[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
symbol of adopted kinship. The idea comes from India, where two moghuls exchanged caps as a sign of
friendship. In Russia, rulers adopted this custom, becoming blood brothers for life via the cap exchange.
27
Syria
The priests of the Syriac Orthodox Church wear a fascinating pilos called a phiro or piro (sound
familiar?), which means fruit . Interesting, since the skullcap reminded the Catholics of a vegetable. Though
we can see that our word berry actually comes from this word by way of the Romans, I ve wondered if the
name of this skullcap is not also somehow related to the Spanish word for dog, perro. Linguists have long
wondered about this mysterious non-Indo-European Spanish word, the etymology of which cannot be
ascertained. I make the link because the skullcap was originally mostly worn by peasants in the ancient world.
They were dirt-poor and I wonder if they had to use dogskin to make their felt and leathern skullcaps. I believe
that due to this, the abovementioned hair and skullcap link in the other European languages came to be
rendered as a dog and skullcap link in Spain, through the good offices of the Celtiberians (and possibly the
Visigoths).
In any case the phiro is always black in color, made of seven sections to represent the priesthood, and
has black-on-black embroidered crosses at the top. All priests must wear the phiro at public services. It is also
used to anchor down the Eskimo (pronounced es-KEE-moh), the liturgical hood that is worn over it (and is very
sinister looking). The hood is reminiscent of the Caped Hat mentioned in our France section. But it is directly
descended from the Zoroastrian and Mithraic fire-worshipper s hood. The whole etymology question strikes me
as funny: whether dog or fruit , the skullcap concept and words have certainly gotten around!
Africa and Egypt
Without prejudice, I will pause here to mention some trouble in the modern world with the symbolism, or
rather the perceived message, of the Islamic skullcap. Four Middle Eastern Islamic terrorists, working under
the fugitive Afghani terrorist leader Osmar bin Laden, are awaiting sentence at this time (30 May, 2001). They
bombed two U.S. embassies in Africa, killing several people. Thirteen of these terrorists, including bin Laden,
are still at large. Most disturbing to others who have a skullcap tradition is the insistence of these terrorists on
wearing their round white skullcaps, especially in court- as though their religion entitled them to commit such
horrid offenses. There is most certainly a danger that the skullcap will come to signify terrorism- it could even
trigger an outlash against any skullcap. It is one thing for a skullcap to stand for beliefs- it is quite another when
they are associated with terrorism and murder.
28
Going on to our pleasant subject at hand: the plain skullcap has made the rounds in Africa, though not
all the nations wear it. But one cannot resist the Fez, (in Arabic called the Tarbush or Tarboosh) though it is not
technically a rounded skullcap- in fact it is a tall cylindrical skullcap. The fez calls to mind the muezzin, priests
of Islam, who have an interesting rule about hat-wearing: they are not permitted to wear anything that might
obstruct their view of Heaven, so they use only brimless caps. We see many of them wearing Bokharan-style
pillboxes or what I call chubby cake-mold skullcaps, since they seem to be shaped like chubby cakes. The
chubby cake is a common design for Muslim skullcaps.
But the fez! What an elegant elaboration on the skullcap. Taller and more regal than the tallest pillbox,
erect and either black or red as a fire engine, the fez conjures many romantic visions of the Casbah. But it has
serious functions: it is cool in desert conditions due to its height; it anchors the veil for protection against the
desert; it is also the most secure cap for all the bowing done in the Mosque, where headgear must remain
firmly in place. The fez has a tassel, of dark blue or black silk, properly worn hanging at the back. The tassel,
too, is functional- what is better to keep the famous flies of Egypt away? Actually, the tassel is a holdover of the
old Islamic custom of shaving the entire head save for one flowing lock, by which Allah pulls the believer into
Paradise. The fez can be made of any material, though the most commonly used is felt. The fez originated in
Assyria millennia ago, so it is a close cousin to the pilos.
In Morocco, where throbs Fez City after which the fez was named, even Jews wear it. In most
countries, the fez traditionally has a turban wound around it at the bottom. Interestingly, in Egypt a man may
remove his fez on a hot day, but will place it back on his head out of respect for anyone who passes by. It is
like the Basque, Oriental and Jewish customs, the opposite of Western custom. What is utterly ironic is that the
fez is worn by more men in America than anywhere else: it s probably the only distinctive feature of the
Shriners!
Actually a simple skullcap appears in the oldest Egyptian tomb paintings. The Muslims of Egypt do
wear a sort of common, everyday type skullcap, usually made of cloth and occasionally crocheted. The Coptic
(Egyptian) Orthodox Church, which is the oldest Christian sect in the world, has adopted for its priests a sort of
short, broad fez- actually more of a pillar shape with a lip jutting out around the entire circumference of the top.
All Orthodox Church prelates and monks use similar headgear- and let us not forget the claft, born in Egypt
29
and worn by pharaohs, priests and priestesses. Actually, many shapes and sizes of caped skullcaps were
once the norm in ancient Egypt. They also are seen on tomb paintings and in the hieroglyphs.
Naturally the Northern Countries have skullcap traditions of their own- obscure traditions that in any [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl freetocraft.keep.pl
symbol of adopted kinship. The idea comes from India, where two moghuls exchanged caps as a sign of
friendship. In Russia, rulers adopted this custom, becoming blood brothers for life via the cap exchange.
27
Syria
The priests of the Syriac Orthodox Church wear a fascinating pilos called a phiro or piro (sound
familiar?), which means fruit . Interesting, since the skullcap reminded the Catholics of a vegetable. Though
we can see that our word berry actually comes from this word by way of the Romans, I ve wondered if the
name of this skullcap is not also somehow related to the Spanish word for dog, perro. Linguists have long
wondered about this mysterious non-Indo-European Spanish word, the etymology of which cannot be
ascertained. I make the link because the skullcap was originally mostly worn by peasants in the ancient world.
They were dirt-poor and I wonder if they had to use dogskin to make their felt and leathern skullcaps. I believe
that due to this, the abovementioned hair and skullcap link in the other European languages came to be
rendered as a dog and skullcap link in Spain, through the good offices of the Celtiberians (and possibly the
Visigoths).
In any case the phiro is always black in color, made of seven sections to represent the priesthood, and
has black-on-black embroidered crosses at the top. All priests must wear the phiro at public services. It is also
used to anchor down the Eskimo (pronounced es-KEE-moh), the liturgical hood that is worn over it (and is very
sinister looking). The hood is reminiscent of the Caped Hat mentioned in our France section. But it is directly
descended from the Zoroastrian and Mithraic fire-worshipper s hood. The whole etymology question strikes me
as funny: whether dog or fruit , the skullcap concept and words have certainly gotten around!
Africa and Egypt
Without prejudice, I will pause here to mention some trouble in the modern world with the symbolism, or
rather the perceived message, of the Islamic skullcap. Four Middle Eastern Islamic terrorists, working under
the fugitive Afghani terrorist leader Osmar bin Laden, are awaiting sentence at this time (30 May, 2001). They
bombed two U.S. embassies in Africa, killing several people. Thirteen of these terrorists, including bin Laden,
are still at large. Most disturbing to others who have a skullcap tradition is the insistence of these terrorists on
wearing their round white skullcaps, especially in court- as though their religion entitled them to commit such
horrid offenses. There is most certainly a danger that the skullcap will come to signify terrorism- it could even
trigger an outlash against any skullcap. It is one thing for a skullcap to stand for beliefs- it is quite another when
they are associated with terrorism and murder.
28
Going on to our pleasant subject at hand: the plain skullcap has made the rounds in Africa, though not
all the nations wear it. But one cannot resist the Fez, (in Arabic called the Tarbush or Tarboosh) though it is not
technically a rounded skullcap- in fact it is a tall cylindrical skullcap. The fez calls to mind the muezzin, priests
of Islam, who have an interesting rule about hat-wearing: they are not permitted to wear anything that might
obstruct their view of Heaven, so they use only brimless caps. We see many of them wearing Bokharan-style
pillboxes or what I call chubby cake-mold skullcaps, since they seem to be shaped like chubby cakes. The
chubby cake is a common design for Muslim skullcaps.
But the fez! What an elegant elaboration on the skullcap. Taller and more regal than the tallest pillbox,
erect and either black or red as a fire engine, the fez conjures many romantic visions of the Casbah. But it has
serious functions: it is cool in desert conditions due to its height; it anchors the veil for protection against the
desert; it is also the most secure cap for all the bowing done in the Mosque, where headgear must remain
firmly in place. The fez has a tassel, of dark blue or black silk, properly worn hanging at the back. The tassel,
too, is functional- what is better to keep the famous flies of Egypt away? Actually, the tassel is a holdover of the
old Islamic custom of shaving the entire head save for one flowing lock, by which Allah pulls the believer into
Paradise. The fez can be made of any material, though the most commonly used is felt. The fez originated in
Assyria millennia ago, so it is a close cousin to the pilos.
In Morocco, where throbs Fez City after which the fez was named, even Jews wear it. In most
countries, the fez traditionally has a turban wound around it at the bottom. Interestingly, in Egypt a man may
remove his fez on a hot day, but will place it back on his head out of respect for anyone who passes by. It is
like the Basque, Oriental and Jewish customs, the opposite of Western custom. What is utterly ironic is that the
fez is worn by more men in America than anywhere else: it s probably the only distinctive feature of the
Shriners!
Actually a simple skullcap appears in the oldest Egyptian tomb paintings. The Muslims of Egypt do
wear a sort of common, everyday type skullcap, usually made of cloth and occasionally crocheted. The Coptic
(Egyptian) Orthodox Church, which is the oldest Christian sect in the world, has adopted for its priests a sort of
short, broad fez- actually more of a pillar shape with a lip jutting out around the entire circumference of the top.
All Orthodox Church prelates and monks use similar headgear- and let us not forget the claft, born in Egypt
29
and worn by pharaohs, priests and priestesses. Actually, many shapes and sizes of caped skullcaps were
once the norm in ancient Egypt. They also are seen on tomb paintings and in the hieroglyphs.
Naturally the Northern Countries have skullcap traditions of their own- obscure traditions that in any [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]