The tabard.
This is the 10th in a series of pieces on characters and places
featured in Joinings: A Seared Sky.
This background information, isn’t covered in the book, but should enhance the
reading experience. For some of my people, there’ll be a character drawing,
supplied by Alice Taylor, maybe a video interview, and accompanying script. I
may do short pieces of fiction, deepening knowledge of certain minor characters
as well.
For the places, I may use sections of the map, to indicate location,
along with a description of the place, as I see it, and, where appropriate,
links with characters. Perhaps I’ll indicate the way of life there with a short
anecdote or story.
This week, I’m diverting from the usual post about location or
character and letting you see how some of the people dress.
I won’t reveal any of the main story, either as already published or as
written in the series, merely enhance readers’ enjoyment of the trilogy by providing
more information. I hope this will give pleasure to those who’ve bought the
book and, perhaps, persuade others to take that step.
Pronunciation hints:
Names are pronounced
phonetically. But this is my take on them; how I hear them in my head. You may
pronounce them as you wish, of course; reading is, after all, active rather
than passive.
How Followers dress.
The population of Muhnilahm, known collectively as Followers, all
dress in a standard item: the tabard. This is fashioned from a single piece of
fabric, which can be anything from jute sacking to the sheerest silk, with
linen being the choice of most. That choice depends more on wealth and status
than on piety. It’s the only garment worn by men and women on this tropical
island and is intended to be easily removed for prayer: naked is sacred here.
The tabard accommodates the head through a central hole, which can be
round, diamond shaped (to give a V opening front and back) or square. The
degree of upper body exposure is up to the wearer, but excessive display is
frowned upon. The garment is fastened by tags through loops at each side and
these can number from two to five, again depending on the wearer’s attitudes to
modesty. Tags can be bone, wood, worked stone or metal.
A belt or cord cinches the tabard at the waist. This fastening can be
anything from plain cord to the finest and softest leather or even woven gold
thread. Many married women wear a cord woven from the cut locks of their own
hair entwined with that of their buck taken at their first public joining
ceremony.
According to taste, status and wealth, the item can be completely
plain, dyed with a pattern, or adorned with embroidered designs of any sort.
And the hem of the garment generally falls from a length that’s barely decent
to one that reaches the knee.
Accompanying this piece are a couple of sketches to show how the
garment looks as an item of clothing and as worn. Please bear in mind I’m no
artist, so these are pretty rough illustrations, but I hope they give an
indication of the design of the tabard.
