A very strange cultural experience here is
when one first wears a Salwar Kameez. The women and the men both wear one. It
is a long suite that is the normal everyday dress of a Pakistani. The Salwar is
very loose fitting pants. They are very wide at the top and have narrow legs at
the bottom. They are tied with what is called ugets, strings that are threaded
through the top and pulled tight so that one can tie it and keep his pants from falling down. It takes
some time to try and thread the rope through, and there is a tool (I forget at the moment what this is called) that is used
that can make it fairly easy. I have gotten quite proficient at it. The Kameez
is a long dress shirt that hangs down to your knees and is usually the same
colour, though there are exceptions and now a day it seems to be more in style
to have a different variant design on the shirt. I had a few of them made by a
tailor. It was interesting going shopping for the fabric first at the bazaar
and then taking them to a tailor. Thankfully Terry knew the best place to get
fabric and he had a tailor he liked using. They are very comfortable and cool,
and I know I will wear them throughout the hot season. I also like wearing them
when I go to the bazaar as it helps me blend in better (well I still here "Engrazi! Engrazi!" When ever I am out).
Megan wears them as
well, but women also have to wear a dupatta. A dupatta is a scarf that is
rapped around the Kameez. In a Muslim context like Pakistan when
men are present a woman uses it to cover her head. A woman also usually gets an
elastic sown into the waist and thus does not have to wear an uget.
I have yet
to have to use a squatty while wearing a Salwar Kameez, which with the wide
waist and a long shirt I believe would take some skill. I do not think mine
would come out so clean. Thankfully there are western toilets available in most
of the missionary homes.
No comments:
Post a Comment