The fez, also known as a tarboosh, is a felt headdress in the shape of a short, cylindrical, peakless hat, usually red, typically with a black tassel attached to the top.
The fez, with its distinctive shape and vibrant colors, is an iconic headpiece that has captivated the imagination of people around the world for centuries. Originating in the Middle East, this unique hat, known for its cylindrical shape and tassel, has a rich and diverse history that spans continents and cultures.
The name "fez" may refer to the Moroccan city of Fez, where the dye to color the hat was extracted from crimson berries.
Origins in the Middle East
The fez, also known as a tarboosh, traces its origins to the early 19th century in the Middle East, specifically in the city of Fez, Morocco. Word “Fez” is the name of the main town of Morocco, Faas (after 1927, Fes isn’t a capital city, but Rabat).
Fez was renowned for its skilled craftsmen, who created these distinctive hats from red felted wool. The original centre of production appears to have been in Tunis.
Read also: The Allure of Blue and White Tile
On Arabic, Fez is called tarboosh. The word tarboosh is a variant of شَرْبُوش (šarbūš), borrowed from Persian: Sarpūš, a compound of sar, “head” and puš, “cover” (meaning "headgear").
The shape of the cap is a truncated cone familiar to all the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. It was made of red felt, having a black tassel inserted in the middle of the top and hanging down.
Fez formerly had a monopoly on the manufacture of that peculiar form of headdress because it controlled the juice of the berry used to color the fezzes. In history fabric for Fez was dyed with the berries of the kizziljiek plant to become scarlet.
Since the discovery of synthetic aniline colors, however, they were manufactured in France, Germany and Austria. At the turn of the century Austria was the chief center of the fez industry. The 1908 Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina resulted in a boycott of Austrian goods, which became known as the "Fez Boycott" due to the near-monopoly the Austrians then held on the production of the hat.
Initially, the fez was a brimless red, white, or black bonnet over which a turban was wrapped (similar to a wrapped keffiyeh). Later, the turban was eliminated, the bonnet shortened, and the color fixed to red.
Read also: Morocco's Blue Pearl
The tarboosh was depicted as an element of Turkish clothing as early as around 1460. Mehmed the Conqueror wore a jeweled tarboosh wrapped in a white sarık to signify his right of the conquest of Constantinople.
During this period, the Ottoman Empire was at its zenith, and the fez soon became associated with Ottoman culture. The Ottomans adopted the fez as part of their official attire, and it became an emblem of their rule. The modern fez owes much of its popularity to the Ottoman era. It became a symbol of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century.
The fez was practical for the Ottoman climate, offering shade and ventilation while also symbolizing a connection to Islamic tradition.
The Fez in the Ottoman Empire
The fez was more than just a fashion statement in the Ottoman Empire; it had deep cultural and political significance. Sultan Mahmud II (1785-1839) played a pivotal role in the popularization of the fez.
In 1826, Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire suppressed the Janissaries and began sweeping reforms of the military. The modernised military adopted Western-style uniforms and, as headdresses, the fez with a cloth wrapped around it. In 1827, 50,000 fezzes were ordered from Tunis for the sultan's troops.
Read also: Men's Moroccan Fashion
In 1826, he ordered his military to adopt the fez as part of their uniform, replacing the traditional turbans. This move was not only a fashion statement but also a political one; it was a symbol of modernization and an attempt to break away from conservative traditions.
In 1829, Mahmud issued new regulations mandating the use of the fez by all civil and religious officials. The intention was to replace the turban, which acted as a marker of identity and so divided rather than unified the population.
In 1829, the Sultan ordered his civil officials to wear the plain fez and banned the wearing of turbans. The intention was to coerce the populace at large to update to the fez, and the plan was successful. This was a radically egalitarian measure, which replaced the elaborate sumptuary laws that signaled rank, religion, and occupation, foreshadowing the Tanzimat reforms.
To meet escalating demand, skilled fez makers were induced to immigrate from Tunisia to Istanbul, where factories were established in the neighborhood of Eyüp. Styles soon multiplied, with nuances of shape, height, material, and hue competing in the market. The striking scarlet and merlot colors of the fez were initially achieved through an extract of cornel.
It seems that fezzes were accepted wherever Ottoman Empire had influence. There are two basic types of fez defined by its use: Military Fez (military use) and International Fez (international use). Fez is usually in red colour with an ebony or black tassel.
The fez was worn either with or without a turban by Moslems, Christians and Jews. The Turkish soldiers and officialdom in Turkey, including the Sultan, with the exception of certain ecclesiastical dignitaries, wore their fezzes without the turban.
The red fez with blue tassel was the standard headdress of the Turkish Army from the 1840s until the introduction of a khaki service dress and peakless sun helmet in 1910. The only significant exceptions were cavalry and some artillery units who wore a lambskin hat with colored cloth tops.
David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi as law students in Istanbul c.
However, the fez's association with modernity came with its own set of controversies. The adoption of the fez was seen by some as a direct challenge to Islamic tradition, and it sparked resistance among conservative religious groups who saw it as a symbol of Westernization. Nevertheless, the fez continued to be an integral part of Ottoman culture until the empire's collapse in the early 20th century.
Global Influence and Misconceptions
The fez's influence spread far beyond the Middle East. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the fez became fashionable in Europe and North America. It was often depicted in literature, paintings, and photographs as a symbol of exoticism and the East.
Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, the fez was the preferred headwear for Christians and Muslims in the Balkans, which at the time was still mostly under Ottoman suzerainty. There were variations on the fez in the Balkan states, mainly involving the addition of religious symbols on the front. In semi-independent Montenegro, a client state of the Ottoman Empire that enjoyed complete autonomy, its Orthodox citizens wore their fezzes with a Greek cross on the front.
Supporters of the Illyrian movement among South Slavs, especially in Croatia, wore their fezzes with a star and crescent on the front irrespective of religion, believing that the symbol predated the introduction of Islam in the Balkans.
One of the most enduring misconceptions about the fez is its association with secret societies, thanks in part to its portrayal in popular culture. Fezzes are often seen in movies and books as the headwear of choice for mysterious and enigmatic organizations. While some fraternal organizations, such as the Shriners, do indeed wear fezzes as part of their tradition, the hat's history is far more diverse and complex than these fictional portrayals suggest.
The red fez with a black tassel, the Shrine’s official headgear, has been handed down through the ages.
On September 26, 1872, in the New York City Masonic Hall, the first Shrine Temple in the United States was organized.
The fez was named for the city of Fez, the metropolis of Morocco, which was the seat of numerous schools, libraries and a famous university.
While the organization was still primarily social, instances of philanthropic work became more frequent.
The Shrine is as North American as baseball, hot dogs and apple pie. It was tied to an Arabic theme by its founders, Billy Florence, an actor, and Walter Fleming, a physician.
Fleming and Florence realized the fledgling fraternity needed a colourful, exciting backdrop. As the legend goes, Florence attended a party in Marseilles, France, hosted by an Arabian diplomat. At the end of the party, the guests became members of a secret society.
Decline and Revival
In the early 20th century, the fez's popularity in Turkey waned as the nation underwent a period of intense modernization under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. As part of his efforts to secularize and westernize Turkey, Atatürk discouraged the wearing of the fez and promoted European-style clothing. A century later, in 1925, the fez was outlawed in Turkey as part of Atatürk's reforms. In Turkey 1925 fezzes were even prohibited for some time (as Ottoman hat) during reforms after the revolution in that country.
At a meeting of Mecca Temple on June 6, 1876, in the New York Masonic Temple, a new body was created to help spur the growth of the young fraternity. This governing body was called “The Imperial Grand Council of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for the United States of America.”
Fleming became the first Imperial Grand Potentate, and the new body established rules for membership and the formation of new Temples. The initiation ritual was embellished, as was the mythology about the fraternity.
On the other hand, in South Asia, Fez was adopted due to its links with the Ottomans. In Morocco it is a national symbol of Morocco, so King of Morocco and his cabinet ministers wear it.
However, in other parts of the world, the fez continued to hold cultural significance. In North Africa, it remained a symbol of identity and tradition. In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in the fez, both as a cultural artifact and as a fashion statement. Designers and artisans have embraced the fez, creating modern interpretations that blend tradition with contemporary style.
Interesting, but after World War II, Fez has mostly become a part of parade uniform - because of Fez soldiers were during the war more visible to enemies, and it didn’t protect from the sun either. During the 19th century, European (mostly English) men used to wore the fez for casual evenings, when they were relaxing. Because of that, even nowadays, Fez is something like a symbol, but a symbol of luxury and laziness or just relaxation.
During the final period of colonial rule in Africa (approximately 1945 to 1962), the fez was seen only as a full-dress item in French, British, Belgian, Spanish, and Portuguese African units, being replaced by wide-brimmed hats or forage caps on other occasions. Post-independence armies in Africa quickly discarded the fez as a colonial relic. It is, however, still worn by the ceremonial Garde Rouge in Senegal as part of their Spahi-style uniform, and by the Italian Bersaglieri in certain orders of dress.
The Bersaglieri adopted the fez as an informal headdress through the influence of the French Zouaves, with whom they served in the Crimean War.
In Hyderabad, the fez is known as the Rumi Topi, which means "Roman Cap" (by virtue of the Ottoman Empire being seen as the successor state of the Eastern Roman Empire). The fez was also a symbol of support for the Ottoman Caliphate against the British Indian Empire during the Khilafat Movement.
Later, it became associated with some leaders of the Muslim League, the political party that eventually created the country of Pakistan.
The Turkish-style fez was introduced to Cape Malays in Cape Town, South Africa, by Sheikh Abu Bakr Effendi, when he moved there from Turkey in 1863 to teach them about their religion. Muslim men have continued to wear the fez there, where it is also referred to as a kofia, especially at prayer times in mosques, at weddings, and at home as a sign of respect when in the company of elderly people. It is also popular with children at madrassas (Islamic schools).
Shriners are often depicted wearing a red fez. The headgear became official for the Shriners in 1872.
The Sons of the Desert is an international fraternal organization devoted to the lives and films of comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
The Moose Legion, also fraternal organization, are known by wearing a purple fez.
British comedian Tommy Cooper adopted the fez as part of his comic act while serving in Egypt during the Second World War.
In the Disney animated series Gravity Falls, Grunkle Stan, a main character who has a persona "Mr.
In the movie Ali Baba Bujang Lapok, some characters, including Ali Baba, can be seen using a fez.
Popular articles:
tags: #Moroccan
