- The Coptic Church
- The Monastic Hood
- Construction and Appearance
- Some Examples
- Further reading/links
This digital exhibition about the qalansuwa is based upon the collection of liturgical and monastic Coptic garments, now in the TRC's collection, Leiden. Many of these garments were made by monks at the Monastery of the Holy Virgin, Deir al-Sourian, Egypt. The hoods used in this exhibition come from the Monastery and a nearby convent.
The text for this exhibition was written with the help of Dr. Karel Innemée, Dept. of Art History, Leiden University, The Netherlands. Various photographs used in the exhibition were taken by Robin Lutz and used in the book Koptische Kloosters by K. Innemée.
Christianity arrived in Egypt by the first century AD and was based around the city of Alexandria. The fact that Alexandria was a centre of culture, science and philosophy must have contributed greatly to the development of Egyptian Christianity and its status in the Mediterranean world. It was certainly no coincidence that at the Council of Nicea in 325, when the first three patriarchates were established, Alexandria was one of them, together with Rome and Antioch.
But in spite of its theological tradition and respected position, the Egyptian Church ended in isolation. This was mainly due to the uncompromising attitude of the Coptic Patriach, Dioscorus, at the council of Ephesus in 449. Dioscorus challenged the authority of the other patriarchates of Rome, Antioch and Constantinople (the latter was made into a patriarch after the council of Constaninople in 391), about a point of Christian theology, and lost. As a result, at the council of Chalcedon in 451, Dioscorus was deposed. This was the first schism in the Christian Church and the Egyptian church was left in an isolated position. The foundations for a separate, Coptic Church, were laid, which continues to the present day.
Monasteries
One aspect of Egyptian Christianity that has been of immense influence on Christian culture in general is monasticism. Monasticism started as a lay-movement, but from the 5th century it took on a more organised and official nature. It was not long before it became a practice and finally a rule to recruit bishops and patriarchs from monastic communities. It is apparent how much intertwined the church and monasticism have become when one looks at episcopal dress: more than half of the costume of a Coptic bishop consists of monastic garments.
The basic habit of a Coptic monk is made up of a leather belt worn under a long, black gown, a black skull cap and a black hood. When a monk is also a priest and is taking a liturgical service he changes into similar garments, but in white.
The hood worn by Coptic monks is called a koulla (Coptic), but it is now commonly referred to as qalansuwa (Arabic).
There are various ideas and traditions within the Coptic Church about where the idea for the hood comes from. One thought places the origins of the hood back to the garments of late antiquity in Egypt. In the early centuries of the first millennium AD it was not uncommon for children's tunics to have a hood. The tradition says that the monks took the idea of the hood as a symbol of (childish) innocence. Some tunics at this time also had deep splits at the sides, which are said to have developed into the monastic scapular (a length of cloth suspended both front and back from the shoulders of the wearer), which is worn by monks and priests in both Eastern and Western Christian Churches. In the Eastern Churches, the hood was detached from the scapular.
Another story relates how St Anthony gave Coptic monks their distinctive black hoods. According to this tradition an angel asked St Anthony to wear the hood, shaped like a baby’s bonnet, to remind him to be simple and pure like a child. The devil, however, tried to pull the head covering off. St Anthony caught it, ripping it down the middle. Today the head covering is stitched down the centre where the material was torn in two, symbolizing the conflict between good and bad, the devil and God, which still continues in the world.
Another symbolic meaning that has been given to the hood, is based on the texts read during the ritual when a novice becomes a professional monk. The Hood is said to represent the Helmet of Salvation from the Spiritual Armour of St. Paul:
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-18).
These hoods are decorated with twelve small crosses placed in two groups of six, and one single cross. The grouped crosses represent the twelve disciples and reminding monks to follow their teachings. On the back of the hood is a single cross that symbolises Christ. Again it is said to be symbolically placed to remind the monks that they must leave everything earthly behind and only look to God.
A monk receives his hood during the rites involved with his first degree of profession (mikroskema) and he should never take it off.
The present model of hood was re-introduced in 1971 by Pope Shenouda III, after it had fallen into disuse for some two to three centuries. It was based on the model worn by Syrian Orthodox monks. There is no reliable information about the exact model before the 18th century.
Coptic nuns also wear a similar hood. These hoods are not normally seen as they are hidden by the nun's veil. The history of the nun's version is not known, but it is likely that it was only introduced for nuns in 1971.
Construction and Appearance
The monastic hood is normally sewn together by the monks themselves. It is made up of a large rectangular piece of black cloth, which is folded in half and rounded at the top. It is sewn together along the top section. There are short, black ribbons about half way down the front. These are normally tied under the chin to keep the hood in place. Traditionally it was the monks who hand embroidered the hood. Nowadays they are made in the workshops of convents and some are made by female relatives of monks. Some modern versions are decorated using machine embroidery.
The qalansuwa worn by nuns is slightly different from those worn by monks. It is normally much longer than the male version, and the ties at the front are considerably longer as well. In the example now in the TRC collection the decoration is also slightly different than the male version - the frame surrounding the twelve crosses extends around the back. This, however, may reflect the personal choice of the person who embroidered the design, rather than being a standard feature of a nun's qalansuwa.
Such hoods are presented as gifts by the monks to friends and visitors. In addition, as the monasteries are growing as a place of pilgrimage, they are being made for sale as mementos.
1. A monk's qalansuwa made of black cotton, decorated with 13 crosses in ochre and white coloured crosses. The crosses are worked in cross stitch with a chain stitch frame. The seam is made from two rows of blanket stitch linked together with crochet. This hood is believed to date to the 1970s. It was acquired Dr. K. Innemée from the monks at the Deir al-Sourian Monastery, Wadi Natron (56 x 28 cm; TRC 2003.0073)
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2. A monk's qalansuwa made of black cotton material. It is decorated with 13 crosses in white cotton embroidery thread. The crosses are worked in cross stitch, with a decorative surround also in cross stitch. The seam is made from two rows of blanket stitch linked together with crochet. It was acquired Dr. K. Innemée from the monks at the Deir al-Sourian Monastery, Wadi Natron (55 x 20.5 cm; TRC 2003.0072)
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3. A monk's qalansuwa made of black synthetic material, decorated with 13 crosses in a brown shaded DMC stranded cotton. The crosses are worked in cross stitch, with a herringbone frame. The seam is made from crochet without a blanket stitch base. The use of the shaded thread became popular in the Near East in the late 1970s, early 1980s. So it is likely that this hood dates to the 1980s. It was acquired Dr. K. Innemée from the monks at the Deir al-Sourian Monastery, Wadi Natron (35 x 22 cms; TRC 2001.0248)
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4. A monk's qalansuwa made of white synthetic material. It is decorated with 13 crosses in cross stitch, surrounded by cross stitch frame. The seam is made from a blanket stitch base with a crochet join. This type of hood was used during liturgical services by a monk/priest. It was acquired Dr. K. Innemée from the monks at the Deir al-Sourian Monastery, Wadi Natron in 2003 (55 x 20.5 cm; TRC 2003.0074)
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5. A nun's qalansuwa made of black cotton, decorated with 13 crosses with a decorative surrounded, all in machine embroidery. The seam is made from a blanket stitch base with a crochet join. The hood was acquired in 2006 by Dr. K. Innemée from a convent near the Monastry at Deir al-Sourian (55 x 24 cm; TRC 2006.0218d)
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Further reading
Karel Innemée, Koptische Kloosters, Gods Levende Doden, Baarn, 1999.
O. Meinardus, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts, Cairo, 1989.
For a general introduction to the Copts, please see Copt: Wikipeadia
For a report about the wall paintings at the Deir al-Sourian Monastry, written by Karel Innemée, please see Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies
Links
