Ergon-Verlag

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Yemeni women use a multitude of utensils for make-up, perfumes, lotions, odors and incense often unknown to the public. Their functions as cosmetics cannot be analyzed separately from the role they play in medicine and in the context of magic. This study examines the herbal, mineral and animalistic substances and ingredients, as well as their production, application and patterns when used in painting the human body. Included in this book are overviews on classical pharmacognosy and Yemeni-Arabic dictionaries offering explanations of scientific and local terms and the classification of certain substances. The material for this book was gathered during several fieldworks between 1994 and 2000 in various Yemeni regions. Hereby this piece of work enriches the historical and social study of Yemen and also deepens the cultural knowledge of Yemen.  

Hanne Schönig studied Romance Studies, Islamic philology, Islamic and Semitic Studies at the University of Mainz, obtained her Ph.D. in 1984 and has worked as a researcher at the department for Oriental Studies at the University of Halle-Wittenberg.