Battoulah - Masked Women of Iran

Battoulah - Masked Women of Iran 

Battoulah ( Islamic female clothing ) is a metallic-looking mask traditionally worn by Muslim Arab, Persian, and Baluch women in Arab states of the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, as well as in southern Iran. The origin of the battoulah is unknown, but it is thought to have entered the Eastern Arabian Peninsula from Gujarat in late 18th century. The tradition is less popular with the newer generations, but is still followed by women in their 70s and older, and by those living in rural areas

Black veils that cover women's hair or faces may be common throughout Iran but in the villages of the Persian Gulf, girls as young as nine shield their looks in colourful masks that rely on years of tradition for their distinctive look. Photographer Eric Lafforgue has taken a series of stunning pictures of the gold, red, embroidered and sequined boregheh masks of Southern Iran, worn for centuries by the Bandari people, the Arab Iranians who live in the coastal region.

The intriguing headpieces are designed according to ancestral tradition and are first worn at social events by children before they reach puberty. And while many women - and their husbands - cling to the tradition, others lament the rise of the plain niqab which is growing in popularity simply as it's cheaper. Yet even fewer protest against covering their faces in public, with many saying they prefer to wear their boreghehs - and their husbands agree.

Eric Lafforgue, who spent time travelling around to meet the women who make and wear the masks, which have been worn for centuries by the Bandari people, admitted that he needed to earn the community's trust before taking the portraits.

He said: 'With patience, diplomacy and litres of tea swallowed, I could pierce the secrets of these ornaments and their significance in visiting villages along the Persian Gulf and the island of Qeshm.' The masks are worn by both Shiite and Sunni Musilms. But Shiites tend to wear red rectangular masks, while Sunnis usually wear black or golden ones made with indigo cloth and less geometric shapes. In the coastal village of Salakh on Qeshm Island, where ancestral traditions are still closely followed, Eric met Ameneh - one of three Sunni seamstresses who make masks in the village.

While her husband was sailing from port to port, visiting places such as Muscat, Mukala, Mogadishu, Berbera, Zanzibar and Lamu, she learned to sew and make the boreghehs. The Qeshm mask looks a lot like a moustache and she explained to Eric that it was designed centuries ago to fool invaders, so they would mistake women for male soldiers. Ameneh explained that the prominent vertical part of the mask that runs along the nose is made from depressor sticks, used by doctors to push the tongue down to examine the throat.

If the pharmacy is out of stock, an ice cream stick makes a good substitute, while other rigid structures of the mask are made of small branches from palm trees. Eric describes the making of the boregheh as being like a 'folding game' of cotton and indigo coloured sheets, which are specially made in Mumbai and have been imported for centuries. He observed her cut one blue sheet with scissors, rub it energetically with a smooth stone to make it shine, insert the sticks and then sew the different elements together.

Masks are sold for the equivalent of €5.00 (£3.90) but they sell for more when they are exported to the United Arab Emirates where demand for boreghehs is strong. Ameneh's hands are covered with indigo dye, but she doesn't wash them because she says the blue pigments soften and protect the skin. She never removes her mask in the presence of strangers in her house, or when walking outside.

'The first time my parents forced me to wear it,' she told Eric. 'Now it's my choice. I never go out without my mask. It would be shame to be in the street with my face uncovered.' However, Eric pointed out that the mask in no way prevents women from enjoying a social life or speaking to men, which is commonplace in strict regimes such as Saudi Arabia. Her husband also gave his opinion on the boreghehs to Eric, saying: 'I prefer my wife with the mask, it is more beautiful. And it is also our religious rules.'

The couples' daughter Maryam, ten, wears a small mask at events such as wedding parties but is eager to wear a proper one when she's older. 'I want to wear the mask when I grow up,' she said. 'With it I can go anywhere, I will not be shy, I'll feel confident.' The golden ornaments on the veils and masks are reserved for weddings, to add a touch of sparkle during ceremonies. They also signify good financial health for anyone who wears such an ornate mask in everyday life, according to Eric. Each mask takes two days to make and is made-to-measure for the wearer.

However, the practice is dying out and Eric explained that going mask-free has been championed by a woman called Zinat who lives in Qeshm. She was the first person from Qeshm to dare to go out in public without a mask two decades ago when she studied medicine in the city of Bandar Abbas. 'It was forbidden to keep the mask inside the school,' she told Eric. 'Without my mask, I felt naked.' But she had no choice but to take it off, and by the time she had returned to the island her perception of life had changed. She decided not to wear the boregheh.

Nobody recognised her on the first day she took up her role as the local doctor, and her decision caused a wave of protest. Over the next ten years she was ostracised and men only allowed their wives to meet her when they were sick. Zinat was working around in 62 villages vaccinating, delivering babies and caring for opium addicts. But unless she was giving them medical assistance, everyone avoided her. She had no friends, and nobody invited her to weddings - a real disgrace in the local culture.

Her father was the only one to support her, and after he died she was alone.'One evening, the whole village was at a wedding party,' she told Eric. 'The entry to these celebrations is free, no need to ask. But I was still persona non grata. 'Desperate, I went to sit on a rock on the beach. The sky was full of stars, the moon was bright, not a cloud in sight. Suddenly I felt two drops fall on my hand. I told myself that the moon shared my sadness.' Zinat composed a poem about this experience that adorns the entrance to her house.

Now, with the passage of time, she has finally been accepted and was the first woman on the island to win local elections. Only half of the women in her village wear the mask. It has became for many a cultural sign more than a religious one. But there's still much progress to be made. In a society still firmly rooted in tradition, many children born out of wedlock in Qeshm are still killed at birth. Zinat is now fighting to stop these practices, which belong to another age.

However, it's becoming less common for young people on Qeshm Island to wear the masks that cover most of their faces and it's mainly a tradition among older Bandari women.'It's to hide our wrinkles, we are not pretty to look at,' one grandmother told Eric. However, those who don't wear it are careful to keep one to hand if they visit a place where they don't know anyone or in a conservative village such as Pey Posht in the central district of Qeshm County.

The area is known to be home to wealthy smugglers who bring in goods such as cigarettes, alcohol, gasoline , drugs, livestock, from Oman - 40km cross the Strait of Hormuz - on speed boats. 'The whole village seems to join me in the tiny room where tea is served, an inescapable ritual,' Eric said of his visit.He said it was difficult to put an age on the Bandari men and women around him and can't figure out who the couples are. 'My host told me he was married at 13 when his wife was 12,' he added.

Here, the majority of women do not wear the boregheh anymore, but the niqab - a black veil that covers everything except the eyes, because it's cheaper.'In five years there will be no more boreghehs here,' he was told. But for now, a girl traditionally wear the mask once her parents have agreed a marriage with the groom's family. She also wears it when she enters the Hejleh or wedding chamber, which is lavishly decorated with mirrors, garlands, baubles, artificial flowers, colorful cushions, and verses from the Koran. The newlyweds spend a week together cloistered in the windowless room, allowing them to get to know each other intimately for the first time.

The only time a woman is permitted to remove the mask is during a Zar ceremony - which is thought to be a magical wind that can be good or bad. Once the woman is put into a trance and covered with a veil, she removes her mask and is possessed by the spirits. On the mainland, the Panjshambe bazaar, held in Minab on a Thursday is a meeting place for women who come to buy and sell masks, belts and shalwars - beautiful multicolored embroidered pants.There, many masked women can be seen selling multicoloured bras, socialising and exchanging the latest news over a shisha. Few visitors venture into this region of Iran, away from the tourist routes.

Eric explained that he had to seek permission before taking pictures of anyone as 'stealing' an image is considered an insult. 'Women who refuse pictures explain me they fear being made fun of them,' he recalled. 'They think foreigners do not understand their culture.' Eric then travelled south of Minab, to the village of Jargan where the finest Shiite rectangular red embroidered masks are made. But the doors remained closed to him, and women refused to be photographed. However, a seamstress agreed to give him an outline of the different colours used in the local masks.

'Black is reserved for girls who have to follow the custom from the age of nine years in this village,' he explained. 'The orange mask is for the fiancée, and often small gold decorations are added to the cords that attach it to the head. 'Red is worn by married women. The embroidery style also shows the ethnicity of its owner, and the price varies depending on the colour: orange is expensive, black is cheap.' Women used to embroider the masks by hand, however sewing machines have taken over. But it still takes two days to create a mask as they are always made to measure.

Two holes must fit perfectly in front of the eyes so they don't cause blurred vision. The forehead and nose have to be covered, and the mouth is often hidden by adding a veil. The masks have practical as well as cultural purposes. They help to keep the skin white and shield it from the sun's harsh rays in summer. Southern men prefer white skin, and refer to darker skin as 'green' rather than black, according to Eric. 'I wanted to buy an engagement mask as a souvenir, but none were available for sale. It was wedding season,' he said. 'Seeing me disappointed, the seamstress offered me hers. Iran's generosity.'In this region, wearing a mask is mandatory. Especially among the Baluch people, a conservative ethnic group to be found in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.'