What is a selham / burnous (cape)?

The selham — many Moroccans and other North Africans call it a burnous — is the grand hooded cape you'll glimpse on older men, grooms and dignitaries, and it has a real sense of occasion to it. It's a long, flowing, sleeveless cloak of wool, with a pointed hood, draped over the shoulders and fastened at the throat, usually worn over a djellaba. Where the djellaba is the robe, the selham is the cape that goes over it — an extra layer that's as much about gravitas as warmth.

Practically, it was born from the cold. In the Atlas Mountains and across the high plateaus, winters bite, and a thick woollen burnous wraps a man head to ankle against wind, rain and mountain chill, the hood up, the whole body cocooned. The everyday rural version is plain, undyed sheep's wool — creamy white, grey or brown — heavy and weatherproof, the sort of garment a shepherd or an elder wears against a freezing dawn. It's genuinely functional outerwear before it's anything ceremonial.

But the selham also carries serious prestige, and that's the side travellers more often glimpse. A fine, soft, pure-white woollen burnous, sometimes with a little gold-thread trim around the hood, is the mark of a dignitary, a notable, a groom at his wedding, or a man dressed for the most important religious and national ceremonies. The King and officials wear magnificent ones on state and ceremonial occasions. So the same basic garment runs the whole range from a shepherd's rough cloak to a regal robe of honour, distinguished by the quality of the wool and the whiteness.

For visitors it's less of a casual souvenir than a djellaba or babouches — a good wool burnous is a substantial, warm, fairly bulky thing — but if you fall for one in the souks, a fine white selham is a beautiful, dramatic buy and a real conversation piece. I mostly point it out so guests can read what they're seeing: when you spot an elder or a groom in a sweeping hooded cape with no sleeves, fastened at the neck, that's the selham, and it usually signals respect, status or a special day.