A big range of folk and traditional costumes are being worn by the people of Norway and the term used for the traditional dress of Norway is Bunad. Bunad is used by both the men and women of Norway and these traditional costumes are full of colors, embroidery and varaities along with the accessories like the hand mde silver or gold ornaments.

Norwegians in Bunad on their National Day – Image by Ove and Lucia Yang Sæth

The Norwegians can be seen commonly wearing their traditional dress, Bunad on special ocassions and the national celebrations. Particularly on May 17, the national day of Norway, it is very popular to see people, and especially women, dressed in bunad. The people of Norway opted Bunad specially, when the historic national romantic movement was initiated by the folk enthusiasts and later on wearing Bunad became a status symbol and an emblem of prestige. This must be remembered that the folk costumes of Norway have a little distinction with the traditional Bunabd costumes, although some articles and patterns were included by the designers in Bunad.

The folk performers from Norway wearing Bunad – Image by amymaura – flickr

The normal fabric which is used for Bunad is wool. The trousers used by the Norwegian men in Bunad are often made from hodden which is wool that has been pressed into shape rather than woven.  Shirts are made from either linen or cotton, and shawls and aprons are normally wool or silk.

Women wearing Bunad – Image by Sigmund – flickr

The women of Norway also use a purse made of matching fabric and embroidery in their Bunad costume. At the time of marriage the Norwegian bride wears a gold crown, headress or elaborite jewellery on her head.  She also carries a small bible in her purse and can wear a veil if it has been designed into her traditional costme. The married women in Norway also wear a traditional silver belt and the housekeeper Norwegian women also keep a key as symbolic decoration with them.

A Norwegian Bride with the traditional crown over her head – Image by Espen Faugstad

In the nutshell, the traditional Bunad for the women of Norway includes a skirt worn with a highly embroidered blouse, over which is worn a much decorated vest or bodice of silk damask or calamanco. Some Norwegian women also use a shawl over one shoulder. Similarly, the Norwegian men wear a knicker-length or full-length pants of one color in their Bunad. They also wear a plain jacket, made in the same material as their trousers.

A Norwegian boy wearing the traditional Bunad – Image by Marionzetta – flickr

Nowadays Bunad is gaining much popularity than the past, and this traditional dress of Norway is prepared by the designers in many attractive styles and decorations.

A woman wearing Bunad from Norway – A pure traditional look – Image by Bada Bing – flcikr

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The traces of the first human inhabitation are found in Afghanistan around thirty millenniums ago. This ancient country has the main attraction of the historic pathway known as “Silk Road” that was the important passage for the human migration in this region. Centuries have gone away; the traditional and nomadic life style of the Afghani people has never changed. Courtesy to the geographic landscape of this landlocked country or to the instinct of self esteem in the Afghan nation, the ancient cultural and traditional values are still alive and preserved in Afghanistan. The main ethnic communities of Afghanistan are Pashtuns and Tajiks while the Hazara and Uzbeks are also significant in number.

The Afghan men wearing the traditional dress - Image: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Pashtun people feel pride to follow “Pashtunwali” which is actually a non-written ethical codel of life and the rules of this code are part of the lives of the Pashtuns living in Afghanistan and Pakistan and also in some Pashtun communities around the world. The rest of the culture of Afghanistan is being dominated by the Persian and Turk influences. Honor, freedom, bravery and loyalty are the main features of this warrior nation. The tribal culture is a prominent factor of the Afghan lifestyle and there are numerous tribes existing in Afghanistan.

The Afghan folk musicians in their traditional costumes - Jeff Rozwadowski's Image

Having a complex and ancient historical background the traditional dress of Afghanistan has also gone through many variations and fashions. In Afghanistan, cotton and wool have remained the dominant fabrics used for dressing; however, for preparing the expensive dresses, rugs and carpets, silk was also an important raw material.

Afghan women wearing the traditional dresses - Asian Art Museum

For the last three decades, the Taliban Afghans have imposed strict clothing regulations as the women had to wear long dress with a trouser as well as a Burqa on top to cover them from the head to the ankle. Men also had to wrap a hat or turban around their heads and keeping a long beard. Although the Afghan people have started to dress up with the clothing of their own choice for the last one decade, however, still in the particular areas of Taliban, the situation is not changed.

The Afghan ladies wearing the traditonal Burqa - Naeem Azizian's Image

Nevertheless, the traditional dress of Afghanistan was very tremendous and elegant; especially the traditional women attire is so unique for its beautiful embroidery which is mostly handmade.

The traditional Afghan fabric - Zohalii Image

The women usually wear a long dress which is made with cotton fabric with a combination of various colors. For the lower part of the body, they use matching pants along with a head kerchief, a purse and a flat pair of shoes called Paizar.

An Afghan model presenting the traditional look - Mustafa Qazi's photo

As this country has remained a region of long lasting warfare, the invaders have also penetrated with the infliction of their own cultures.

A beautiful Afghani girl in exotic traditional costume - sar-kelandi's image

Presently, the women of Afghanistan prefer to wear shirts with jeans or a “Shalwar Kameez” dress pretty much similar to Pakistani style. We can also see the women wearing a long ankle length skirt with a matching headdress.

An Afghan girl showing her traditional Afghan necklace - Mustafa Qazi's Image

For the outer clothing, especially in winter, the women wear the loose sleeveless and hip-length jackets.

An Afghani bride - AFGHANISTAN PASHTUNISTAN's Image

The traditional dress for Afghan men is usually “Shalwar Kameez” which is also known as “Perahan Turban”. The dress is very popular as the large portion of the men population in Afghanistan wears this attire. The Afghan men wear “Shalwar Kameez” as their casual and also for their formal clothing. The dress is normally made with cotton and polyester but it can be made with the woolly fabric in winter. The new trends of decorating the dress with embroidery on the chest part and on the collar side are also very common. The Afghan men also use a “Waistcoat” worn over this dress to give their dress more dignified look.

An Afghan man wearing the traditional turban - Martien van Asseldonk's Image

Ther Afghan men also use diferent types of hats like turban, karakul, pakol, topi, kufi, and a chapan (coat). Occasionally some men wear or wrap a keffiyeh on their head.

A traditional Afghan man wearing the Pakol Cap - Ornella Bagnato

The Afghan men in Kandhar also wear a traditional Kandhari cap which is simialr to Sindhi Topi worn in the province of Sindh, Pakistan.

An Afghan boy wearing the Kandhari Cap - From Afghanistan With LoveÙ‘

In short, the traditional dress of Afghanistan is a phenomenal part of the cultural heritage of Afghanistan.

Some Afghan girls dancing in a cultural show wearing the traditional costumes - Chantalina

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New Zealand is often seen as the country where the sheep outnumber the people, which is very true but we aren’t all about the wool – we’re known for our ‘white gold’ too.  Yes I’m talking about milk! I live in a region where the dairy cows greatly outnumber the human population and dairy farming is huge.  Us Kiwis love our nature, our beaches, our wildlife and obviously our lush green pastures with – you guessed it – dairy cows.

The grazing sheep of New Zealand

Southland is at the bottom of the South Island, the most southernmost region in New Zealand, and has a very different climate to the rest of the country due to its proximity to the South Pole, and to top it off, Southland has claim to fame by being New Zealand most sparsely populated region (in other words, there aren’t that many of us)  Southland is around 28,681 km² with 3,400 km of coastal stretch.  The other claim to fame should be that the region contains two National Parks; Fiordland and Rakiura National Parks.  Fiordland National Park is 7,860 km² and is New Zealand’s largest National Park.  Rakiura National Park takes up 85% of Steward Island which is the little island right at the bottom of mainland New Zealand (and is included in the Southland Region).  Both are as stunning and diverse as the people who call New Zealand home.

Kiwi Dairy Cows are grazing ( Image : Towards Light on Flickr )

Yes, New Zealand has lots of sheep compared to people.  The sheep total in 2011 was 32.6 million, compared to the current 2012 human population of entire New Zealand at a mere 4.4 million.  But Southland is unique once again, by being the region with only 94,900 humans compared to a whopping 589,000 dairy cows!

A beautiful image by Alan Hopps : Fantastic field, New Zealand Cows and Church

The New Zealand dairy industry is world famous, we have in total 11,735 dairy herds, with 5.9 million cows scattered throughout the country that are responsible for the 17.3 billion liters of milk produced per year.  New Zealand controls one third of the world trade in dairy products, with 95% of the annual production in New Zealand exported overseas – not bad for a wee country  even if I say so myself!
So when you hear people talking about the gorgeous landscape, the green forests, the clean beaches, the sheep and ‘kiwis’ of New Zealand, you should also remember that we love our humble dairy cow.

About the Author :

Monica Vos

Monica Toretto is a writer, painter, photographer and blogger. She lives with her two young sons in Invercargill near Bluff. She has travelled widely in Canada and the US and worked as a veterinary technician before returning to New Zealand. Her work has appeared in several magazines in the UK and New Zealand. She has also authored a book of poetry and photography called ‘Words’.

Algerian traditional dress is one of the most significant in North African region in the sense that it has maintained its original style since centuries. Although in the main cities of Algeria, the Algerians use the western style dresses yet in the remote areas of Algeria, specially the rural class still continue their tradition of using the traditional Algerian attires. If we say, the cultural debate about Algeria is incomplete without mentioning the traditional costume of the Algerian people, it might not be wrong.

Algerian traditional men's dress. Image : Dandan Liu

The traditional men’s costume of Algeria consists of  a Gandoura or cloak which is made of white or brown wool. They also use a shirt which is worn over another longer shirt. Burnous is also used by Algerian Men in their clothing which is a sleeveless coat. Burnous is made of lawn in the summer while it is prepared with wool in the winter. This may be consisting of captivating embroidery and various design patterns.

A woman in Algeria wearing traditional Haik. By : Khaled Ayab

The typical women of Algeria wear a dress that is known as Haik  which is a veil like fabric that covers the woman from head to toe. Under this they use loose fitting trousers. The Islamic influence is also shown as mostly the women cover their heads by headdresses. The traditional wedding dress of Algerian women is a very sophisticated attire and in the wedding occasions the women of Algeria wear their traditional wedding dresses. These wedding dresses are prepared in many fancy and elegant patterns.

Algerian traditional wedding dress

Although Algerian traditional dress reflects the influences from the western culture but it also has many distinctions in its different styles. The way these traditional dresses of Algeria are prepared, they carry a huge attractions for the tourists due to their fascinating designs and varieties.

Algerian dancers in their traditional costumes ( Image: The Pagan Alliance )