History of the kaftan
Persian origin, the caftan (pronounced "Caftane") is a long tunic and wide, without a collar, long sleeves, composed of several strips, which give greater or lesser extent. It is worn both by men than by women. Completely open at the front, it is topped with a cord of braided silk (sfifa), closed with a row of buttons (âakad) and its flanges (Aayoun). This caftan is called ain or ouqda ("eye" or "buttons"). Its silk embroidery is gold or silver, precious stones or trimmings. They adorn the breastplate, shoulders and cuffs.
The first written mention the Moroccan caftan dating from the sixteenth century. Already worn by the Parthians and Persians, the caftan was introduced into the Muslim East under the Abbasids. The Emir Abd al-Rahman II (822-852) - small son of Abd al-Rahman I, who won Andalusia, where he formed an independent emirate in the ninth century - loving culture, the artist received Zyriab, come Baghdad. This was the Andalusians discover the refinement of the Muslim East and the musical modes, culinary arts and clothing. He showed them what to wear according to the seasons: white and light summer fabrics, clothing lined and dark winter.At the beginning of the twelfth century Andalusia - governed by the Berber dynasties - says artistic sensibility clean, new tastes and new aspirations that allow his art and his craft shine throughout the Mediterranean. Its influence is continuously in Moroccan cities called hadaria ("urban"): Fes, Rabat, Salé and Tetouan. In 1492, the Christian reconquest ended with the conquest of Granada, the last Muslim kingdom remained in the hands of the Nasrid sultans (1238-1492). Despite their promises, the Catholic Kings ordered the expulsion of Muslims and Jews. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, waves of exiles arrived and Morocco. They will know the northern cities of the latest techniques of silk weaving and conclude propagate their fashions.
