The Kaftan or Caftan, is now source of new tension between Morocco and Algeria. The two countries have been monitoring each other’s moves to pinpoint and complain about “cultural appropriation” when it comes to food, traditional graphics designs, arts and now robes. Morocco has been the most vocal in this competition for culture and the Kaftan in on its radar screen. Wikipedia says the origins of the Kaftan are unknow but “it is believed to have first appeared in ancient Mesopotamia. Wikipedia adds that “originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years,” including in Russia.
In this latest saga, Morocco filed a complaint with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), accusing Algeria of wanting to “appropriate the Kaftan.” The complaint was submitted by the Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication and the Permanent Delegation of Morocco to UNESCO. The complaint follows a submission by Algeria to UNESCO, aimed at obtaining recognition of traditional Algerian clothing named the Kaftan.
The Moroccan Minister of Culture, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, addressed a letter to the head of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, who happens to be of Moroccan origin, saying “the Moroccan authorities denounce the appropriation by Algeria of the Kaftan known as Ntaa de Fes”. The complaint accuses Algeria of “submitting the image of this Moroccan Kaftan, stolen from a museum in Amsterdam.” Morocco requested, “the removal of the Kaftan image from the Algerian application submitted to UNESCO.”
So, what is the real owner of the Kaftan? There is no doubt that many cultures can say the Kaftan is theirs, certainly the Turks, all North Africans, they can be found in the Sahel such as in Mali and Niger, and elsewhere, most likely all over the Middle East. And so perhaps the compromise is to simply call this robe an intangible heritage of humanity.
