-Andalusian origin,^[4] and present throughout the Maghreb.^[5][6] In 1792, the m'laya, a black veil, popular in the eastern part of Algeria, made its appearance to mourn Salah Bey, Bey of Constantine.^[7] Made from wool, silk or synthetic silk fabric, the haik succeeded, in a very short time, to spread throughout all regions of the country, but its use was adapted to the socio-cultural specificities of the region. English anthropologist Thomas Athol Joyce describes women's attire of Algeria in his book, Women of all nations, a record of their characteristics, habits, manners, customs and influence (1915):

The dress of Arab women usually consists of a white striped shawl, called a haik, made of coarse or fine stuff according to the social position and wealth of the wearer, which is thrown over the head, and completely veils the user from head to feet. Underneath this haik, arranged across the lower part of the face so that it covers all but the eyes, the bridge of the nose, and a small portion of the forehead left uncovered by the haik, is worn a handkerchief of white linen known as an adjar, which is fastened securely across the face. The costume of Berber women is simpler than that of the Arabs, and consists chiefly of a long tunic-like garment fastened with a girdle round the waist, and a coloured shawl or cloth worn over the shoulders. The women are permitted much greater freedom than among the Arabs, and the all-enveloping veil or haik is not worn. Their ornaments consist chiefly of necklaces, bracelets, chains of gold or beads, ear-rings, and sometimes nose-rings.^[8]

Before him, the Spanish abbot Diego de Haedo, who lived in Algiers during the 16th century (1578 to 1581), described the haik worn by the women of Algeria in his work Topographia e Historia general de Argel (1612):

In order not to be seen outside their homes, they cover their figure with a fine white veil, which they tie with a knot behind the neck, below the eyes and forehead which remain uncovered, then they put over their heads a cloak of very fine woolen fabric, or of wool and silk fabric which they call huyque (haïk). They have this garment carefully whitened by means of washing with soap and fumigation with sulfur, etc. These mantises are like the malaxas we have already spoken of, or like a piece of cloth, 30 palms long and 14 or 15 palms wide. They wrap it around their bodies in such a way that they attach one point to the chest with large buckles or pins of gilded silver, then throw the body of the mantis over the shoulders and head, taking the other end or point under the right arm, and in this way they are so well wrapped that they have just enough to see a little, as through the helmet visor of a man-at-arms.^[9]

One variety of the haik, the haik mrama, became very popular among women for its design, the way it was worn, and the quality of the fabric used by artisans. The haik mrama appeared at the end of the nineteenth century and was worn by urban women of Algiers and its suburbs. This type of veil is often associated with feminine beauty and has inspired many Chaabi poets and singers, who dedicated many of their works to them.^[10]

A variation on the haik called the huik was worn from the 14th until the late 19th century in the Netherlands and Belgium, usually black and made of wool or silk. It was worn by women as a protection against bad weather. Later variants were worn during a period of mourning.

Present-day use

• In Algeria, the haik tends to be abandoned. However, old women wear it, although rarely.^[11]
• In Morocco, the use of haik has all but disappeared, except in the cities of Chefchaouen, Essaouira and Figuig, and rare appearances by old women in Oujda.^[12] The color of the haik is black or blue in the cities of Taroudant and Tiznit.
• In Tunisia, the sefseri, a Tunisian variant of haik made of a single piece of cloth that does not cover the face, has been virtually abandoned. However, it is still sometimes traditionally worn,^[13] especially by older women.

Gallery

• 
  Algiers, Algeria.
• 
  Algerian woman fishing with her haik.
• 
  Mascara, Algeria.
• 
  Oran, Algeria.
• 
  Moroccan woman wearing haik
• 
  Algerian women wearing haik

See also

• Battoulah
• Veil § Islam
• M’laya