In the “Jewellers’ Souk” in Tunis or other big towns you’ll see dazzling modern gold sets of matching necklace, earring and bracelets, prized as wedding gifts to the bride and worn for the ceremony and other special occasions later. Elsewhere you’ll find ladies in country markets wearing interesting traditional silver pieces for every-day. Either way, a Tunisian woman’s jewellery is regarded as a nest egg, bought in good times in case of a ‘rainy day’ later.
Circular or triangular shoulder pins (khlal) hold together the local wrap dress (mellia), often linked by a looping chain (silsila). A hip belt of corded wool fastens with a large decorated silver ring, while some earrings are so heavy they’re supported by a cord passing over the top of the head or hooked into the headdress. Necklaces can carry circular, square or triangular pendants, or small cylinders (qannouta) or book shapes (kitab), decorated with incised patterns, applied twisted wire or coloured enamel. Special necklets called skhab are made of black perfumed ambergris beads or cartouches interspersed with coral or other semi-precious materials.
Typically Tunisian are the impressively large anklets called kholkhal – don’t worry, they’re hollow, so not as heavy as they look! The tinkling sound of a girl’s ankle rings as she walks is thought to be very seductive to an admirer and was often mentioned in poetry.
Certain designs are traditionally very popular and reflect the country’s rich heritage: the ‘Hand of Fatma’ (khomsa) where the fingers represent the five tenets of Islam (declaration of faith, prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage); the fish (huut) standing for fertility and abundance and also used by early Christians, as was the square cross shape still found in some patterns; the six-pointed star (nejma), widespread in olden days when many of the jewellers were Tunisian Jews; the crescent (hilal), with connections to earlier Phoenician art as well as being the main Islamic motif, and finally the bird or dove (hammama) – the universal peace symbol.
So, whatever piece of jewellery you choose to take home as your souvenir of Tunisia, there truly is something for everyone.