{"id":4171,"date":"2024-12-12T16:23:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T16:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.takemeon.org\/dir\/?page_id=4171"},"modified":"2024-12-29T04:40:32","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T04:40:32","slug":"europeans-and-arabs-stop-appropriating-our-swana-shemagh-kufiya","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.takemeon.org\/dir\/europeans-and-arabs-stop-appropriating-our-swana-shemagh-kufiya\/","title":{"rendered":"Europeans AND Arabs, STOP Appropriating Our SWANA Shemagh & Kufiya!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Easily verifiable historical facts really do matter to WE STILL SURVIVING Indigenous peoples planet-Earth-wide! Europeans AND Arabs are NOT Mesopotamian NOR Canaanite in \u201cindigenous\u201d ancestry!!! Easily verifiable historical facts matter, EXCEPT to those who are successfully assimilated into European and Arab settler Colonialism! BOTH Europeans AND Arabs have ZERO inherent rights to wear our SWANA Indigenous peoples\u2019 shemagh and kufiya as THEIR cultural items!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Mesopotamian shemagh is NOT Arab PALESTINIAN, at all!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is the inherently racist European and Arab colonial game of erasing Indigenous peoples\u2019 living presence upon our sacred lands. They do this by distorting and restating history in a way that makes them, the settler Colonialists, the new ancient \u201cindigenous\u201d people of the lands they have colonized for Colonial Allah and Christ ruling dominionism. And they do this by appropriating our Indigenous cultural items and claiming them as their own!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On both Colonial America \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 and Colonial Palestine \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8, we Indigenous peoples watch in FRUSTRATION as Europeans and Arabs wear our cultural items for their political social Conquistador causes! A perfect example of this is the so-called \u201cPalestinian kufiya\u201d or, alternative pronunciation, the so-called \u201cPalestinian keffiyeh\u201d! It is NOT Colonial Palestinian!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pan-Arab nationalist \u201cPalestinians\u201d \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8 have ZERO right to APPROPRIATE our Shemagh\/Sudra for their pretend \u201cindigenous\u201d status upon a land they COLONIZED \u2013 our Southwest Asia Indigenous peoples\u2019 lands \ud83e\udeac\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1\u2600\ufe0f\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\udde7\ud83e\udeac !<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya) has deep roots that stretch back centuries in the Levant [Mesopotamian] landscape. Etymologically, the word \u201cK\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya)\u201d is a derivative of the name of the city of Kufa in Iraq, meaning \u201cfrom the city of Kufa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, its roots could be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia (c. 3100 BCE), when people living within the Tigris and Euphrates River system used to cover their heads to protect themselves from the elements. Its usefulness in the desert climate later percolated into every society across the diverse communities of the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its roots traced back to Mesopotamia, the head covering in Iraqi culture, particularly the shemagh (\u0634\u064f\u0645\u064e\u0627\u063a \u0161um\u0101\u0121), carries various nuances, ultimately signifying prestige and status. Legend has it that the Sumerian fishermen, seeking protection from the scorching summer sun, ingeniously placed a fishing net on their heads, evolving over time into a distinctive headgear with its own unique name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shemagh (\u0634\u064f\u0645\u064e\u0627\u063a \u0161um\u0101\u0121), with its fisherman\u2019s net design, water lines, and fish shells, is considered a talisman, believed to ward off evil even today, maintaining a connection to its Sumerian origins. Later worn by priests and kings who adorned white clothes and a black net made of sheep\u2019s wool symbolizing a fishing net, this headdress gradually merged with the shemagh (\u0634\u064f\u0645\u064e\u0627\u063a \u0161um\u0101\u0121), known in the Iraqi dialect as the \u201cYashmagh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, the Yashmagh transitioned from being an accessory of the ruling and sacred elite to becoming the most popular headdress in Mesopotamia and its neighbouring regions. It became an integral part of the cultural identity, symbolizing prestige and status for individuals across various [Southwest Asian] communities. Each community adopted the wearing of the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya) with their own interpretation and twist to it. In fact, until the turn of the 20th century, communities of all faiths [meaning, indigenous ethno-religions] and tongues from the region sported the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the iconic black and white Iraqi shemagh ([Arabic:] \u0634\u064f\u0645\u064e\u0627\u063a \u0161um\u0101\u0121, [in indigenous Aramaic: \u072b\u0718\u0721\u073c\u0710\u0713 \u2013 See 1 below]), also known as Yashmagh, Ghutrah (\u063a\u064f\u062a\u0631\u064e\u0629), Cheffiyeh (\u0686\u0650\u0641\u0651\u064a\u0629), and Jamadani \/ Jimidani [AND, SUDRA (Hebrew: \u05e1\u05d5\u05bc\u05d3\u05b8\u05e8 sud\u0101r, Aramaic: \u05e1\u05d5\u05d3\u05e8\u05d0\u200e su\u1e0f\u0101r\u0101), our Jewish name for OUR Levantine version of the shemagh (Westerners are ALWAYS trying to erase us from this picture!!!)], serves as a living testament to this rich heritage, transcending geographical boundaries and becoming a symbol of cultural identity for the Palestinian people [see 2 & 3 below] in their struggle against British occupation since the 1930s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 \u2013 Like our Jewish people\u2019s Canaanite Hebrew language (\u05e2\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05ea, ivr\u012bt), the Southwest Asian language of Aramaic is STILL a living language also! The two most known forms of Aramaic are Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (\u05d0\u05e8\u05de\u05d9\u05ea, \u02c0\u0259r\u0101mi\u1e6f) and Classical Syriac (\u0710\u072a\u0721\u0710\u071d\u072c, ar\u0101m\u0101\u02c0i\u1e6f[a]). While Canaanite Hebrew is a Southwest Asian Semitic language of Canaan, Aramaic is a Northwest Asian Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, southeastern Anatolia, Eastern Arabia, and into the Sinai Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 \u2013 Who are the British-pan-Arab post-WW1 declared \u201cPalestinian people\u201d of the British-Arab Mandate for Colonial Palestine? They are: Jews, Kurds, Lebanese, Syrian, and greater Mesopotamian survivors of \u201cArab\u201d\/\u201dIslam\u201dization by previous southern Arab Caliphates\u2019 \u262a\ufe0f invasions and survivors of \u201cChristian\u201dization by previous northern Byzantine\/Frankish \u271d\ufe0f invasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 \u2013 Sadly, the masses of Arab settlers that arrived after the Hashemite Caliphate \u262a\ufe0f\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8 invasion with the British and French \u271d\ufe0f\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 during WW1 and during the 3 decades British-pan-Arab military rule upon their established Colonial \u201cPalestine\u201d are also considered \u201cPalestinians\u201d by the European and Arab Conquistadors\u2019 colonized nations. In fact, since the 1964 post-WW1 Arab settlers\u2019 formal adoption of the Colonial name \u201cPalestinian\u201d \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8 , there has been a concerted worldwide effort to ERASE the presence and identities of our SWANA Indigenous peoples and to REWRITE the history of our Southwest Asian North African region by the United Nations \u262a\ufe0f\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\u271d\ufe0f of Arab-European Colonial nations!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They WILL fail, for we Indigenous peoples \ud83e\udeac\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1\u2600\ufe0f\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\udde7\ud83e\udeac will NEVER be fully uprooted \u270a\ud83c\udffc\ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udffc\u270c\ud83c\udffc !<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Egyptian
Egyptian terrorist Yasser Arafat is wearing a Mesopotamian keffiyeh! And, with the donning of a Mesopotamian people\u2019s shemagh, thus began the 1960\u2019s imaginary colonial Palestinian \u201cindigenous\u201d people upon our SWANA Israeli and Kurdish peoples\u2019 sacred lands!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTraditionally crafted from cotton and wool and worn by Bedouins and villagers in the Ottoman-controlled Levant Arab region, the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya) evolved into a symbol of class struggle embedded in the psyche of the local people much BEFORE the Arab-Israeli conflict. While the affluent upper and middle-class Arabs embraced symbols of Ottoman style like the \u201cTarbush\u201d or \u201cFez,\u201d individuals from modest backgrounds favoured the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya). Many Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Levant, such as in [Colonial] Palestine [aka, the historic Land of Israel \ud83d\udd4e\ud83e\udeac\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\udf97\ufe0f] and Iraq [Kurdistan \ud83e\udeac\u2600\ufe0f\ud83e\udeac], chose the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya) to mark their authentic local connection, setting themselves apart as \u201csons of the soil\u201d within the Ottoman [empire] and later [within] British-controlled [Mandatory colonial] Palestine.\u201d \u2013 The Markaz Review, Literature and Arts from the Center of the World, 3 March, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHistory must be redeemed for it to be true, and curiously, it begins with etymology, defined as a branch of linguistics, investigating name\/word histories. I am perplexed. Someone, please elaborate on how \ud83e\udd14 a Middle Eastern land is referred to as \u201cPalestine,\u201d originally in the Egyptian hieroglyphics as pwr\ua723s\ua723tj Peleset, transliterated into ancient Hebrew, P\u2019l\u00e9shet \u05e4\u05bc\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05ea precise ancient Hebraic definition of this adjective from the primitive root verb is \u201cpelesh, dividers, penetrators\u201d or \u201cinvaders.\u201d ??? Then P\u2019l\u00e9shet entered into Koine Greek as \u03a0\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03af\u03bd\u03b7 (Palaist\u00edn\u0113, \u201cPhilistia and the surrounding region\u201d),to the Latin Palaestinae (Philistia), and finally the Anglicized Latinized modernized \u201cPalestine.\u201d \u201d \u2013 Zarayah Israel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese observations extended beyond concerns of mere appropriation, delving into complex questions about whether such usage inherently disrespects the political and historical context associated with the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya). This prompts the inquiry of whether the donning of the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya) for a cause by non-SWANA Indigenous peoples, like Arabs and Europeans] today constitutes cultural appropriation [Hell, yeah!!!] or transforms the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya) into a broader global symbol of freedom and liberation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[A \u201cbroader global symbol of freedom and liberation\u201d for who? The European and Arab settler Colonialists who occupy our Southwest Asia Indigenous peoples\u2019 lands, claiming to be the new \u201cindigenous\u201d for colonizing? Or is the Kufiya still a symbol of SWANA Indigenous peoples\u2019 resistance to European and Arab settler Colonialism and freedom fighting for the liberation of our Southwest Asia sacred lands?!]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of escalating global Islamophobia post-9\/11, the West has unabashedly associated the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya) with symbols of terrorism and animosity [thanks to USSR created and funded terrorists groups like the PLO in the 1960\u2019s]. Amidst ongoing protests and demands on both sides, since the recent clashes starting October 7th, 2023, [meaning, Arab PALESTINIANS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Palestinian-Islamic-Iranian Hezbollah attempted a mass genocide upon SWANA indigenous Israelis] there has been a growing trend of anti-Islamic sentiments directed at individuals wearing the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya), contrasting with the comparatively unscathed acceptance of the blue and white flag [What acceptance?!! Liar!!!].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This situation prompts a crucial question, perhaps the most critical question of all: Does the black and white kerchief exclusively symbolize the cause (liberation from suffering and struggle) of a specific faith community in [Colonial] Palestine [aka, the Southwest Asia Indigenous peoples\u2019 lands of Israel and Kurdistan]? [By \u201cfaith community\u201d, do you mean occupying Colonial Islam, Rajrupa Das?]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya) continues to transform beyond geographical and material constraints, prompting questions about its meaning and global significance. Much like the watermelon [a tasty NON-indigenous fruit grown by SWANA natives \u2013 thus ANOTHER settler upon our Jewish and Kurdish peoples\u2019 lands, but only peacefully so, unlike the European Christian and Arab Muslim Conquistadors! The watermelon having become], a symbol echoing the [1917 created pan-Arab Hejaz Colonial] Palestinian flag, the K\u016bf\u012byah (\u0643\u064f\u0648\u0641\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0629, kufiya) has [- due to post-WW1 European-Arab militarized occupation of Jewish and Kurdish people\u2019s lands -] ventured into new realms of expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite restrictions on its use in political rallies in the West due to perceived \u2018provocative imagery,\u2019 [What restrictions, liar?!!] it persists in evolving [like a Colonial religious theology or Colonial political ideology settler virus \u2013 think Christianity, Islam, and Marxism], finding alternative channels like tattoos and henna for its continued expression.\u201d [This is why SWANA Jewish ethno-religious law forbids permanent tattoos and limits henna tattoos to that which is Indigenous ethnic!] \u2013 Rajrupa Das, a proud Kolkata native, is a dedicated museum professional with a Master of Letters in Dress and Textile Histories from the University of Glasgow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Tal Oran (@thetravelingclatt)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>