Southern Sus
lessons from the field

In search of the proper Western Sahara outfit     Women from the Western Sahara wear an intricate patterned veil as their main piece of clothing. The malhafa comes in all patterns and colors, from lavish oranges to sober blacks, and never will you see two women wearing the same. The streets of Laayoune are polka dotted with small and big colored shapes, gracefully strolling through the city. It wasn't long before every member of the Rouvray family felt a strong urge to wrap herself (or himself) in one such marvel...     Like every other good in Morocco, the malhafa is purchased in the "souk"- the town market. In small, countryside villages, souks tend to be a weekly event (and an important event, as some towns owe their name to the day of the week their souk is held on- as if our towns were suddenly called Monday, Tuesday etc..)- but in great big cities like Laayoune, souks are a permanent affair; and a rather noisy one.

woman holding her malhafa in the windy streets of Laayoune

Pressed by 4 incessant demands for veils and other Moroccan marvels, I decided to ask one of these fair women where they had purchased their magnificent garment. I sent my father as the emissary- big mistake, the young woman stepped back, fearful that this gray man from the West would take her away to faraway lands. She put up much less of a fight when I approached her, and soon, she and her cousin were parading us through narrow streets, from one vendor to another.     Our two, self-appointed guides (but when do you ever meet a real guide in Morocco?) soon took a great liking to Mom- as she was obviously the most willing to try...anything.

And so the afternoon ended in a wave of laughter, spreading from shop to shop, from makeshift stall to stall...as all gathered to watch Mom lose herself in a mountain of veils!     In a few years,some innocent tourist in Laayoune (though one may need more resolve than innocence to get that far down the Moroccan coast) will probably be fed the most improbable of all legends: the tale of the white woman sent from far away lands, to learn of the intricate ways of malhafa wrapping!