The Wedding Dresser
Sithy Muhsin
Sithy Muhsin was the only dressers of Muslim brides in Galle during the sixties. Also a teacher, she talks about her work styling Muslim brides over the years and her impressions of the advent of the abaya or burqa in Sri Lankan Muslim society.
Transcript and translations
Language
Subjects discussed
If I cover my whole self, no one will know who I am!
I should cover my hair. Cover my body. Only my hands and the face, I can expose. Not even a single hair should be seen. But the prophet has said, you should be recognised by another person. Now when I walk on the road, if I cover my whole self, no one will know who I am! You understand? I know when some of my friends come to give salaams to me in the wedding house, I say I’m sorry. You write your name on your gloves and show who you are. Otherwise raise and show me your face! Actually I couldn’t recognize her. I can’t say that I’m correct or that one is wrong, or she is correct. What I feel is, as a Muslim, I practise very well. As a Muslim, I pray five times a day. I fast and more than anything, I love to help others. And I love to organise things. We should cover ourselves, we can’t expose ourselves to men like this. It’s wrong, it’s true. But there are people who just for the sake of…I also have abaya. I was feeling lazy to get into 6 yards of sari, I just wore something underneath and went. Don’t think it’s for the religion, it’s for my comfort. I know in the morning, if they want to go out, the people who want to wear this abaya, even with their nightclothes to drive their children to school. And on top of that they wear that abaya and cover themselves. They must be doing that! Easy to put on. Even over the pajama you can wear and go! I may be wrong, it may be a very good idea wearing abaya and covering yourself. Which our religion says only the hands and the face should be open to all, and everything should be covered. I think that’s true. But that’s what we do when we pray and all. But there are people who wear all that but they don’t help others, they are not good with their neighbours. They have backbiting habits. They don’t give alms giving to anybody. There are some groups of Muslims. They believe only in the Koran. The men have their beards and the women cover themselves. Some of the husbands force their wives to wear, and before marriage, they want “face cover” or ask for a person to wear abaya on agreement. That has come up very recently. So once you get into an agreement like that, you have to abide by that agreement. So they do it. I have told my daughter, if you are going to wear the abaya, you have to be very respectful. You can’t go on the motorbike with your husband wearing the abaya with all you legs out!
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