trousseau

The first thing we are going to do now is to know the etymological origin of the word trousseau at hand. In this sense, it must be stated that it derives from the Andalusian Arabic "as-sawar", which, in turn, comes from the classical Arabic "suwar", which is equivalent to "household goods".

The term trousseau is used with reference to set that make up the furniture, clothing and utensils that are used in the same field or that share certain characteristics.

It is possible to speak, in this way, of the trousseau that belongs to an individual or of the one who, in the marriage bond, is in charge of providing the woman. Also called trousseau are the items that are intended for babies at the moment in which things are born that, in a house, are of common use.

For example: "We are happy because my mother decided to give us the trousseau for Nicolás", "The photographer posed the young Uruguayan model with a beautiful wedding trousseau", "The police are investigating the theft of the jewels that were stolen from the princess's private trousseau".

The notion of trousseau is often associated with certain social rites that are carried out in the birth, the marriage and the death. When a child is born, it is common for the little one to receive a trousseau with his crib, clothes, etc. In a wedding, in the past it was common for the wife to bring the couple a trousseau, which included the sheets, tablecloths and other items that would be used in the shared home. In addition, the trousseau can include the clothes and accessories that the bride uses.

At present, although as a general rule, that concept of trousseau related to marriage has disappeared, it is still found in some places and is even maintained by certain generations. Thus, there are mothers who continue to buy everything from clothes to kitchen utensils to bedding so that when their children get married they can have what they need at home.

On a historical level, in some museums we come across artistic works that were precisely part of the trousseau of some illustrious person. An example of this we have, for example, in the Archaeological Museum of Spain, located in Madrid, where you can admire an ark of betrothal of Florentine origin and dating from the 15th century.

As for death, the funeral trousseau is made up of the objects that are located next to the deceased in the tomb to accompany him on his way to another plane or as an offering for the divinities.

The objects and the quantity of them that were included in the funeral trousseau come to determine, among other things, the social status of the deceased and, consequently, of his family.

Among the most important in history are the Egyptians, where you can even admire the existence of paintings on the walls and figures, called ushabti. These came to represent the servants that the deceased had had and that were included as a way to determine that in the "afterlife" they would also continue to serve him.