Omani Ring
Posted on
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
by Anonymous
In Oman, until not so long ago, rings were made in pairs. It was the practice to give the bride a gift of ten rings — with one design for each finger. The ring worn on the thumb is a wide silver band called the jabiyrah. This ring is also referred to as batham, maramiy or ha'is masbuwqah.
The ring for the second finger is rounded or rhomoid and has several names — it is called mahar and also referred to endearingly as Abu Fawz or khatim abu fawz. The third finger is always adorned with a square called kanabir or khatim abu sath murabba.The ring for the little finger, khanafir, was the only one that was embellished with a stone.
This ring was usually made from a common umla (coin) and in size was smaller than the rings that adorned the other fingers.Rings worn on the toes were simple with bosses — a round knob or stud or other protuberance. Rings for men were usually set with the fairuz — a turquoise stone.
Gold has usurped the place of silver and it is the yellow metal that is now preferred for rings and other ornaments. But there are collectors like the French aficionado at the souk who are looking only for the silver with history. She planned to display her Omani silver collection. What better peg for an after dinner story about men who gifted their women with a ring for each finger
posted by Anonymous @ 1:40 PM 0 Comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home