Veils [De-Coded], an informative, cultural presentation was held Friday, March 8, at the YWCA by The Princeton Middle East Society.
The presentation began with Marilyn Jerry, the head of the Princeton Middle East Society, who introduced Isabella de la Houssaye, a Princeton alumn who went on to Columbia University and became an investment banker, lawyer and philanthropist.
De la Houssay is a 54-year-old mother of five who lives in Lawrenceville, NJ and is also an endurance athlete who completed the famed Ironman triathlon in Kona, Hawaii this past October while battling stage IV lung cancer.
In addition to her many other pursuits de la Houssaye has an avid interest in world culture. She showcased the traditional veils worn by people and societies from North Africa to Central Asia, and discussed how understanding their significance and meaning can help to better understand the cultures behind them.
Long tables were spread with veils and other garments collected by de la Houssaye throughout her travels around the world. De la Houssaye credits her travels for making the difference in how she views the items.
“I saw my first veil in 2001 and I had to learn more,” she said.
Jerry said, “The Middle East Society is dedicated to educating the public in this area about the Middle East, including history and culture. So, her collection really fits in with a cultural event with us.”
De la Houssaye first spoke of the presence of veils in the United States and how many people see them as concealing items. However, she explained, even as far back to the 19th century, veils were used as identification in tribes and were usually a symbol of an individual’s wealth and/or social status.
The first of the veils showcased was the Sinai face veil, traditionally from the Sinai region of Egypt. These veils were decorated with many coins, which represented a bride’s dowry. The colors of the veil and the headpiece would often represent what village the wearer was from.
The Sinai veils represented what a woman was considered to be worth in monetary terms. Virgins were worth a higher price, while the divorced or widowed were worth less, meaning they received less valuable veils.
Other items showcased in the presentation included the Paranjas from Central Asia, specifically Uzbekistan. They were made out of horsehair and, for urban women, they were a sign of status.
Moving on to discuss Tajikistan, Houssaye highlighted the wedding veils that women wore that often symbolized fertility and love. Symbols of fertility were often embroidered on the vail by the wife herself.
Another piece revealed to the audience was the ‘batoola,’ also known as ‘batula.’ Typically worn by Bedouin women from the Persian Gulf region, including Oman. These include a small mask centered by a beak nose which is traditionally indigo.
One of the last groups to be discussed was the Tuaregs of the Sahara, a nomadic group in which the men rather than the women are required to veil themselves. For them, it is seen as vulgar to show the face, especially the mouth. Houssaye explained how she experienced seeing these men eat, slipping the food under their veil. They are also known as the “blue people” since their veils are traditionally made of indigo, which bleeds on to the skin.
According to a 2013 article in The News Journal, de la Houssaye “Began collecting veils during a visit to Egypt in 1999. Two years later, she spent $10,000 on veils at a museum in Amman, Jordan, that was closing. On the way back home, she spent a day in an Egyptian jail after being accused…of money laundering.” Her collection of priceless veils is one of the largest assembled.
