Debit trousers
 A wedding ceremony, 2019 | |
| Native name | Shalvār Debit (شلوار دبیت) |
|---|---|
| Other names | tombūn, šawlār-gošād |
| Type | Trousers |
| Worn by | Men of the Bakhtiari |
| Region | Central Zagros Mountains, Iran |
| Material | Black cotton Debit cloth |
| Colour | Black |
| Worn with | Chogha, giveh, felt cap |
| Attested since | 19th century |
Debit trousers (Persian: شلوار دبیت, romanized: Shalvār Debit) are the wide black trousers traditionally worn by men of the Bakhtiari people of the Zagros Mountains in western Iran.[1][2] They take their name from Debit, the black cotton cloth from which they are made.[2] The ethnographer Jean-Pierre Digard describes the trousers as the most distinctive part of Bakhtiari men's dress, serving as a badge of tribal identification.[1] Wide trousers were already part of Bakhtiari men's dress in the 19th century, when Western travellers described them.[1]
Name
[edit]Debit is the name of a strong, relatively thick cotton cloth, usually dark brown or black, used in Iran for garment linings, quilt covers and Bakhtiari trousers.[3] The origin of the fabric name is uncertain.[2][4] Historically, the finest and most highly prized Debit was imported: some Iranian sources state that it was an English fabric of the same name,[2] while others describe it as a Russian textile.[4] The best-known premium variety, Debit-e Hāj Ali Akbari, was ordered by the merchant Haj Ali Akbar.[4] Good-quality Debit is no longer imported from England; today it comes from factories in Isfahan or from India.[3]
In the scholarly literature the trousers are also called tombūn or šawlār-gošād ('wide trousers').[1]
Description
[edit]The trousers are black and cut very wide, measuring about 120 cm around the leg.[1] Their most distinctive feature is the very wide leg opening, usually more than 50 cm across.[2] Further features:
- Waist: The waist is gathered in many folds.[5]
- Pocket: They usually have a single pocket on the right side, closed with a zip or several clasps.[2]
- Reversible cut: The front and back are cut identically, so the trousers can be worn either way round.[5]
- Underwear: They are usually worn over underdrawers (zīr-šawlār), often simple pyjamas.[1]
Belt
[edit]The trousers are held up by a leather belt or by a large sash of rolled white cloth (šāl). Useful objects such as a pipe and a knife are traditionally carried in the folds of the sash.[1] Men wear the belt in one of two ways:[2]
Fabric
[edit]The best-known and most prized variety of the cloth is Debit-e Hāj Ali Akbari, named after the merchant Haj Ali Akbar, who ordered the fabric.[3][4] Its quality comes from its fast colour and softness.[3] Other commercial varieties include:[3]
- Debit-e Al-Jazireh;
- Debit-e Al-Awazi;
- Debit-e Āj;
- Debit-e Haft Setāreh ('Seven Star');
- Debit-e Hasht Setāreh ('Eight Star').
Place in Bakhtiari costume
[edit]The trousers form part of the full Bakhtiari male costume, together with the following:[1][6]
- the Chogha, a sleeveless striped woollen tunic;
- the tall black felt cap (kolāh-e ḵhosrowī);
- giveh sandals with upturned pointed toes.
Men also wear the trousers with a jacket.[2]
Digard reports two customs that show how closely the trousers are tied to tribal identity:[1]
- Outsiders to the tribe (qorbatīs) are not permitted to wear them.
- Boys and shepherds often wear only the underdrawers, for reasons of economy.
History
[edit]19th and early 20th centuries
[edit]Wide trousers were already part of Bakhtiari men's dress in the 19th century. Their use is documented in the accounts of Western travellers who visited the Bakhtiari country in the 19th and early 20th centuries:[1]
- Austen Henry Layard, who lived among the Bakhtiari in the 1840s and published his account in 1887;
- Isabella Bishop (1891);
- H. B. Lynch (1890);
- Henry-René d'Allemagne (1911);
- Merian C. Cooper, whose book and film Grass (1925) followed a Bakhtiari migration.
The Bakhtiari chief Sardar Asad also described the tribe's dress in his history of the Bakhtiari.[1] In one passage he quotes the British officer Colonel Bell, who describes Bakhtiari men as wearing wide trousers, with a cartridge belt around the waist and a Martini–Henry rifle on the shoulder.[7]
Similar trousers were worn by neighbouring tribes of southwestern Iran. In the 19th century, ordinary Qashqai men wore wide-legged trousers (tonbān), and around 1900 they wore wide-legged black trousers gathered at the waist.[8]
Reforms of Reza Shah
[edit]Comparison with the travellers' accounts shows that the basic Bakhtiari male costume changed significantly in the 20th century. The main changes resulted from the clothing reforms imposed under Reza Shah (1925–1941).[1] As part of these reforms, Bakhtiari men were obliged to wear Western-style suits and the Pahlavi hat instead of their traditional dress.[6] After the disruption of the Iranian state during World War II, most Bakhtiari resumed their traditional way of life.[6]
Modern period
[edit]In the late 20th century the trousers remained the most distinctive part of Bakhtiari men's dress and a badge of tribal identity.[1] Unlike the trousers, the Chogha now worn with them is a more recent addition: according to Digard, it probably spread among the Bakhtiari from Luristan only in the 1940s, replacing the qaba (cloak).[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Digard, Jean-Pierre (1992). "CLOTHING xxv. Clothing of the Baḵtīārīs and other Lori speaking tribes". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. V. pp. 852–854.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Lebas-e mahalli-ye Lori, pushesh-e asil-e Irani" [Luri traditional dress, an authentic Iranian costume]. Kojaro (in Persian). August 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Parche-ye dabit chist?" [What is dabit cloth?]. Edris Plus (in Persian). January 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Davit". Abadis Dictionary (in Persian). Retrieved 22 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Choqa, miras-e mandegar-e Bakhtiari" [The chogha, an enduring Bakhtiari heritage]. Young Journalists Club (in Persian). September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 Digard, Jean-Pierre (1988). "BAḴTĪĀRĪ TRIBE i. Ethnography". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. III. pp. 553–559.
- ↑ "Shalvar-e dabit va lebas dar il-e Bakhtiari" [Debit trousers and dress in the Bakhtiari tribe]. Blogfa (in Persian). Retrieved 22 September 2026.
- ↑ "CLOTHING xxiv. Clothing of the Qašqāʾī tribes". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
Further reading
[edit]- Digard, Jean-Pierre (1981). Techniques des nomades Baxtyâri d'Iran (in French). Cambridge; Paris: Cambridge University Press; Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme. pp. 211–213.
- Digard, Jean-Pierre (1976). "Note sur quelques vêtements Baxtyâri". Cahiers de la Délégation archéologique française en Iran (in French). 6: 117–128.
- Layard, Austen Henry (1887). Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana, and Babylonia, Including a Residence among the Bakhtiyari and Other Wild Tribes. London.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Bishop, Isabella L. (1891). Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs. London.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Cooper, Merian C. (1925). Grass. London.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)