The national costume of each nation reflects its historical and cultural values. By studying the time intervals of the development of a particular nation, one can trace the changes that traditional clothing has undergone, as well as identify features that have remained unchanged over the centuries. Description of the national costume of Azerbaijan is presented to your attention in the article.
Azerbaijani costume history
The history of Azerbaijani national clothes is rooted in the distant past. During archaeological excavations, sewing accessories from the third millennium BC were discovered. Found seals, pottery, gold jewelry dating back to the 5th century BC can already give some idea of the material development of the Azerbaijanis. In the 6th century AD, sericulture firmly established itself in Azerbaijan. This type of craft has developed over many centuries, and the silk fabrics produced there were the best in the world. Beyond silkcraftsmen also used imported fabrics: brocade, chintz, velvet, cloth. The culture of Azerbaijan provided that all kinds of ornaments were almost always present on the fabrics. All of them are inspired by the beauty of the nature of this region. Most often depicted:
- Pomegranate flowers, quince, roses, lilies, iris and carnations;
- birds single or in pairs - peacock, dove, partridge, nightingale;
- animals - horse, gazelle, turtle.
Also embroidered on fabric:
- various geometric patterns - squares, diamonds, circles;
- images of household items (for example, a jug);
- elements of pre-Islamic symbols - schematic images of heavenly bodies.
Even whole plot compositions were embroidered. Most often they depicted either scenes from palace life or illustrations for poetry.
The fabric used was predominantly red. This color was a symbol of a happy life, so the bride wore a red dress for the wedding. And the word azer (from the name of the nation) is translated from Arabic as a flame.
Changes in costumes were made as the culture of Azerbaijan, its people developed and new types of crafts were mastered. Important historical events, such as wars, also played a big role. If we consider the men's suit in wartime and in modern times, we can see that the details necessary for carrying weapons have lost their functions in our time and have become decorative.
Women's national costume
Traditional female AzeriThe national costume is represented by several elements. It mainly consisted of a shirt, a waist-length caftan, and a long layered skirt. The most common types of women's outerwear were:
- Ust keinei - a long-sleeved shirt made of ganovuz and fai silk varieties. Sleeves could be straight cut or with a small frill. It fastened with a single button at the neck. The shirt was decorated with a beautiful gold braid, in front along the bottom edge they could hang a thread with real coins.
- Chepken is a kind of caftan that was worn over a shirt and tightly fitted the body. Features of the chepken: the presence of a lining, false long sleeves ending in cuffs. Due to the presence of a unique detail - chapyg - chepken favorably emphasized the beauty of the female figure.
- Arkhaluk - almost the same as chepken, only with a hem at the bottom. The hem was ruffled or pleated. Archaluks could be both tight-fitting and straight, free-cut with slits on the sides. Overhead sleeves ended with mittens. Arkhaluks were divided into festive and weekday ones. They differed in the choice of fabric and the number of ornaments.
- Lebbade - a quilted dressing gown with an open collar, tied at the waist with a braid. The sleeves of the lebbade were short, and there were slits at the hem from the waistband on the sides.
- Eshmek is a quilted caftan with open chest and armpits, trimmed with ferret fur inside.
- Kurdu is a quilted velor sleeveless jacket with side slits. The Khorasan kurdu was considered especially popular, which was sewn from yellow leather with embroidery made in gold.thread.
- Bahari - velor quilted garment with straight knee length sleeves.
- Kuleche - outerwear with a ruffled knee-length hem and elbow-length sleeves.
- Mists are floor-length silk or woolen skirts, consisting of twelve pieces of fabric. The mists could be pleated or pleated. Pompoms made of gold or silk threads were used as decoration. Often wore 5-6 skirts at a time.
- A woman could not go out into the street without a veil covering her from head to toe, and a rubend, a fabric that hides her face.
Accessories
In addition to bright clothes, the image of an Azerbaijani woman abounded in many details. Over the arkhaluks, women wore a belt. Belts were gold and silver, and sometimes leather, decorated with coins or a shiny plaque. They used both embroidery and trim with braid and piping, beads and coins, various chains, buttons, brooches and plaques. Azerbaijani craftswomen skillfully used all materials, turning things into real works of art. And embroidery has become a separate, highly developed craft.
Jewelry
Azerbaijani women have always loved jewelry and used them to the maximum. They could not be worn during days of mourning and on strict religious holidays. Elderly and old women almost never wore them, limiting themselves to a couple of rings. But young girls accumulated large collections of all kinds of chains, pendants, rings, earrings, since they started decorating babies from the age of three. The jewelry set was called imaret. Jewelersmade products from precious metals and stones.
The combination of bright clothing fabrics, all kinds of decorations and shiny jewelry created a bright, rich, memorable image.
According to some criteria in clothes, it was possible to determine the status of an Azerbaijani woman, her age. For example, the presence of a belt on top of a chepken or arkhaluk indicated that the woman was married. Young unmarried girls did not wear belts.
Headwear
The headdress also showed whether a woman was married or not. Young girls wore small hats in the form of a skullcap, but married girls did not. Several hats were worn at the same time. First, hair was hidden in a special bag, then a hat (unmarried) was put on, and kelagai - multi-colored scarves - were tied on top. Azerbaijani women wore several headscarves without a hat after the wedding.
The quality of the fabric showed how we althy the girl's family was. Casual clothes were usually made from linen, wool and cotton. But the outfits were silk, brocade, velvet.
Shoes
Azerbaijani women put on shoes without backs, which were also decorated with embroidery, or morocco boots. Under the shoes they wore patterned stockings made of cotton or wool (sheep, camel) - jorabs. Festive jorab, decorated with ornaments, even passed down from generation to generation.
Men's national costume
The national costume of Azerbaijani men is less bright, but verypicturesque. The main attribute and symbol of masculinity was considered a headdress. It could not be removed under any circumstances. The only reason for an Azerbaijani to remain uncovered is the religious holiday of namaz. If the hat was forcibly knocked off during a quarrel or fight, this could start a conflict for both families, and cause enmity for many years.
Papakha
Special craftsmen were engaged in the manufacture of men's hats. There was a whole technology for making this headdress: first they sewed a form from the skin, then turned it on the other side and covered it with cotton wool for softness. A sheet of sugar paper was placed on top to maintain the shape and everything was sewn up with a lining. Having turned the fur hat outward, they sprinkled it with water and beat it with a stick for about 4-5 minutes. Then the product was put on the form for 5-6 hours.
The most common headdress was sheepskin hats. They were made in different shapes: cone-shaped or round. By the papakha one could judge the financial condition of a man. We althy Azerbaijanis had pointed hats or bei papakhas made of fur brought from Bukhara. For the holiday, it was customary to wear a hat made of astrakhan fur. Men from the common people wore cone-shaped hats choban papakh with long pile fur.
Bashlyk
Another popular type of headgear was a hood - a cloth-based hood with rather long tails. For home use, small hats were intended - arakhchyns. AtThey put on a hat when they went out on the Arakhchyn. Teskulakh were used for sleeping, because even at night it was impossible to stay without a hat. For various celebrations, Azerbaijanis wore astrakhan hats.
What did the national men's costume consist of?
The national costume of Azerbaijan (male) consisted of several main parts:
- undershirt,
- pants,
- top shirt,
- harem pants,
- archaluk;
- cloth chukha (Circassian).
Azerbaijani men first put on an undershirt, underpants, then an overshirt, arkhaluk on top, and then chukha. On the chukha were sewn gazyrnitsy - sockets for storing cartridges. In the cold, they wore a long sheepskin coat on top.
The top shirt was white or blue. It was sewn from satin or satin. The clasp was in the form of a loop or a button. Arkhaluk was sewn single-breasted or double-breasted, with a stand-up collar. The single-breasted arhaluk had a hook-and-loop closure, while the double-breasted one had buttons. It was tailored to fit. The hem of the arkhaluka was decorated with frills, the sleeves were straight, narrowed down. In cold weather, trousers made of wool were worn on top of the underpants. They were quite wide for ease of movement on horseback.
A belt was an important addition to the national costume of Azerbaijan. They sewed leather, and silver, and silk, and brocade belts. They were designed to carry weapons and other necessary small items. The belt was worn over the archaluk.
In general, the sight of an Azerbaijani warrior is breathtaking: a Circassian coat emphasizing broad shoulders and a narrow waist andhips, slender legs in black boots - all this is combined in a courageous and noble image.
Shoes
As shoes, Azerbaijani men used leather shoes or boots. They were plain, without patterns and decorations. Later, shiny rubber galoshes became popular. Saffiano shoes with flat soles were used as home shoes.
Instead of afterword
In modern life it is already rare to meet people in national costumes, but this does not mean that they are forgotten. On the contrary, fashion designers of the world use many of their elements in their collections. And this is justified: in the traditional costume of the Azerbaijani people, beauty, harmony, and aesthetics are intertwined. This is the embodiment of cultural values carried through time.
