They came in all sorts of camouflage, in animal pelts and flak jackets, in tactical gear and even a sphagnum-covered ghillie suit.

When you leave the totems of your usual identity behind you free yourself from the laws that govern that identity and assume those of another character — a frontiersman, a hunter, a warrior, even a superhero…

(Vanessa Friedman, “Why Rioters Wear Costumes,” NYTimes, 1-7-21)

“Ghillie” is a misspelling of Scots Gaelic Gille, meaning an outdoor servant. The suit so named may refer to the Gille Dubh (“black-haired youth”), an Earth spirit clothed in leaves.

Ghillie suits were adopted by British Army snipers in 1916.

Australian Army snipers call them “yowie suits” after the Yowie, “a mythical hominid similar to the Yeti and Bigfoot which is said to live in the Australian wilderness.” (Wikipedia)

(c) 2020 JMN