Preparing a Camel for a Palestinian Ottoman Wedding (1904)
A decorated camel waits its turn in a processional to celebrate the wedding of the Sheik of Abu Ghosh’s son in July of 1904. Abu Ghosh was a throne village, a seat of military and governmental power in Palestinian mountains during the later Ottoman Empire. Sheiks oversaw the rural lands in the mountains of Palestine. Weddings (usually a contracted arrangement) were a way to demonstrate social status, make allies, and establish political alliances during this era of Ottoman Palestine. Even the bridal attire was a demonstration of wealth. The bride may have worn a ‘wuqāyat al-darāhim’ (money hat), a colorful woven hat decorated with beads and coins popular with southern Palestinian brides in the 1800s and early 1900s. The hat was usually an heirloom, the coins representing family history. Each new bride who inherited the headwear would add something to the hat as she wore it during wedding celebrations.