subject: Veiling Unveiled - A Brief History [print this page] Veiling Unveiled - A Brief History Veiling Unveiled - A Brief History
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a veil is a "concealing curtain" or "cover" cloth worn by women to cover their head and shoulders. Another website defines it as "to hide" or "to obscure." It seems that a veil is a very intriguing and interesting piece of cloth.
The origin of veiling is debatable, but scholars agree that it existed some 4,000 years ago in the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, now present-day Iraq. This rectangular piece of cloth woven in linen, wool or cotton was worn by women to hide their faces from public view. It was not worn for fashionable reasons; rather, it was enforced by law.
Engraved stone tablets concerning the concealment of women's faces were unearthed and deciphered to date back to the Assyrian Empire (1380 to 612 B.C.). The basis of this law was the different legal status of Assyrian men and women. Men enjoyed power, education and rights, while women had nothing comparable. They were merely considered as properties of their fathers or of their husbands once they got married. I'm just glad I wasn't alive yet back in those days.
Anyway, the veil was used to protect the father or husband's interest in his wife or daughter. Beneath the veil, no man could be tempted or be enticed to a woman's looks. However, not all women could wear veils. Prostitutes and slaves were prohibited to wear this clothing, such that any man who had seen a woman of this class wearing a veil and had not reported to authority would be beaten or imprisoned.
Approximately two thousand years later, when Islam arose, the veiling practices were absorbed in the Muslim culture. It was believed that during the 7th or so century C. E., there were ladies in the urban centers that started to wear a face veil which was considered a luxury. Rural women were said to be too busy working to be bothered with such impractical clothing. The Quran provided some vague verses about veils that could have pushed Muslims to incorporate veils, or what was (and still is) popularly known as Hijab in their fashion.
At present, veils come in various forms and styles. Even western women wear veils nowadays. They wear it on the most important occasion of their lives - when they finally get married! You may wonder how the veils got into the picture. Again, you may hear stories after stories, debates and legends of long time ago. One in particular that I've heard of says that it started way back in Moses' time. After he came down from the mount Sinai where God spoke to him through fire, light emanated from Moses' face. It was so intense that his face had to be veiled when he spoke to the Israelites. A bride is also in the same elevated state according to the Jews because she radiates a special holiness, the divine presence of the feminine aspect of God.
In any case, whatever its history, veils are now an indispensable part of a wedding. An article of clothing that signifies purity and beauty of a woman. As her dearly beloved lifts the veil from her face, her beauty is revealed to her husband, finally, he may now kiss the bride.
