Kessoua which one sees in the photograph (carried by Canadian girls of Quebec during a twinning with Kairouan) is very famous in Tunisia and each girl dreams to carry one during her marriage.

They are two parts “Fouta” and “Blouza”, “fouta” is the skirt (made from silk or cotton fabric where women get covered until the ankel), the “blouza” is the long-line bra

The “kessoua” that one sees on the photograph is made up of two parts (long-line bra and baggy pants).

The white wedding dress symbolizes the purity and virginity. The veil which accompanies it generally has the same significance though the port of a veil for the marriage is of older tradition.

According to the tradition, a widow who ants to get re-married, she has to adhere a period of time of sufficient widowhood before getting involved in a second weddings and it was generally known that her wedding dress should not be white.

Mohamed Rebai
info@kairouan.org