Ka-Boi

Sketch by Brigham Teichert

Arabs love their families and they love talking about their families. They have also loved hearing about my family and how we are ranchers. At first I wasn't sure how to explain growing up on a ranch not to mention that I didn't have the vocabulary I wanted to explain what we did. So I talked around the subject until they got the idea of what I was telling them and filled in the blank. I started out by telling them that back home, we had a lot of animals. One of my little sisters raised chickens. The other one loved taking care of her cats. My brothers and my Dad worked with cattle and owned horses. At that point they got really excited and asked if my Dad was a real “ka-boi.” Did he wear a hat when he rode his horse like in the movies? The only thing that got them more excited than answering yes to that question was adding that I also rode horses and that my brothers were also very good at roping. I wasn't surprised that they were excited to meet a real cowgirl, but what surprised me is how fixed their attention was on the hat. Maybe part of that is due to the significance that is placed on what someone wears on their head in this part of the world. The pattern on the koufeyah that many men wear tells everyone else if you are Jordanian, Palestinian, or Iraqi. At least, I can recognize the patterns for those three nationalities. Even more emphasis is placed on what women wear on their heads. Some women leave their hair uncovered, but women will wear a hijab more often than not. Some of the hijabs only cover the hair and leave the face and neck exposed. Other hijabs leave only the face exposed. Some women will also wear a veil when they are out in public so that the only thing that is visible is their eyes. Other women will go one step further than that and cover even their eyes when they are out in public. I don't know all the reasons for why they choose what style. I have heard from many different sources that the prettier the woman is, the more of her face she will cover in public... I have yet to learn all of the reasons.

=)