Kazakh national costume is not only a matter of pride for the local population, but also an object of increased attention from both Russians and guests from near and far abroad. What is so unusual about this outfit? And how does it differ from our usual sundress or kokoshnik?
This article is aimed at telling in detail about such an original element of culture as the Kazakh national costume, a photo of which can now be found in any reference book or guidebook dedicated to this corner of the globe. In a simple and understandable form, we will try to answer all the questions of interest to readers.
General information
According to experts studying the outfits of different peoples, the Kazakh national costume is a real personification of the entire history of this semi-nomadic community.
Of course, over time it has changed and improved, and now it can be said with confidence that it is fully adapted to the living conditions of both modern Kazakhs and the difficult climate of the region. But that's not all. The fact is that the Kazakh national costume has its own very interesting aesthetics.
Modern materials for manufacturing
Many people know that the skins of tigers, saiga and kulan, dark furs of martens, raccoons, sables, desmans and whites - ferrets and ermines have long been highly valued by the Kazakhs.
Of course, to this day, products made from marten and sable are considered the most popular here. By the way, this people from time immemorial has mastered many techniques for making fur coats.
Kazakh national costume is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. Sometimes a visitor does not even know what is what. For example, warm sheepskin coats from the skins of large animals are called “tone”, but “donkeys” are made from the skins of small fur-bearing animals. Even now, the local, mostly rural, population often sews outfits from the fluff of swans, herons and loons.
What did people do before?
In the old days, when making fur coats from goat skin, Kazakhs plucked long hairs out of them, leaving only the undercoat. Such winter clothes were called “kylka zhargak”. In addition, suede was made from goat skins, from which trousers, dressing gowns and even light raincoats were then sewn.
Fur coats were always topped with brocade, cloth, silk, etc.
All fur coats differed in the type of fabric and its color. For example, only noble people could wear a fur coat covered with blue cloth, trimmed with beaver. And the most valuable dowry of the Kazakh bride was a fur cape called "bas tone", coveredhigh quality silk.
What tools did local craftswomen use
Kazakh national costume was decorated with special silk embroidery. When embroidering small patterns, needlewomen used special hoops, which, depending on the shape of the product and the outline of the embroidered ornament, could be round or rectangular.
Kazakh women have always been great masters of embroidery with a tambour, a loop in a loop, which is done with an awl with a hook and needles.
Kazakh headdresses, chest decorations and frills of women's dresses were embroidered with tambour embroidery.
Decoration of Kazakh national costumes
Kazakh national costume for girls, photos of which have recently been found quite often in open sources, were decorated with satin stitch embroidery. By the way, they also embroidered men's cloth pants called kimesheki.
When embroidering with satin stitch and tambour, plant and geometric patterns, contour images of animals and people were mainly used. And sometimes the embroidery was a whole plot at all.
Meaning of felt and wool
What else can surprise the Kazakh national costume? Photos (women's and men's outfits in this case are almost identical) from ancient times prove that felt, sheep and camel wool were especially popular.
Outerwear was sewn from felt. Fromcamel hair rolled shekpen - an old type of clothing. It was a wide long cloak to protect against any bad weather. The ceremonial shekpen were rolled from dyed camel hair with braided seams.
Features of local outfits
In general, the national costume of any community at all times has been a distinctive feature of these people.
The costumes of the upper class of the population of this state were characteristically distinguished by a stronger accent of elegance, using a large amount of embroidery and fur trims.
Kazakh national costume is very convenient not only for a feast or some kind of celebration, but is great for work, and for spending the night in the steppe on a cold night, and for a long ride. It mainly consists of men's trousers or a women's skirt, a camisole and a robe or fur coat on top. There must be a headdress on the head, which also emphasizes the social status of the wearer.
Special occasion wear
I would like to emphasize that in different zhuzes of Kazakhstan there are no cardinal regional differences in national costumes, although in some places more archaic elements have been preserved.
Kazakhs have never had special work clothes. Also, there was no line between festive and everyday attire, but the full dress had to be cut more freely, and the decor and headdresses had to be more voluminous. Festive attire was sewn from silk, velvet, brocade and expensive furs, and everyday clothes were made fromsimple and cheaper materials.
Kazakh mourning women's attire was ordinary everyday wear, from which all decorations were removed. At the funeral of a man, his wife had to let her hair down, and his sisters and daughters had to take off their girlish hats and throw black shawls over their shoulders. Men at the funeral were girded with a 3-4-meter mourning sash made of dark chintz fabric.
A mandatory element of the Kazakh national costume was a belt - beldyk. It was sewn from wool, silk, velvet and leather. Hanging purses, knife cases and powder flasks also clung to the belts of adult men. The belts of the young men did not have any pendants. The belt also had buckles and heart-shaped patches in the form of animals. Belts for women's clothing, nur beldyk, were usually made of silk, were wider and more elegant. In most cases, they were sewn with decorative knitting.
Men's suit of Kazakhs
One of the main elements of the male Kazakh costume is a pointed headdress. It resembles the saki or cap of the ancient Scythians and is called murak or ai-yrkalpak.
Do children wear Kazakh national costume? A photo for boys in this case will look much more presentable than for girls. Why? The thing is that men, regardless of their age, dress not only more beautifully, but also more functionally. For example, Kazakh men's trousers have so-called wedges, represented by special inserts made of sheepskin, and are called "shalbar-sym". These items help a lot withlong riding, as they protect the skin from abrasion in long migrations. By the way, when wearing trousers, they are tucked into boots.
The camisole of Kazakh men is called beshmet. At the waist, it is pulled together with a belt - shekel. In ancient times, kaftans were made of leather and dyed in bright colors. In the cold season, a warmed variety of camisole is worn - kokreshe.
Caftan and harem pants are worn over underwear, which is made of silk or thin cotton fabric.
A fur coat is an invariable part of any Kazakh costume. And its substitute for the poor continues to be a long-brimmed robe made of felt, which perfectly retains heat.
Kazakh shoes for men and women have never been anything special. Everyone wore embroidered boots with a small heel or leather ichigi that resembled socks or Czech shoes.
Kazakh women's costume
Zhaulyk is a women's headdress among the Kazakhs. It is sewn from white silk fabric and was inherited by the Kazakh people from the ancient Turkic tribes.
Once upon a time, at a wedding, women put on a special dress on their heads - saukele, which was richly decorated with gold and silver fringes. Sometimes its preparation took a whole year. Girls from good families also wore borik, a warm hat trimmed with fur.
Kazakh women's skirt, beldemshe, swings open on two sides. Over it, women put on a robe or camisole. Sometimes Kazakh women wear a dress with a flared bottom instead of a skirt.skirt - “kulish koylek”, or “Jack-koylek” - a long outfit with a turn-down collar and a pleated yoke.
Women's dressing gown is called a shalan. In winter, it is worn with a wool lining. By the way, even now, girls in Kazakhstan sometimes wear a red robe to a wedding.
Women's outerwear is represented by a fur coat - a coupe. It is sewn from fox paw fur and covered with patterned satin.
All types of women's clothing had to be richly decorated with lurex, embroidery and various decorative elements.
Kids outfits
Today, the Kazakh national costume for a girl enjoys special popularity and some special folk love, the pattern of which is quite unpretentious, which means that you can sew it at home. By the way, recently there has been a tradition of wearing such an outfit not only during stage performances, but also on public holidays, when the streets are filled with small Kazakh women in traditional attire.
What does the children's Kazakh national costume look like? Photos for girls, as well as for boys (and from the outside, we, unfortunately, can only judge by the picture), are not much different from adult decoration. In general, it repeats the shape and look of the clothes of the parents, only presented in a smaller size.
The exception is perhaps the outfit for newborns - it koilek. It is sewn slightly elongated, without fringing and shoulder seams, from solid cotton fabric (coarse calico, chintz or bumazei).
Kazakh shoes
All Kazakh men have long worn leather boots - koksauyr, made of green shagreen. It was obtained by spilling millet on softened skin and pressing it all down with some heavy object.
Elderly Kazakh men wore igich - shoes on which leather kebe galoshes are put on when leaving the house. By the way, not everyone knows that the ancient Kazakh boots never differed into left and right and had pointed and bent toes. The most primitive and poor shoes were shokai - rawhide sandals.
Kazakh national costume: photo, women's and men's style, main features
Traditional outfits of Kazakhstan have several characteristic features. We list some of them:
- Swinging and fitted outerwear that wraps on the left side, regardless of gender.
- High hats decorated with feathers, jewels and embroidery.
- Women's dresses are richly decorated with frills, fringes and borders.
- There are very few colors in the ensemble of the costume.
- Clothes are complemented by a kind of national ornament - embroidery, lurex patches, patterned fabric and various kinds of jewelry.
- Clothing is made using leather, fine felt, fur, lambswool and camel wool cloth.
