Eritrea made a powerful showing at the Oscars as American comedienne, Tiffany Haddish, wore a full traditional Eritrean outfit known as the “zuria.”
[Photos] Eritrea makes dressy showing at Oscars thanks to Tiffany Haddish
Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph presented the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject. In an interview at the event, Tiffany said she wore the attire as a means of honouring Eritreans on the instruction of her late dad.
“My father is from Eritrea and he passed away last year and he said one day I will end up here, and if I ever end up at the Oscars I should honour my people, so I’m honouring my fellow Eritreans.”
“It is heaven to me, it’s like a dream come true, I have sat and watched the Oscars for years, I always wanted to go (attend) and now I’m here,” she stressed.
The dress is said to be one that Eritrean women often wore during marriage ceremonies. A zuria is a hooded dress worn by Tigrinya women in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Traditional zurias go to the ankles, with a gauze hood around the head and shoulders.
At the 11th annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards took place in Beverly Hills on Thursday (March 1), Tiffany was honored along with persons positively impacting the arts.
Along with the likes of ‘Thor Ragnarok’ actress Tessa Thompson, Emmy award-winning actor Lena Waithe and ‘Black Panther’ actress Danai Gurira, they were described as “game-changers who are taking the culture higher.
Attendees included director Ava Duvernay, Tina Knowles-Lawson and #metoo pioneer Tarana Burke.
Represent!!! TiffanyHaddish brought her *whole beautiful self* to the #Oscars, and fulfilled a promise she made to her late father to show #Eritrea to the world. Look at her in the kaba, werki and zuria!! YES! Go Tiff! ELELELELEL! #diaspora #SheReady #gobez ???????? pic.twitter.com/ok1gucgPPl— Semhar (Semhar) March 5, 2018