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Veil

Encyclopedia : V : VE : VEI : Veil

The muslim niqab is typically what people think of when they hear "veil."
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The muslim niqab is typically what people think of when they hear "veil."

This article is concerned with the article of clothing. For other uses see veil (disambiguation).
Veils are articles of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, which cover some part of the head or face.

Contents

History

First recorded instance of veiling for women is recorded in an Assyrian legal text from the 13th century BC which restricted its use to noble women and forbid prostitutes and common women from adopting it. Greek texts have also spoken of veiling and seclusion of women being practiced among the Persian elite and statues from Persepolis depict women both veiled and unveiled, and it seems to be regarded as an attribute of higher status.

For many centuries (until around 1175) Anglo-Saxon and then Anglo-Norman women, with the exception of young unmarried girls, wore veils that entirely covered their hair, and often their necks up to their chins. It was not until the Tudor period (1485), when hoods became increasingly popular, that veils of this type became less common.

For centuries, women have worn sheer veils, but only under certain circumstances. Sometimes a veil of this type was draped over and pinned to the bonnet or hat of a woman in mourning, especially at the funeral and during the period of "high mourning". They would also have been used, as an alternative to a mask, as a simple method of hiding the identity of a woman who was traveling to meet a lover, or doing anything she didn't want other people to find out about. More pragmatically, veils were also sometimes worn to protect the complexion from sun and wind damage (when un-tanned skin was fashionable), or to keep dust out of a woman's face.

Veils with religious significance

In Judaism and Christianity the concept of covering the head was associated with propriety and can be witnessed in all depictions of Mary the Mother of Christ, and was a common practice with Church-going women until the 1960's.

Catholic ceremonial veils

Prior to the Second Vatican Council, it was customary in most places for women to wear a head covering in the form of a scarf, cap, veil, or hat when enetring a church, just as it was and is still customary for males to remove their hat as a sign of respect. The source of this seems to be a troubling and confusing passage from 1 Corinthians 11, where Paul writes:

4 Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head. 5 But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had had her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil. 7 A man, on the other hand, should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 nor was man created for woman, but woman for man; 10 for this reason a woman should have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.(New American Bible translation)

Scholars are still not sure what this passage is actually supposed to mean, but the custom has fallen out of use. Today,Mantillas are still worn by many Spanish and Latina women during religious ceremonies and by some older catholic women and women of other cultures, but this is entirely a matter of etiquette and courtesy as defined by each culture today, and has lost its religious significance.

Nuns' headdresses

A veil forms part of a nun's or religious sister's headdress; this is why a woman who becomes a nun can be said "to take the veil". Customarily, a white veil is used as the "veil of probation" during novitiate, and a dark veil for the "veil of profession" once first vows are taken -- the color scheme varies with the color scheme of the habit of the order. A veil of consecration, longer and fuller, is used by some orders for final profession of solemn perpetual vows.

Nuns, technically, are female monks, and many such orders have retained the veil. Other orders, of religious sisters who are not cloistered but who work as teachers, nurses or in other "active" apostolates outside of a monastery, have abolished the use of the veil, or adopted a modified, short version -- a few never had a veil to start with, but used a bonnet-style headdress even a century ago.

The fullest versions of the nun's veil cover the top of the head and flow down around and over the shoulders. In Western Christianity, it does not wrap around the neck or face. In those orders that retain one, the starched white covering about the face neck and shoulders is known as a wimple and is a separate garment. In Eastern Orthodoxy and in the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church, a veil called an epanokamelavkion is used by both nuns and monks, in both cases covering completely the kamelavkion or cylindrical hat worn by both monks and nuns, and in the case of the nuns also being drawn together to cover their necks and shoulders as well as their heads and leaving the face itself open.

The Catholic Church has revived the practice of allowing women to profess vows as consecrated virgins -- women who take the vows of religion without belonging to a particular order but who are under the direct care of the local bishop. These women may be given a veil as a sign of consecration. There has also been renewed interest in the last half century in the ancient practice of women and men dedicating themselves as anchorites or hermits, and there is a formal process whereby such persons can seek recognition of their vows by the local bishop -- a veil for these women would also be traditional.

Veils in Mormonism

Mormon women also wear a veil as part of ritual temple clothing. This veil, along with the entire temple ritual clothing, is worn only inside the temple. Normally, the veil is worn off the face; it is lowered to cover the face of the wearer during prayer, as part of the temple ritual.

Mormons who have undertaken the temple ritual will typically be buried in this clothing. During the viewing of the body, the face remains unveiled. Immediately prior to the closing and sealing of the casket, the veil is lowered over the face of the deceased.

Another type of veil in Mormonism is the veil of the temple, which is an actual cloth structure suspended from the ceiling. It often separates the temple congregation from the Celestial Room (most holy room of the temple). Toward the end of the main temple ceremony, each member of the congregation passes through the veil curtain into the Celestial Room through an elaborate series of rituals.

Biblical references to veils

Muslim veils

A variety of headdresses worn by Muslim women in accordance with hijab (the principle of dressing modestly) are sometimes referred to as veils or headscarves. Many of these garments cover the hair, ears and throat, but do not cover the face (for example the dupatta, khimar and buknuk). The niqab and burqa are two kinds of veils that cover most of the face except for a slit or hole for the eyes. The Afghan burqa covers the entire body, obscuring the face completely, except for a grille or netting over the eyes to allow the wearer to see. The boushiya is a veil that may be worn over a headscarf, it covers the entire face and is made of a sheer fabric so the wearer is able to see through it. It has been suggested that the practice of wearing a veil - uncommon among the Arab tribes prior to the rise of Islam - originated in the Byzantine Empire, and then spread among the Arabs.

Non-religious veils

Frances Perkins wearing a veil after the death of president Roosevelt
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Frances Perkins wearing a veil after the death of president Roosevelt

Veils with hats

Veils pinned to hats have survived the changing fashions of the centuries and are still common today on occasions when women wear hats. However, these veils are generally made of netting or another material not actually designed to hide the face from view, even if the veil can be pulled down, which is not always the case.

Wedding veils

An occasion on which a Western woman is likely to wear a veil is on her wedding day, if she follows the traditions of a white wedding. Brides used to wear their hair flowing down their back at their wedding to symbolise their virginity, now the white diaphanous veil is often said to represent this.

Courtesans

Conversely, veils are often part of the stereotypical image of the courtesan and harem woman. Here, rather than the virginity of the bride's veil, modesty of the Muslim scarf or the piety of the nun's headdress, the mysterious veil hints at sensuality and the unknown. An example of the veil's erotic potential is the dance of the seven veils. Sexual interest in veiled women is veil fetishism.

In West Africa

Among the Tuareg of West Africa, women do not traditionally wear the veil, while men do. The men's facial covering originates from the belief that such action wards off evil spirits, but most probably relates to protection against the harsh desert sands as well; in any event, it is a firmly established tradition. Men begin wearing a veil at age 25 which conceals their entire face excluding their eyes. This veil is never removed, even in front of family members. [link], [link]

External links

 

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