Sirwal
Loose trousers of ancient origin
Sirwal, also sherwal, saroual, seroual, sarouel or serouel (Arabic: سِرْوَال sirwāl), also known, in some contexts, as (a subtype of) Harem pants, are a form of trousers. The word is of Persian origin; shalwār (شلوار) was borrowed into Greek as σαράβαρα sarábāra, "loose trousers worn by Scythians". The words used in Balkan languages came through the Ottoman Turks and did not continue the Ancient Greek designation. They are typically worn in Muslim countries, but also extensively in the Polish Commonwealth, in Mallorca, in the Greek countryside, and other places in the Balkans that were influenced by Ottoman Turks prior to World War I. The trousers are not originally an Arab garment but were introduced from Persia to other Mideastern regions. The sirwal is also worn by communities in North India.
The drawstring allows the sirwal to be worn at either the waist or hip level.
01Types
It is usually made from cotton, linen, or polyester. Sometimes the cuff features embroidery.
There are two types of sirwal, long and short. Short sarawil are worn by most Saudi men. Men of the Western Region usually wear long sarawil.
02Uniforms
The seroual formed part of the standard uniform for the Mameluke squadrons of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, and for the North African zouave, spahi and tirailleur regiments of the French Army from 1830 to 1962. The French Army version of the seroual was notable for being cut so widely that it did not require two separate trouser legs. During the American Civil War a number of volunteer regiments, designated as zouaves, also wore seroual breeches, though these were usually of chasseur design, being simply baggier versions of conventional trousers.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Sirwal”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Baş Falakacı.jpg by Arif Paşa Originally uploaded to the Turkish Wikipedia by tr:User:Erk and named tr:Dosya:Flakaci.jpg, Public domain
- (1829) MADDEN, Richard Robert in Syrian Costume.jpg by Scan courtesy of The British Library, Public domain
- Magic City2, Paris, 1913.jpeg by Agence Rol, Public domain
- Sirwal.jpg by Doc sameer at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
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