11 June 2015

Know your veils

Today's "Les Décodeurs" rubric in Le Monde clarifies the current terminology in French for the different types of Muslim veils with definitions and photos of the niqab, hijab and burqa.

Wikipedia has a more comprehensive article under the heading List of types of sartorial hijab, but only in English. More useful information can be found in Wikipedia by comparing the entries in different languages for words like niqab, hijab, and burka or burqa.

Note in passing. Similar headgear was worn by women in southern Portugal, and more particularly in and around the town of Olhão until the early 20th century. See Côca, Biuco e Capelo.
The main type is called bioco or biuco in Portuguese which may be a cognate of burqa.
The Dicionário Priberam lists the definitions of bioco as:
1. Mantilha ou envoltório com que as beatas tapam o rosto.
2. [Figurado] [Figurado] Ademanes de modéstia afectada.afetada.afetada.
3. Gesto de ameaça.

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