Or, Just who is that Yemenite lady??
If you can't see all the photos on this post, switch for a moment to "Snapshop" at the top and you'll see a lovely photo of Anat and Liron in costume.
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| This is me, dressed in Yemenite clothes. Rather eye-catching, don't you think?! |
I was honored to be a guest in Liron and Anat's pre-wedding heena party. The party mostly involved dressing up and dancing to some pretty complicated ethnic music. The title of my post comes from one of the dances which was performed by women with baskets filled with LIT CANDLES on their heads. I'm hoping that Liron's mom will share some photos, because I was in the back, clapping like mad and making wild and frequent high pitched "lou-lou-lou" sounds like all the rest of the women.
Anat, who is NOT Yemenite, was a great sport and wore a huge costume that looked to me like it was heavy, hot, and stiff. And then she switched headpieces and danced with the rest of us.
Yemenite traditions are kept alive in Israel by the youngest generation, and this party was held at the instance of the groom, Leron. I suspect his aunt Tzvia helped set it all up. Tzvia was born and spent part of her childhood in Yemen so is more connected to those traditions than Liron's mother, Ziona, who was born in a immigrant tent camp shortly after her parents moved to Israel.
Liron is not the least bit religious, and would never keep his earlocks long and curled like that. The costumer knew that (I would guess it's a pretty common problem) and so she brought hats with long earlocks sewed into them to give the right look.
I was really honored to be at the party - and I had a blast! This is what I look like when I'm dressed up for a party but not in costume....
