Features of a particular culture give rise to national symbols. They are the property of the people and sacredly preserved, passed down from generation to generation. Belarusians also have such symbols. One of them is the national costume. And today it can be seen at a variety of events. Girls in Belarusian national costumes are certainly present at official ceremonies of a state scale. Folk groups and some pop singers perform in these clothes.
Thus, the Belarusian national costume (see photo below) is the most original and valuable component of the cultural heritage of the people.
Main Features
As a result of the research, it was found that there are about thirty varieties of folk costumes on the territory of Belarus. These clothes can be seen in some villages of the country. Belarusian national costumes are still kept in grandmother's chests as a family heirloom. Linen aprons and shirts, sleeveless jackets, hatsand skirts - all this surprises us with its beauty, artistic measure, harmony and expediency.
Belarusian national costumes have their own characteristics. They are distinguished by compositional perfection and virtuoso processing of all details, as well as a combination of practicality and decorativeness.
The artistic image that the Belarusian national costume creates is complicated by ornamental decorations. These are appliques and lace, patterned weaving and embroidery, which are located on the sleeves, collar, apron and hats.
Fabrics
In the old days, Belarusian national costumes were sewn from fabrics woven from wool and linen, as well as from nettle and hemp. Thanks to such a variety of starting material, both coarser fabrics and the finest ones (for shirts) were obtained. Often, nobles were sewn costumes from overseas material. It was brought from the West and the East. The peasants wove the cloth themselves. They colored it with tree buds and bark, grass and plant roots, berries and wildflowers.
Belarusian national costume has an unusual stability of traditions. This is one of its most important distinguishing characteristics. For many centuries, such clothes have retained the same cut of individual items, their shape and some attributes that have been passed down from generation to generation since pagan times. For hundreds of years, the technology for making fabrics has also remained unchanged.
Men's suit
The composition of the national clothes of the strong half of humanityincluded:
-shirt with embroidery on the bottom and collar;
-trousers;
-vest;-legs (belt clothes).
Belarusian men's national costume is not very complicated in its cut. The linen shirt was sewn in the form of a tunic with a low standing collar and long sleeves. There were no pockets in it. Instead, there was a small leather bag that was worn over the shoulder. The shirt, which was always worn loose, was girded with a colored belt.
Torks are another detail of the Belarusian national men's costume. For the poorer people, they were sewn from linen. We althy men wore another pair of trousers over them - silk.
An important detail of the Belarusian national costume is the bravairka. This is a single-breasted jacket for men, made from homespun cloth. On the front, it has two patch pockets and the same number of welt pockets. The back is modeled with an undercut yoke and decorated with a strap.
Sides and turn-down collar. The straight sleeve at the bottom is often trimmed with an overlay with a button. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. only petty gentry and we althy peasants wore such a jacket.
The summer men's sleeveless jacket served as part of the Belarusian national costume. She was called kamizelka (from the word "camisole"). They sewed such a sleeveless jacket from homespun cloth.
In winter, Belarusians wore sheepskin jackets. We althy people sheathed them with expensive fabric and decorated with appliqués and embroidery. The richest preferred to wear fur coats. There was also outerwear made fromcloth. They called her differently: “kireya” or “chuya”, “epancha” or “burka”.
Hats for men
This piece of national clothing was very diverse. In summer, Belarusians wore a straw bryl, and in winter - an ablavukha fur hat. In the off-season, a magerka made of felted wool saved from the cold. Headdresses were often sewn from domestic sheepskin.
Belarusian men often wore ablavukha in bad winter weather. This hat with earflaps was sewn not only from sheepskin, but also from hare and fox fur. On top of the ablavukh was a dark cloth. From below, four “ears” were sewn to such a headdress. Two of them (front and back) were tied at the crown, and the side ones - under the chin. From the second half of the 19th century among the Belarusians, the cap has become widespread. This was the name of the headdress with a lacquered visor.
Women's suit
Unlike men's, these clothes were very diverse. The Belarusian national women's costume could consist of different items. There are four main sets of such clothes. Among them:
- with an apron and a skirt;
- with an apron, a skirt and a garset (sleeveless jacket);
- with a skirt that is sewn with a corset bodice;- with apron, sleeveless and paneled.
Belarusian national costumes, which include the first two sets, are known throughout the country. The rest were worn only in the territories of the northeastern and eastern regions.
Women's Belarusian national costume (photos are presented in the article)provided for wearing over a poneva shirt. This detail consisted of three cloth pieces sewn together. From above, they were gathered with a cord, which was pulled together under the stomach or at the waist. Poneva could be hinged (open on the side or in front), as well as closed. The colors of this part of the costume could be different. Often ponevu was decorated with an ornament.
In the women's national costume there could be a shirt with a yoke, with straight inserts on the shoulders or a tunic. But even here it was not without embroideries. They certainly decorated the sleeves.
Belt clothes were also very diverse. These were skirts of various styles - letnik, saiyan, andarak or palatnyak. Aprons and panevs also belonged to belt clothes.
Skirts in the women's national costume of Belarus were sewn, as a rule, from red and blue-green material, which was decorated with a gray-white check or transverse and longitudinal stripes. Lace was always sewn on aprons. They were decorated with embroidered patterns and folds. Sleeveless jackets or garsets had appliqués and lace. They attracted attention with decorative stripes and embroidery. The garset was part of the festive attire. It was sewn from brocade, velvet or chintz of various colors. Sleeveless jackets were either straight cut to the waist, or were elongated, with wedges.
In cold winters, women wore red or white skins. Sometimes woolen scrolls also kept them warm. However, the most popular among Belarusians wassheepskin jacket. It had a straight cut and a large turn-down collar. The bottom of the sleeves and hem were sheathed with a strip of sheepskin, applying it in such a way that the wool was on the outside.
Hats for women
This detail of the national costume had an important ritual and social significance. The age of a woman, her family and financial situation were easily determined by the headdress. It was used in many rituals and rituals. For example, at a wedding, the bride solemnly changed her girl's headdress for a woman's one.
Unmarried Belarusians wore colorful narrow ribbons and wreaths. Women, on the other hand, had to hide their hair under a scarf or napkin. In we althy families, ladies wore headdresses made of thin expensive linen, decorated with lace, as well as embroidered with silver and gold threads. Poorer women had to be content with scarves made of cheap fabrics with simple embroidery. However, the variety of ornamentation remained just as rich.
City clothing
Fashion in the peasant environment was quite conservative. Here, the Belarusians firmly adhered to their grandfather's customs, which helped to preserve national traditions for many centuries.
As for the costumes of the townspeople, they had a wide variety of styles and were sewn from various materials. These were products made from linen and woolen, as well as from imported fabrics.
In winter, Belarusians who lived in the city wore fur coats, short fur coats or shoulder capes made of bear, goat or sheep fur. The we althier sections of society allowed themselvesouterwear made of beaver, wolf and fox skins.
Ladies preferred to wear long European-cut dresses with fitted cuts and tight sleeves. Glass bracelets and rings were popular women's jewelry. Often urban women wore kolts. These are hollow products in the shape of a star or a circle, inside of which there was a piece of cloth dipped in some kind of aromatic oil.
National costume design
Belarusian clothes were usually white. For decoration, it was embroidered with a red ornamental pattern, which created a single composition of the image. Initially, all drawings were only geometric.
Then plant elements were included in them. The ornament was obligatory present on the collar, sleeves, apron and headdress. Costumes were made using embroidery, lace and appliqués.
Shirt
For many women, sewing a Belarusian national costume with their own hands will not be difficult. Let's start the description of this process with a shirt. To sew this element of the costume, the back and front panels of the shirt must be connected using rectangular inserts - polyks. In this case, a rectangular neck should form in the center. Then it is collected in small folds and pulled together so that the neckline covers the neck. Then a rectangular stand-up collar is sewn into the neck. The incision of the sinus, which is formed in front, is covered by a shirt front. At the next stage, sleeves are sewn into the armholes of the shirt. Topparts of them are decorated with a decorative ribbed seam-roller. At the bottom of the sleeves, an assembly is made, and cuffs are sewn to them.
Next, the shirt is decorated with embroidery. It should be present on the cuffs and at the top of the sleeve, on the polka, shirt-front and collar.
Apron
This detail of the Belarusian national costume is sewn from one shelf. The decoration of the apron is embroidery, consisting of three horizontal stripes, the width of which increases towards the bottom. At the top, the apron is gathered into a small fold and has an attached belt. Crocheted lace adorns the bottom hem of this piece.
Skirt
When cutting this waist garment, two panels are used. They are interconnected, collected at the top in a small fold and a belt is sewn on. For a skirt, you can take a linen or woolen fabric in red, blue or green. In this case, the canvas can be plain, checkered or striped.
A brightly embroidered shirt, apron and skirt is a national Belarusian costume for a girl. For a boy, it will consist of a blouse with a geometric pattern along the edge of the sleeve, a collar and placket, brown trousers made of finely striped fabric, and a twisted cord belt.
