Cameroon Wedding Women Fashion Pearl Style Jewelry 81

Cameroon Wedding Women Fashion Pearl Style Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan.

Cameroon has distinct regional cultural, religious, and political traditions as well as ethnic variety. The division of the country into British- and French-ruled League of Nations mandates after World War I created Anglophone and Francophone regions. The English-speaking region consists of the Southwest and Northwest provinces, where Pidgin English (Wes Cos) is the lingua franca and English is taught in school. The educational system and legal practices derive from those of England. The French-speaking region consists of the remaining eight provinces, where French is the lingua franca, the French school 

system is used, and the legal system is based on the statutory law of continental Europe. This region is dominant in numbers and power. Tension between the two regions increased after the introduction of a multiparty political system in the 1990s.

The English-speaking region is divided into two cultural regions. The Grassfields peoples of the Northwest Province consist of nearly one hundred chiefdoms each ruled by a divine king (fon) . Most of these chiefdoms have patrilineal or dual descent kinship systems, although some groups, such as the Kom, are matrilineal. Polygyny and fertility are important cultural values, although this varies by wealth and education. The social organization and culture of the Grassfielders are closely related to those of the French-speaking Bamiléké peoples of the Western province. Like the Bamiléké, Grassfielders often are in opposition to the central government.

Cambodia Women's Bridal Pearl Fashion Gold Jewelry 80

Cambodia Women's Bridal Pearl Fashion Gold Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan. 

The golden age of Cambodia was between the 9th and 14th century, during the Angkor period, during which it was a powerful and prosperous empire that flourished and dominated almost all of inland Southeast Asia. However, Angkor would eventually collapse after much in-fighting between royalty and constant warring with its increasingly powerful neighbors, notably Siam and Dai Viet. Many temples from this period however, like Bayon and Angkor Wat still remain today, scattered throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam as a reminder of the grandeur of Khmer arts and culture. Cambodia's unparalleled achievements in art, architectures, music, and dance during this period have had a great influence on many neighboring kingdoms, namely Thailand and Laos. The effect of Angkorian culture can still be seen today in those countries, as they share many close characteristics with current-day Cambodia.

Throughout Cambodia's long history, religion has been a major source of cultural inspiration. Over nearly two millennia, Cambodians have developed a unique Khmer belief from the syncreticism of indigenous animistic beliefs and the Indian religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Indian culture and civilization, including its languages and arts reached mainland Southeast Asia around the 1st century AD. It is generally believed that seafaring merchants brought Indian customs and culture to ports along the Gulf of Thailand and the Pacific en route to trade with China. The Kingdom of Funan was most probably the first Khmer state to benefit from this influx of Indian ideas.

Burundi Women's Bridal Fashion Gold Jewelry 79

Burundi Women's Bridal Fashion Gold Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan

Location and Geography. Burundi is a small landlocked country in east central Africa, bordering Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its total area is 10,750 square miles (27,830 square kilometers). The country is situated on a high plateau, with the altitude ranging from 2,532 feet (772 meters) at Lake Tanganyika in the east, to 8,760 feet (2,670 meters) at the highest point, Mount Heha. The country lies along the East African rift and experiences occasional tremors and earthquakes. Forty-four percent of the land is arable, but only 9 percent is planted with permanent crops. One-third of the country is used as pastureland. The most fertile areas are in the highlands, where temperatures are moderate and rainfall averages sixty inches (152 centimeters) a year. The mountain slopes are dense with trees. The plateau is also wooded, particularly at the higher altitudes. The wildlife includes elephants, hippopotamus, crocodiles, buffalo, warthogs, baboons, 

and antelopes. These animals are being threatened as development encroaches on their natural habitat, and the country has not established national park areas or sanctuaries where species are protected. Laws against poaching are not strictly enforced. The country also is experiencing deforestation and soil erosion because of overgrazing and the spread of farming.

Demography. The population was estimated at 6,054,714 in 2000, with one of the highest population densities in Africa. Through much of the country's history, the majority (around 85 percent) of the people have been Hutu. The Tutsi, the largest minority, traditionally have accounted for about 14 percent of the population. One percent of the people are Twa. The ethnic balance has begun to shift as Hutu from Burundi have fled to neighboring Rwanda to escape ethnic persecution and Tutsi have escaped violence in Rwanda and settled in Burundi. The Tutsi now make up closer to 20 percent of the

Burkina Faso Women's Fashion Pearl Jewelry 78

Burkina Faso Women's Fashion Pearl Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan.

Identification. In 1984, Thomas Sankara's revolutionary government changed the name Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, thus discarding the name the French had given their former colony. Burkina Faso is an artificial word, using linguistic elements from the country's largest languages: Burkina means "free man" in Mooré; Faso means "land" in Dyula. Burkina Faso is thus identified as the "country of the free men." Its inhabitants are called Burkinabè; the "bè" is a suffix from another language of the country, Fulfulde.

Burkina Faso is a multiethnic nation with about sixty ethnic and linguistic groups. The country is roughly divided into two parts, each with different historical backgrounds and political cultures: the eastern and central regions were historically dominated by kingdoms, emirates, and chieftaincies such as the Mossi at the center, the Gurmanché in the extreme east and the Fulbe and Tuareg in the north. The western and southern regions contain a number of ethnic groups, which were politically less centralized. The largest of these groups are the Bisa and Gurunsi in the south, the Lobi and Dagara in the southwest, the Bobo in the west, and the Bwaba and Samo in the northwest.

Location and Geography. The country covers 105,869 square miles (274,200 square kilometers) in the center of West Africa, north of Ghana and Ivory Coast. It is a landlocked, flat country with an average altitude between 650 and 1,300 feet (200 and 400 meters) above sea level. There are some elevations in the west, the highest point being the Tenakourou (2,457 feet; 749 meters). The largest part of the former Upper Volta lies within the catchment area of the three northern tributaries of the Volta river, the Mouhoun, the Nazinon, and the Nakambe (formerly the Black, Red, and White Volta). The capital Ouagadougou lies almost in the geographical center of the country. It was the capital of a powerful Mossi kingdom and became the seat of French colonial administration in 1919.

Bulgaria Pearls Fashion Wedding Bridal Jewelry 77

Bulgaria  Pearls Fashion Wedding Bridal  Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan

trace their ancestry to the merging of Bulgars (or Proto-Bulgarians), a central Asian Turkic people, and Slavs, a central European people, beginning in the seventh century C.E. in what is now northeastern Bulgaria. Besides ethnic Bulgarians, there are several ethnic minorities, the most numerous being Turks and Gypsies, with smaller numbers of Armenians, Jews, and others.

The dominant national culture is that of the ethnic Bulgarians, and there is little sense of shared national culture among the three main ethnic groups. Turks usually do not self-identify as Bulgarians, whereas Gypsies often do. Both groups are generally considered outsiders by ethnic Bulgarians, in contrast to the more assimilated minorities such as Jews and Armenians. Nevertheless, since all citizens participate in the national economy and polity, a shared national bureaucratic-political culture does exist, both shaped by and shaping the cultural practices of the constituent ethnic groups.

Location and Geography. Bulgaria is located on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is bordered on the east by the Black Sea, on the north by Romania and the Danube River, on the south by Greece and Turkey, and on the west by Macedonia and Serbia. The landscape consists of mountains, foothills, and plains. One-third of the territory is forested, and one-third is more than 2,000 feet (600 meters) above sea level. Major mountain ranges include Rila, Pirin, Balkan (Stara Planina), and Rhodope. For geographic reasons, Sofia was named the capital in 1879, after Bulgaria gained independence. Situated in an upland basin near the western border, Sofia was on the crossroads of major trade routes between the Aegean Sea and the Danube and between Turkey and central Europe. It also offered easy access to Macedonian lands, which were not part of the new Bulgarian state. Regional cultural variation sometimes reflects occupational specialization associated with local environmental conditions (e.g., fishing, animal husbandry), along with the influence of other cultural groups. 

Brunei Darussalam Women's Pearl Fashion Jewelry 76

Brunei Darussalam Women's Pearl  Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan

Identification. Brunei Darussalam is a multiethnic society in which one ethnic group, the Barunay, has a monopoly of political power. Variations in tradition among other ethnic groups are not regional but cultural, social, and linguistic. Indigenous Muslims usually are referred to as Brunei Malays even if they are not native speakers of the Malay language.

Speculations about the etymology include derivations from the Malay ( baru nah ("there!"), a Sanskrit form, and the Kelabit name for the Limbang River.

Location and Geography. The original home of Brunei culture is the area around the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. Settlements of Barunay and Kadayan also are found along the coasts of northern Sarawak and southwestern Sabah in Malaysia; Tutong and Belait settlements are found exclusively in Brunei. Bisaya, Iban, and Penan people also live in Sarawak and Dusun and Murut people in both Sarawak and Sabah.

Brunei Darussalam is 2,226 square miles (5,763 square kilometers), with a coastline of about 100 miles (161 kilometers) on the South China Sea coast of northwestern Borneo and along the western shores of the southernmost portion of Brunei Bay. Brunei is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The climate is equatorial with high temperatures, high humidity, and heavy rainfall, although there is no distinct wet season. The country is divided into three contiguous administrative districts—Brunei-Muara, Tutong, and Belait—with a fourth, Temburong, separated by the Limbang Valley of Sarawak. The names of the districts derive from their main rivers.

Brazil Women's Stylish Pearl Fashion Jewelry 75

Brazil Women's Stylish Pearl Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan

Note from BW of Brazil: For most, the name Daúde (pronounced “Dah-ooh-gee”) may not be a familiar name in the world of Pop music. But in Brazil of the 1990s and early part of the 2000s, the name conjured up the image of an attractive, brown-skinned woman with a closely-cropped hairdo and an eclectic mixture of various musical genres mixed together in a uniquely Brazilian manner. As black women are rarely allowed to shine outside of the realm of Samba, even with the heavy Afro-Brazilian influence of the northeastern Bahian music, Daúde was a breath of fresh air when she emerged on the music scene with her 1995 self-titled debut CD.  A featured performer in the popular Black2Black music festival in 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, many looked to her appearance as a sign of a comeback that has yet to materialize.

Daúde: The “Black Pearl” of Brazilian Popular Music

(Article features material from the Dicionário Cravo Albin da Música Popular Brasileira, Real World Records and the artist’s UOL website)

Though this may come as a surprise to those unfamiliar with Brazil’s music scene, Daúde is a rare find: a Black woman in Brazil’s eclectic pop-roots music, known as Música Popular Brasileira (MPB), and the first to fuse MPB with African roots and modern production values, setting the whole thing alight with sensual, driving dance beats.

While many of her peers have been abandoning Brazilian music to undertake rock, hip-hop, techno and

Botswana Girl Women Pearl Fashion Jewelry 74

Botswana Girl Women Pearl Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan

DC Fashion Week is the largest exhibition of fashion apparel in the District of Columbia. The designers of DC Fashion Week are an eclectic group of designing talent who come from around the globe. From the high fashion capitol of New York City, to the exotic coasts of New Zealand, to the exquisite city life of Belgium, they are taking the nation’s capital by storm. Bios are presented in their original text from the designers and not edited by DC Fashion Week.

Hall of Fame Designers (Previous Presentations)

Aleksey – Aleksey is a famous Ukrainian designer, who is a director of the brightest shows. He was director of Black Pearl beauty contest, Kyiv catwalk fashion festival and numerous fashion shows of famous Ukrainian designers. The most disputable project of Aleksey is Fashion Aid (http://www.antiaids.org/en/), consisting of three Fashion AID unique social collections devoted to the fight against AIDS. Fashion shows gathered 35 famous Ukrainian designers. At the first show Alexey Zalevskiy presented his collection dedicated to people living with HIV/AIDS. Five of 50 models, who were on the podium, were HIV positive.

Bosnia And Herzegovina Wedding Pearl Fashion Jewelry 73

Bosnia And Herzegovina Wedding Pearl Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan.

At the center of Coco Chanel’s 1932 Bijoux de Diamants jewelry collection is the Comète, a spectacular 649-diamond collar in the form of a shooting star. Despite its obvious opulence, a perfect purity of line keeps it from being flashy . . . and, moreover, makes it as chic today as it was way back when. At the opposite end of Mlle Chanel’s style spectrum is the humble Little Black Dress, as pure and simple and unostentatious as chic can be. Together, they epitomize Chanel’s unique blend of luxury and restraint—a potent dichotomy that has become a near-universal style template for women across the globe and down the decades. “A woman can be overdressed, never over-elegant,”[1] Coco herself once said.

“With a black sweater and ten rows of pearls,”[2] as the postwar couturier Christian Dior once observed, Mlle Chanel revolutionized the way we dress. Paul Poiret, an early rival, was not so kind: “Poverty deluxe,”[3] he called the youthful, pared-down look that transformed women from overblown Belle Époque belles into sleek, bobbed-hair, modern women...

Bolivia Women's Pearl Wedding Fashion Jewelry 72

Bolivia Women's Pearl Wedding Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan. 

Bolivian clothes are different in Potosí and Chuquisaca where, although the chola costume is sometimes used and adapted to the local culture, it isn’t truly representative of these two departments. Typical clothing in Potosí does still somewhat hail back to what the Incan Empire imposed in this area, as women use a long woolen tunic and their skirts are not wide or bell-shaped. These are almost always made of lamb’s wool or llama and alpaca fibers, died black, and have geometric designs embroidered around the bottom hem of the skirt, on the collar and on the wrists and the tunic is tied at the waist with a faja (wide belt) similar to that used by the Incan women, which is usually red. This is complemented by a cape of the same color with adornment along the borders, abarcas for shoes, and a very short-

brimmed hat in the shape of a bowl, surrounded by a leather tie. Men use straight pants, usually of a raw fiber or black color, a rectangular shirt (long or short-sleeved, according to the weather), also of a raw fiber color and made of wool, and a very colorful belt around their waists. The abarca is also their typical shoe and they wear a chulo (a knit cap with ear coverings) usually woven with geometric, zoomorphic or anthromorphic designs. Women carry their children, food, market produce and anything else they need to carry on their backs, wrapped in an aguayo, a very colorful woven sling made from woven fabric. Cholas in La Paz do too.

Bhutan Women's Pearl Fashion Jewelry 71

Bhutan Women's Pearl Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan. 

Since ancient times, the pearl has been a symbol of unblemished perfection. It is the oldest known gem, and for centuries it was considered the most valuable. A fragment of the oldest known pearl jewelry, found in the sarcophagus of a Persian princess who died in 520 BC, is displayed in the Louvre in Paris. To the ancients, pearls were a symbol of the moon and had magical powers. In classical Rome, only persons above a certain rank were allowed to wear pearl jewelry. The Latin word for pearl literally means "unique", attesting to the fact that no two pearls are identical.

Pearls have been considered ideal wedding gifts because they symbolize purity and innocence. In the Hindu religion, the presentation of an undrilled pearl and its piercing has formed part of the marriage ceremony.

In the romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian), margarita means pearl. The word pearl appeared in the English language in the fourteenth century. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, pearls were very fashionable in Europe as personal ornaments. The clothing of both men and women were embroidered with them.

In the Americas, both the Incas and Aztecs prized pearls for their beauty and magical powers. Spanish explorers of the New World found the natives in possession of rich pearl fisheries. For many years, the New World was best known in European cities like Seville and Cadiz as the land where pearls came from.

Most European countries in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries had laws regarding who could and could not wear pearls. Teachers and lawyers, for example, could not wear fringes or chains with pearls.

Bermuda Women's Pearl Bracelet Fashion Jewelry 70

Bermuda Women's Pearl Bracelet Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan

The islanders had no choice but to love them. Up until the `50s, visitors and Bermudians alike were required by law to observe the island`s oh-so-proper ways. For women that meant, among other things, never showing legs above the knee. The government strictly enforced a regulation that said women could not appear in public wearing ``short shorts.``

Women could don a semirevealing one-piece swimsuit on the beach, but if they showed their legs in town, they were awarded a green ticket, which meant paying a relatively hefty fine. As a compromise, government officials and islanders agreed on the Bermuda length, which was just above the knee.

The original khaki Bermudas - first brought to the island by British troops who had discovered their utility while in the warmer climes of India and Africa at the turn of the century - measured 22 inches from the top of the waistband to the hem. To make sure they were no shorter, Bermuda`s policemen carried yardsticks.

As the shorts became popular, island merchants stocked their shelves with myriad colors and prints, as well as the standard khaki version. Men wore them with knee socks everywhere: to the office, to dinner, on the beach. Women preferred a more casual look, so they usually wore them with sandals.

Benin Women's Bridal Fashion Pearls Gold Jewelry 69

Benin Women Bridal Fashion Pearls Gold Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan.

Identification. Before 1975, the Republic of Benin was known as Dahomey, its French colonial name. Three years after the coup that brought Major Kérékou to power, the name was changed to the People's Republic of Benin, reflecting the Marxist-Leninist ideology of the new government. After the collapse of the Kérékou government in 1989, the name was shortened to the Republic of Benin. In the precolonial period, Dahomey was the name of the most powerful kingdom on the Slave Coast, which extended along the Bight of Benin to Lagos. Today Benin includes not only the ancient Fon kingdom of Dahomey but also areas inhabited by many other groups.

The nation's lack of cultural homogeneity is due to geographic factors and a history that has included waves of migration, competition between precolonial kingdoms, four centuries of commercial relations with Europe, and the impact of colonialism. In addition to language and ethnicity, there are divisions along lines of occupation and religion.

Location and Geography. The country has an area of 43,483 square miles (112,622 square kilometers). It shares borders with Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Togo. There are five distinct geographic zones. In the south, coconut palms grow on a narrow coastal strip broken by lagoons and creeks. In the north, a plateau of fertile iron clay soil interspersed with marshy areas supports oil palms. The central area is a wooded savanna with some hilly areas. The Atacora mountain chain in the northwest is the area of greatest elevation, while the northeast is part of the Niger river basin. Most of the country has a tropical climate with a dry season from November to April and a rainy season from May to October. Rainfall and vegetation are heaviest in the south.

Belize Women Pearls Wedding Ring Fashion Jewelry 68

Belize Women Pearls Wedding Ring Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan. 

In this Fashion Tribute to Belizean History designer Rebecca Stirm, history student Cherisse Halsall, and photographer Monica Gallardo partner to reveal the stories of four outstanding Belizean women through fashion.

As the smoke of the magnificent fireworks dissipated at midnight on the Eve of Independence many felt a swell of patriotic pride.

We all celebrate and express our “Belizean Pride” in different ways. We parade. We decorate, and we dance.

How did we decide to celebrate?

Well, it all began when I had the privilege of viewing Stirm’s mini collection in her studio earlier this month. I found myself reflecting on the understated elegance and graceful detailing of the pieces.

They evoked within me thoughts of old colonial Belize with its wooden mansion’s and red bricked cathedrals.

Through conversations between myself, Stirm, and photographer Monica Gallardo, we were able to come up with a plan for photographing the mini-collection as a “Fashion Tribute to Our History.”

A visit to the national archives allowed my discovery of four of our Belizean “Pathfinders” – Women of yesteryear who are worthy of recognition and honor for their hard work and dedication to our nation.    They are nurse Vivian Seay, Dr. Bernice Hulse,  businesswoman and former representative, Gwendolyn Lizarraga, and educator and social worker, Sadie Vernon.

On the Sunday morning following the festivities and celebrations of our country’s thirty-first birthday we visited four historical locations to photograph the pieces.

Belgium Women Pearl Fashion Wedding Jewelry 67

Belgium Women Pearl Fashion Wedding Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan 

Wander here and there in Belgium! You’ll find the French domination in the Belgian clothing. It is very much true that Belgium is the European country having the population of French, Dutch, Flemish and Flanders who inhabited Belgium thousands of years ago. But today, in all of the three territories i-e Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, you’ll hardly find any Belgian wearing the traditional attire as by now, the traditional dress of Belgium has become the part of the Belgian folklore. Any how, the traditional dress of Belgium is a charming European attire.

Traditional Belgian Costume: From the Mo's photo stream on flickr

Traditional Belgian Costume: From the Mo’s photo stream on flickr

The Belgian male population love to wear Smocks and Berets, the trends of which were picked by the Belgians from the French during their period of oppression upon them. On one side, the French language has put a huge impact on the Belgians and on the other, their clothing is mainly influenced by the French styles. Till the twentieth century, the youngsters in Belgium could usually be seen dressed up with the long and traditional tunic shirts supported by pant letters. Knee pants were a normal part of the Belgian boys but with the passage of time, it became the story of the past.

Belgium traditional woman's costume

Belgium traditional woman’s costume

Belarus Women's Pearl Fashion Party Jewelry 66

Belarus Women's Pearl Fashion Party Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan 

 Clothing is an important ethnic feature of the nation. The origins of Belarusian clothing tradition lie in the ancient Kiewan Rus'. The moderate continental climate, long winter and mild summer required a closed, warm clothing. Fabrics were made out of flux and wool, decorated with printed or embroiled ornaments, or weaved from using threads of different color. The nobility were making their clothing mainly using imported fabrics - brocade, velvet, tuft - of different shades of red, blue, and less often green. The embroideries with silk and 

pearls were used as decorations. The general aesthetic requirement was static and simplicity of the silhouette. The basics of set of male clothing was had a shirt with a belt and trousers, female - a shirt (longer than male) and "paniova" type skirt (wrap-around?). An outside clothing was usually a "svita" type coat often lined with fur inside for winter clothing. These features were transferred to the clothing in western lands of ancient Rus', where in XIII-XVI a Belarusian nationality was formed. The costume of Belarusians conserved it's ties with costume of Russians and Ukrainians, but also acquired the features of our other neighbors - Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians and other European nations. The formation of Belarusian costume has coincided with the development of new, more complicated techniques of cut, the sophistication of dressmaking in Western Europe, which leaded to significant changes of European clothing. The shirt received more complicated cut, turn-down collar. Svita was improved by adding "vytac^ki"(pleets, side cuts?), oval cut in "proima"(collar?) and sleeves. 

Barbados Girls Pearls Girls Fashion Jewelry 65

Barbados Girls Pearls Girls Fashion Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan.

Identification. Barbadians are people born on Barbados and people born elsewhere who have at least one Barbadian parent and maintain cultural ties to the nation. There are emigrant Barbadians communities in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Guyana that maintain active ties with their families and friends on the island. Barbadians recognize regional identities that correspond to parish districts and distinctive regional accents.

Location and Geography. Barbados is a coral limestone outcropping of the South American continental shelf that lies in the western Atlantic Ocean, one hundred miles (160 kilometers) east of the island of Saint Lucia and two hundred miles (320 kilometers) north of Trinidad and the northern coast of South America. Barbados has low, rolling hills, and microclimate variations from rain forest to semidesert.

Demography. More than 260,000 people live on this island of 166 square miles (430 square kilometers), with a population density of 1,548 people per square mile (597.7 per square kilometer) in 1996. Large populations have characterized the nation almost since its inception. As early as 1680, the island was home to seventy thousand people.

Until 1960, high birth and death rates generated a large number of young people. Barbadians emigrated in large numbers to the United Kingdom and in smaller numbers to the United States and Canada. Death rates and birth rates fell rapidly after 1960. Aided by continuing emigration among the young and immigration among the elderly, the population aged rapidly. By the year 2050, the proportion of the population age sixty-five and over will range between 25 and 33 percent of the total population.

Bangladesh Women's Wedding Fashion Pearl Jewelry 64

Bangladesh Women's Wedding Fashion Pearl Jewelry.

By Aamir mannan. 

Location and Geography. Bangladesh straddles the Bay of Bengal in south Asia. To the west and north it is bounded by India; to the southeast, it borders Myanmar. The topography is predominantly a low-lying floodplain. About half the total area is actively deltaic and is prone to flooding in the monsoon season from May through September. The Ganges/Padma River flows into the country from the northwest, while the Brahmaputra/ Jamuna enters from the north. The capital city, Dhaka, is near the point where those river systems meet. The land is suitable for rice cultivation.

In the north and the southeast the land is more hilly and dry, and tea is grown. The Chittagong Hill Tracts have extensive hardwood forests. The vast river delta area is home to the dominant plains culture. The hilly areas of the northeast and southeast are occupied by much smaller tribal groups, many of which have strongly resisted domination by the national government and the population pressure from Bangladeshis who move into and attempt to settle in their traditional areas. In 1998 an accord was reached between the armed tribal group Shanti Bahini and the government.

Demography. Bangladesh is the most densely populated nonisland nation in the world. With approximately 125 million inhabitants living in an area of 55,813 square miles, there are about 2,240 persons per square mile. The majority of the population (98 percent) is Bengali, with 2 percent belonging to tribal or other non-Bengali groups. Approximately 83 percent of the population is Muslim, 16 percent is Hindu, and 1 percent is Buddhist, Christian, or other. Annual population growth rate is at about 2 percent.

Bahrain Women's Fashion Pearl Wedding Gold Jewelry 63

Bahrain Women's Pearl Fashion Wedding Gold Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan. 

The Women in Bahrain are Asian women who are generally more publicly active than in other Arab countries. Being highly educated, most Bahraini women are well represented in all of the major professions, women’s societies, and women’s organizations. Apart from having the right to vote, around one-quarter of the women of Bahrain are able to hold jobs outside the confines of the household.

Although some Bahraini women wear head-covers while in public places, many of them are not completely veiled.[3] The traditional garments of the women of Bahrain include the jellabiya, a long, loose dress, which is one of the preferred clothing style for the home and the workplace. Bahraini women may 

practice the Muhtashima, partially covering the hair, or the Muhajiba, fully covering the hair. Apart from covering the hair, covering the face is also practiced, namely the Burqa, partially covering the face, and the Mutanaqiba, fully covering the face. The practice of veiling is evident in both young and older women. In addition, the use of make-up, nail polish, and perfumes, or other accessories that attract attention are discouraged in public. Culturally, Bahrain’s unveiled women are discouraged from smiling at strangers, particularly to men who are not family members or those that are unrelated to them.[4]

Bahamas Women's Pearls Fashion Ring Jewelry 62

Bahamas Women Pearls Fashion Ring Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan. 

Christine Campbell of The Bahamas was selected as the U.S. Department of State’s Alumni Member of the Month for April 2012 in recognition of her advocacy and support of women’s issues as well as her efforts in youth education and empowerment. Campbell participated twice in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)–first in 1987 on the topic of drug abuse prevention and education and again in 2001 on the topic of HIV/AIDS prevention and education. Campbell notes one of the key concepts she learned from her exchange programs was the value of networking and the exchange of ideas; adding “I believe education and 

knowledge can shape and transform lives and when individuals share their knowledge and experiences with others, it not only improves their own lives but also their communities.” She has continued to use these concepts in the organization of impactful youth programs and women’s workshops and seminars. She currently serves as the government of The Bahamas’ First Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Women’s Affairs in the  Ministry of Social Services and Community Development.

Armenian Fashion Bangles Bracelet Jewelry 61

Armenian Fashion Bangles Bracelet Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan.

National culture, ser nacional (national being), cultura rioplatense , cultura gauchesca , cultura criolla (creole culture). In Argentina the word creole often has a different connotation than in the rest of Latin America. While in most countries the word is used to refer to the offspring of Europeans born in the Americas, in Argentina it generally connotes a person of mixed origins, European (mainly Spanish) and Native American. Many people use it as a synonym for gaucho (Argentine cowboys) and mestizo. It is also known as cultura rioplatense (River Plate culture). 

This is a more inclusive concept, as it refers to the culture of Uruguayans and Argentines inhabiting the River Plate Basin region. Official conservative interpretations of the Argentine culture have often emphasized the Spanish and Catholic heritage, rooted in the early contributions made by Queen Isabel of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon, artifices of the conquest of the Americas in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. Latin Americans often identify Argentines as " Ches ," a colloquial form of address for the second person, similar to the American "hey, you." This is the reason Ernesto Guevara, the Argentine-born commander of the Cuban Revolution, was called " el Che ."

Armenian Pearl Girl Fashion gold Jewelry 60

Armenian Pearl Girl Fashion gold Jewelry.

By Aamir mannan. 

mong the earliest cultural values of the Armenians was the high status of women both as productive members of the economy and as homemakers. Formal authority rested with the men, but women developed what has been aptly described as "rule by silence." Constant struggle with outside forces who sought Armenia as a prize of conquest led to strong family bonds and the need for the most effective possible participation of women in sustaining the home: Armenian society developed a strong tradition of respect for elders and their secure place within the family structure, along with the moral authority of women in the regulation of social and domestic behaviour. It may well be that the Armenian home in all of its social, cultural, and economic nuances has been the largest single factor in the survival of the Armenian people and their repeated cultural resurgence.

Historic Armenia has been an important bridge between the cultures and economies of East and West, while through all the millenia of cross-fertilization of ideas and skills, retaining its own traditions, sustaining a high output of its own creations, and maintaining an indomitable sense of self identity. The pride in being Armenian essential to the preservation of their self identity, is most clearly apparent in the costumes of Armenian women.