Kiswan.
/ˈkɪswa/ The black cloth which covers the Kaaba.
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society > faith > artefacts > cloths, carpets, cushions > cloth (general) > curtain or hanging cloth > [noun] > as a covering > which covers kaaba
Kiswa1599
1599 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. i. 203 Moreouer he deliuereth vnto him yeChisua Talnabi, which signifieth in the Arabian tongue, The garment of the Prophet.
a1817 J. L. Burckhardt Trav. Arabia (1829) I. 254 The four sides of the Kaaba are covered with a black silk stuff, hanging down, and leaving the roof bare. This curtain..is called kesoua.
1855 R. F. Burton Personal Narr. Pilgrimage to El-Medinah II. xvi. 82 The Kiswa is a black, purple, or green brocade, embroidered with white or with silver letters.
1912 A. J. B. Wavell Mod. Pilgrim in Mecca viii. 152 The ‘Ihram’..remains till the day of the festival, when the ‘Kiswah’, that is the covering itself, is changed.
1928 E. Rutter Holy Cities Arabia I. xiii. 178 The beautiful silk and wool kiswa with its gold-embroidered band..not having been sent this year, Ibn Saʽûd had supplied a covering of black Bedouin hair cloth.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. IX. 192/2 Each old Kiswa is cut up and sold to pilgrims.
1963 Ann. Reg. 1962 375 Saudi refusal to accept the kiswa, the traditional holy cloth for the Kaaba shrine in Mecca sent annually from Cairo.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1976; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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