Clothing in Ethiopia

Habesha kemis

The Habesha kemis is the traditional hand-woven cotton dress of the Habesha peoples, including the Amhara and Tigrayans of the highlands. The white, ankle-length dress has been widely adopted as a national symbol of Ethiopia. Regional variations, distinguished by their embroidery motifs (tilet) and patterns, exist in areas such as Gondar, Gojjam, Wollo and Shewa.^{[citation needed]}

Other peoples have distinct attire, such as the cowhide garments of the Oromo, the brightly coloured wraps of the Afar,^{[citation needed]} the long white cloth of Somali women, knotted over one shoulder, and the dresses of the Harari (see below).

Men's clothing

The formal Ethiopian suit consists of a long-sleeved, knee-length shirt with matching trousers, usually with a band or mandarin collar, over which a netela or kuta is draped. Eje tebab (Amharic: እጀ ጠባብ) is a traditional Amhara men's outfit: a white tunic reaching the knee, worn with white trousers called tenefanef (ተነፋነፍ).^{[citation needed]}

The bernos is a cloak-like woollen garment with a hood, woven in one piece. Long worn by highland elites, its decorative pattern indicates social status, and it is still worn at ceremonies and on special occasions. Donald N. Levine noted that the wealthier men of Menz, in Shewa, wore "the barnos, a tailored cape made of dark wool".

Shawls and wraps

Several types of hand-woven cotton cloth are worn as shawls or head coverings.

The netela (Amharic: ነጠላ) is a thin, single-layered shawl worn by women with the Habesha kemis; its name means 'single' in Amharic. The kuta is its male equivalent, a two-layered white cotton cloth worn over the shoulders or head, especially at church and religious ceremonies.

The gabi (Amharic: ጋቢ), or buluko (ቡልኮ), is a thicker cloth of four layers, worn by men and women in cold weather, mostly by the elderly. Because of the high altitude of their homeland, it is a common household item among the Amhara, especially for clergy and the elderly.^: 89 Village leaders and elders often wear it at important meetings as a mark of authority, and its weight also makes it a blanket against the highland cold.^: 89 Amhara women gather to spin the yarn for several gabis, which they give to their husbands.^: 125 In North Wollo, wearing a gabi is a sign of the head of a household, and the groom's father receives one from the bride's family during the wedding gift ceremony.

• 
  Woman in traditional dress performing a dance
• 
  Traditional dresses for sale
• 
  Clothing market at Shiro Meda, Addis Ababa

Oromo

The predominantly pastoralist Oromo have a long tradition of cowhide clothing, often treated with animal fat and decorated with cowrie shells. They use three main kinds of skin:

• cowhide (gogaa loonii), used for structured garments such as the wandabo, a knee-length wrap-around skirt for women;
• goat and sheep skin (haduu, gogaa reeyee), used for capes and more flexible garments such as the qollo, a cloak worn over the shoulders;
• wild animal skins (gogaa bineensaa), from colobus monkeys or leopards, reserved for the luba, the ruling age grade of the Gadaa system.

Other garments include the gurda (or sabaqa), a wide, stiff leather belt covered with beads whose patterns indicate a woman's clan and family wealth, and the woya, a toga-like robe of softened hide worn by men. Women also wear the gorfo (sadetti), a beaded cowhide dress, and men the sirra, a layered leather wrap.^{[citation needed]}

Southern Ethiopia

Peoples of southern Ethiopia traditionally relied on leather, animal skins and fibres from the enset plant. Among the Gamo, hides were used for ritual capes and everyday clothing until the Derg outlawed indigenous leather clothing from 1974. The Silte also wore leather clothing (zuria) in the past; after the introduction of ethnic federalism, they designed new cultural costumes as ethnic markers. Cotton clothing spread in the south with increased trade and the expansion of the Ethiopian state in the late 19th century.^{[citation needed]}

Harari

Harari women traditionally wear the tey eraz, a long, wide-skirted black or indigo dress with a scarlet embroidered triangle from shoulder to waist, and the gey eraz, a double-faced dress of silk or fine cotton with one ornate side for festivals and a simpler side for daily wear. They are worn with embroidered gey gannafi trousers, the melfota headwrap and the siyasa, an embroidered headpiece, together with silver jewellery and long necklaces. Harari men wear a kufi, plain white or crocheted with geometric motifs.