The costume is able to keep the secrets of its people for a very long time, it can tell a lot of interesting things about its wearer. Looking at the clothes of a certain people, you can learn almost everything about it. Mordovian national costumes are beautiful and elegant, but at the same time comfortable. What did they look like?
Men's suit
The costume of Mordovian men is very similar to the costume of Russian fellows, but there are still enough of their own features. The basis of the costume is panhard and ponkst (in a simple way, shirt and pants). The shirts that were worn every day were woven from coarse hemp fiber. The festive version of the panhard was made of linen. Such a shirt was never tucked into pants, but only belted. The belt was most often leather and was decorated with a metal buckle. A special shield was attached to the buckle, which was decorated with stones. The belt had not only a decorative function, it was also a hallmark of a warrior. A weapon was also attached to the belt.
In addition to the panhard, Mordovian men used to wear a white painted shirt (they called it mushkas or rutsya). The outerwear of men was suman (fitteddark coat), chapan and sheepskin coats. The Mordovian national costume for men was not richly decorated, rather it was modest. The same cannot be said about the women's costume of the people.
Women's suit
Women's clothing designed for the holiday had a large number of elements. Sometimes women spent several hours dressing and, of course, could not do this without outside help. The Mordovian women's national costume was based on a panar - a shirt without a collar, similar to a modern tunic. She was lavishly embroidered and girdled. Usually the belt was made of natural wool and had tassels at the ends. On top of the panar, women put on a sundress.
A rutsu (impanar, hoodie) could also be worn over the shirt. Mordovian national costumes also had black sleeveless jackets, which were fitted and decorated with a large number of frills at the back. Their length was below the knee. Women's outerwear did not differ much from men's attire. The female population also wore suman and fur coats, sheepskin coats.
Mordovian hats
The Mordovian national costume, the description of which you saw above, will not be fully disclosed without a story about additional accessories, headwear and shoes. Like many peoples of the world, the Mordovians differed in the headdresses of married women and unmarried girls. Girls most often wore a bandage made of bast or cardboard on their foreheads. Such a bandage was covered with fabric and decorated with beads and embroidery. ATholidays, the girls put on pehtim - a hat decorated with paper flowers or beaded fringe. A crown cap made of coins was common in some regions. The Mordovian national costume, the photo of which you can see on the page, had different types of headdresses for women.
Married women were required to completely hide their hair. Most often they wore pango - high hats. They were solid and had a conical or rectangular base. Bast base, covered with red fabric, was decorated with beads, copper chains and, of course, traditional embroidery.
The Mordovians also had complex headdresses, such as the magpie. The canvas cap was richly decorated, but served as a lining for the main dress. Only older women could wear it alone.
Mordovian jewelry
Mordovian national costumes could not exist without decorations. Accessories are a very important part of any outfit. Women's jewelry among the Mordovians are numerous. What were they like?
- Temporal decorations were popular - they were made from coins, beads and fluff. Such an accessory was attached to a headdress.
- Headpieces - Mordovian girls were very fond of fringe made from drake feathers. She was sewn to the braid. There were also narrow fabric strips, variously decorated.
- Headbands - most often made of beads.
- Headphones are circles of birch bark or cardboard,covered with fabric and decorated with beads, embroidered flowers. Ears were decorated with earrings. The Mordovian national costume, the photo of which is presented in the article, allows us to judge the diversity and brightness of women's accessories.
- Breast decorations are very diverse. These were all kinds of beads, necklaces, collars and beaded nets.
- Wrist jewelry - bracelets and rings.
- Thigh jewelry is a separate type of Mordovian women's accessories. Such decorations could be both with a roller and without it. Rectangular canvas with felt or cardboard sewn inside - this is pulai or pulaksh. From above it was sheathed with beads, then there were layers of buttons and braid. After that, a black fringe was sewn, which had a length that reached the knee. Wool fringes were mixed with copper chains.
Mordovian shoes
Mordovian national costumes also had traditional shoes. Bast shoes were the most common footwear for women and men of Mordovia. They were made of elm or linden bast and had special oblique weaving and low sides. The feet, in which they worked at home and in the yard, were woven from a wide bast.
On the holiday they wore pointed leather boots with fees and a massive back. Such shoes were sewn from rawhide cowhide. In the cold and snowy season, felt boots in black, gray and white were in use. The lower and upper footcloths were wrapped around the feet and calves. If the weather was too cold, then onuchi were put on over footcloths. Modern stockings Mordovian women have becomeuse late. They were crocheted or with a regular needle.
Mordovian national costume in the modern world
Some people are interested in the question: “Do representatives of the Finno-Ugric tribes wear such costumes now?” Of course, it is now rare to find a Mordovian dressed in this way. Unless a doll in a Mordovian national costume can remind posterity of a bright past. National clothes began to fall out of use at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. The Mordovians gradually switched to modern familiar clothes, borrowing individual parts or even entire urban-style costumes from the Russian people. Now in some regions you can still see people in national costumes, but this is a great rarity and luck. For example, the Moksha tribe has preserved both everyday and festive versions of traditional clothing. And Erzya women wear such robes only for big holidays or concerts.
Mordovian costume is a real work of art. Since ancient times, the ability to dress properly has been passed down from generation to generation, and now the remnants of the original past still live in the hearts of the inhabitants of the Finno-Ugric regions.
