The typical Naïliya wore a layered dress, heavy, spiked silver bracelets which could be used as weapons, and copious jewelry made of coins she had earned. She accented her eyes with kohl and decorated her hands and feet with designs in henna. The Naïliyat danced erotically, smoked tobacco and marijuana and openly prostituted themselves. The exuberance of their ornaments and the exoticism of their costumes added to their general fascination.
Most of these women trained in the art of dance and song from childhood. For Ouled Naïl females the practice of leaving their ancestral home and settling in a nearby desert town as entertainers was common. In adolescence they went down into the towns and worked as dancers and prostitutes in order to amass a personal fortune with which to purchase property at home.
The Ouled Naïl tribe originated a style of music, sometimes known as Bou Saâda music after the town near their homeland. In belly dancing, the term refers to a style of dance originated by the Ouled Naïl.
