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National dress North Caucasus. Caucasian national clothes - a variety of styles, colors, patterns and names. Front or exit complex

Features and traditions of peoples North Caucasus well reflected in the so-called Caucasian style of clothing. The national costume is a combination of similar features of the culture and life of the peoples of the Caucasus, which have developed over a long time.

Caucasian women's clothing

The clothes of Caucasian women are quite diverse depending on the area. In style, the women's suit was similar to the men's - the dress was similar to the men's "Circassian", also in outerwear - the jacket on the wadding was similar to the men's "beshmet".

The main national Caucasian clothing for women is called, like most nationalities, a dress. Outerwear is represented by a caftan. In the women's costume, of course, there was more variety than in the men's, and the decor was richer.

At its core, the national clothes of the Caucasian peoples have many common features, which indicates the commonality of traditions and aesthetic perception of the peoples of the Caucasus.

Materials and finishes

For sewing dresses, poor Caucasian women used homespun cloth, which differed high quality. The clothes of Caucasian girls of the upper class were sewn from imported expensive materials - silk, satin, velvet. Since the style of the dress assumed a fluffy skirt extended downwards, more than five meters of material was spent on sewing one dress.

Girls from wealthy families began to learn applied art from the age of five. They learned to embroider with gold and pearls, weave various types of braid.

By the time the girl was ready to walk down the aisle, she was already ready. Girls who served as servants helped with hand embroidery in gold.

Patterns and ornaments on the wedding dress could be both minimalistic and massive - everything depended on the personal preferences and wealth of the bride's family.

Men's clothing of all the peoples of the North Caucasus, both in its individual items and in sets as a whole, reveals extreme closeness, and in some cases even identity. Differences are observed in small things, details, and even then not always. Below we will try to understand the reasons for the similarity and in what historical period it could have developed.

All the peoples of the North Caucasus had several sets of clothing associated with various life circumstances. The first is a road, camping clothing complex. In addition to this or that ordinary clothing, it included a cloak, a hood and a hat, i.e. those three obligatory items that actually turned it into a road complex. In conditions of long trips and hikes, these items were not only very convenient, but also extremely necessary. In the first place, of course, was jamchi (burka), the variety of use of which we spoke earlier. Jamchi (burka) is most specific to the peoples of the North Caucasus. Highlanders have long made cloaks not only for themselves, but also for sale. Burka was the subject of trade, and often direct exchange with neighbors, primarily with Western Georgia, which in turn served for the peoples of the North Caucasus as a source of various fabrics, threads, etc. Burkas were also sold to their northern neighbors - the Cossacks, where they not only entered everyday life, but also became part of the Cossack military uniform. The most popular were cloaks of Kabardian, Karachay and Balkarian work.

The second item characteristic of the road complex was the hood. Western European travelers in some cases call the hood a “travel hood”. A feature of the cut of the hood was long blades, which made it possible to wrap them around the neck, which was not protected by anything other than the standing collar of the beshmet, and it, apparently, was not always high. The same blades could cover the face from the wind, cold (or, if desired, be unrecognized). Hats were also exported to Transcaucasia, to Russia, to the Crimea. The peoples of the North Caucasus, unlike the population of Western Georgia and Abkhazia, wore a hood only over a hat, and not directly on their heads. And if in Western Georgia there were dozens of ways to tie a hood, then in the North Caucasus it was simply thrown over a hat, and the ends were lowered forward or wrapped around the neck. The size of the hood to a certain extent depended on the style of the hat, since, worn over it, it had to cover the shoulders as well.

Papakhas had a different shape, which, however, served not so much as an ethnic sign, but as a temporary one; shape was also determined by age, fashion and personal tastes. Papakha was always part of the road complex, even if there was a felt hat in reserve. The hood was worn only on a hat, and the possibility of cold and rainy weather in the mountains always had to be taken into account.

Jamchy (cloak), hood and berk (papakha) were a mandatory set of road clothes for a rider in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. and existed as such almost throughout the Caucasus. The second complex is the output, front. The common features of the everyday culture of the peoples of the North Caucasus were also very bright in it.

It included chepken ( the name after was distorted and became known as Circassian), kolek (beshmet), sometimes a shirt, kenchek (pants - wide or narrow in step), legs, shoes made of leather or morocco, most often with soft soles, a belt with a dagger and a hat of one or another style. In the case of going outside the village, the ceremonial ensemble was sometimes supplemented with a burka and a hood, and thus the first and second complexes were combined. Wealthy people had a full weekend suit. Sometimes the costume or its individual items could be used by other persons - relatives and friends of the owner. The ceremonial complex could include a festive hood, richly trimmed with galloon, tassels, and sometimes with embroidery. The hood in these cases was worn on the shoulders with a hood and blades lowered behind the back. It was fastened in front with galun or cord ties. Young people also wore such a hood inside the village on solemn occasions - for a wedding, for dances, etc.

The combination of the first and second sets of clothes formed the same costume, which the writers of everyday life often called the “ordinary mountain costume”. The second complex was very close to the clothing of the population of Western Georgia (Imereti, Svaneti, Racha, Megrelia) and especially Abkhazia. This similarity was observed mainly in outerwear - cherkeska (in the West Georgian chokha) and beshmet, shoes and headdress had differences. It was the above areas that were most connected in economic and historical-cultural relations with the North-Western and Central Caucasus - Karachays, Balkars and Adyghe peoples, as well as Ossetians (the latter had the closest ties with the Kartalins). “Along with the traditional costume, the North Caucasian Circassian coat made of white or yellow cloth with khazyrs (with gazyrnits) on the chest was very popular in Kakheti and Kartli.” The first and second complexes, characteristic of the peoples of the North Caucasus, existed in Dagestan, also as a ceremonial weekend costume.

The same complexes spread among the Terek and Kuban Cossacks and became their military uniform. At the end of the XIX century. and especially at the beginning of the 20th century. the second complex also spreads in Eastern Transcaucasia - Eastern Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Here it coexisted with other traditional costumes for these places (with chokha, archaluk, etc.). Its existence was limited to certain segments of the population, mainly young people from wealthy families.

N. G. Volkova and G. N. Javakhishvili. considering the issue of traditions and innovations in the Georgian men's costume, they write: “In men's clothing at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. more stable traditional forms. In addition to them, elements brought from the North Caucasus, Persia, Turkey (Circassian coat, split sleeves in a chokha, pointed fur headdress, etc.) became an organic part of the Georgian men's costume.

If the similarity of the clothes of the North-Western Caucasus and North-Western Georgia, as can be assumed, is based on some deep traditions and even ethnogenetic kinship (Abkhazians and Adyghes), then in the Eastern Caucasus the complex with the Circassian is clearly brought from the North Caucasus. It is characteristic that in these areas, local women did not know how to sew a Circassian coat, it was made only by specialist tailors. The costume with the Circassian style of the North Caucasian type became for the population of a significant part of the Caucasus that general form of clothing that preceded the urban costume.

The third complex is everyday work clothes. She was very different from different peoples. These differences were revealed not so much in the cut and character individual items, how many in the complex as a whole.

The daily complex of clothes of the Karachays and Balkars, as well as the Adyghe peoples, the Abaza and the Kuban Nogais, consisted of a beshmet, trousers with a wide step tucked into the legs, and rawhide work shoes with a seam on the back and toe. For some work, they wore shoes with soles woven from straps. IN summer time a felt hat or papakha was put on the head. In winter, they wore a hat and a fur coat. A shirt with such a suit was not required (when leaving the village they put on a Circassian coat). This version of the everyday complex can be conditionally called Western.

Among the Chechens and Ingush, in the presence of the above-described costume, they more often wore a shirt, pants, narrower in step, as work clothes. papakha and sometimes a felt hat. Pants were sometimes tucked right into shoes, without leggings. This is the eastern version of the complex.

The working suit of the Ossetians occupied an intermediate place. They had both western and eastern variants of a complex of everyday clothes. But they more often than other peoples wore a felt hat. They are also typical of shoes made of cloth with leather soles, which were almost non-existent in the Northwestern Caucasus. Apparently, the distribution of the Circassian coat without gazyrs, sometimes with a high collar, should be mainly associated with the Ossetians. It was worn directly on the shirt and was considered working, everyday wear. Such Circassians also existed among the Balkars, and sometimes in Karachay.

Speaking about everyday work and home clothes, it is necessary to single out the fourth complex - specialized clothes for shepherds, dictated by the conditions of their work. In its composition, it coincides with working clothes, but among different peoples, it included special shepherd's clothes. In Karachay, Balkaria, Ossetia (Digoria) and partly in Kabarda, the clothes of cattle and sheep shepherds included felt clothes with sleeves, as well as a short cloak or just a cape made from a piece of felt. The Ossetians had a short cloak, as well as a cape made of coarse fabric. The Chechens and Ingush, in addition to the cloak, had a cape made of homespun cloth.

So, in everyday clothes, the greatest differences were observed, apparently, primarily because it was most adapted to the everyday characteristics of the life of the people, met their needs and capabilities. All items of everyday clothing were made by the hands of local women, and not by artisans, whose participation in the creation of a costume usually leads to its well-known leveling.

We can conditionally single out the fifth complex - with a fur coat, indicating that it is not so much seasonal (winter), but most of all associated with vertical zonality, transhumance, and age differences. Fur coats (most often naked) of various cuts were worn on mountain pastures in the summer as well. They could also serve as a cover for sleeping. In the summer one could see old people wearing a fur coat, especially in the evenings.

Karachays, Balkars and Adyghe peoples usually wore fur coats over a beshmet, sometimes under a Circassian coat. Ossetians, Chechens, Ingush wore a fur coat and right on the shirt. Covered fur coats were worn by more prosperous people and as an evening wear. The complex with a fur coat was also characteristic of the peoples of Dagestan - the neighbors of the Chechens. The peoples of Dagestan, unlike the highlanders of the North Caucasus, had a diverse set of fur coats.

Reasons for the similarity of men's clothing of the peoples of the North Caucasus in the XIX-XX centuries. have already been the subject of judgments in a number of our papers. Briefly, they can be formulated as follows:

1. Similarity geographical conditions and economic activities associated with vertical zoning. Even the peoples who lived in the foothills grazed their cattle on alpine pastures, that is, they had the same conditions of production life as the inhabitants of the mountainous regions. The same forms of production activity - mainly transhumance combined with agriculture - provided similar raw materials for the production of clothing.

2. The presence of common components that participated in the ethnogenesis of many peoples, as well as common historical influences. The significance of the Alanian (Karachay-Balkarian) culture, the influence of the nomadic Turks, strong historical, cultural and economic ties with the Russians, with the peoples of Transcaucasia, primarily with the Georgians. Sources of obtaining materials, individual items of clothing were common to all peoples of the North Caucasus.

3. Long-term neighborhood and historical ties between the peoples of the North Caucasus had great importance in the addition of general forms and whole complexes of clothing. Specific forms of relations between peoples: atalychestvo, kunachestvo, twinning, intertribal and interethnic marriages - were accompanied by the exchange of items of clothing, its donation to the husband's relatives, sometimes clothing was part of a ransom for blood, etc.

Since the creator of the costume was mainly a woman, her transition from one ethnic environment to another served as one of the ways to add up the commonality of clothing. All these types of ties, especially interethnic marriages, were characteristic mainly of the feudal elite, where borrowings and following “fashion” were observed to the greatest extent. Undoubtedly, the influence of the clothes of the Kabardian feudal lords on the clothes of neighboring peoples, primarily their privileged classes, who were often vassals of the Kabardian princes.

So, there were many reasons that contributed to the formation of commonality in the clothes of the peoples of the North Caucasus. But at different stages of historical development, one or another reason or a combination of them had the greatest influence. Reasons such as the similarity of economic activities or trade relations primarily determined the identity of the material for clothing. The similarity of the cut was dictated by common features not only in the economy, but also in everyday life, in particular military, etc. But to say “why” and even “how” does not mean to say “when”. To illustrate the difficulty of answering this question, we will cite two opinions of major Caucasian scholars.

E. I. Krupnov, speaking about the second half of the 1st millennium AD, writes about the similar cultural image of the population of the North Caucasus: differences... According to all data, it is here, in the North Caucasus, that the main types of modern mountain costumes are born: hat, chepken (Circassian coat), beshmet, legs and a belt decorated with non-ferrous metal.

Considering a much later period, L. I. Lavrov says: “As can be seen from the above materials, in the XIV-XV centuries. there were already prototypes of such later types of Adyghe costume as beshmet, cloak, leggings and chuvyaks. As for the belt, according to L. I. Lavrov, it resembles the current one only in the form of a metal set. Circassian hat, papakha, hood, low felt hat with large brim, 19th century. have no prototypes among the known fragments of the Adyghe clothing of the XIV-XV centuries. Their appearance in the life of the Kabardians belongs to a later period.

When presenting the material on specific sections, in a number of cases we spoke about the antiquity of that one. or other form of clothing. But only later researchers will be able to answer this question more accurately, in whose hands, we hope, will new material. We expressed the opinion that the terminology of clothing can to some extent contribute to determining the time of appearance of a particular type of clothing. As for the statements cited by E. I. Krupnov and L. I. Lavrov, with a divergence in certain points, it is important that both authors agree that the main complex of men's clothing was formed as a common one for the peoples of the North Caucasus many centuries ago.

We can also confirm the long-term retention of the traditional forms of dress mentioned above. Shoes and leggings are the most resistant, followed by cloak, fur hat, beshmet, trousers, shirt and belt. Outerwear (Circassian) and ceremonial headdress underwent significant changes. The general trend of development towards the convergence of forms was especially clearly revealed in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

(E. N. Studenetskaya. Clothing of the peoples of the North Caucasus in the 18th-20th centuries, Nauka, Moscow, 1989)

01.02.2010 0 12910

All the peoples of the North Caucasus had several sets of clothing associated with various life circumstances. The first is a road, camping clothing complex. In addition to this or that ordinary clothing, it included a cloak, a hood and a hat, i.e. those three obligatory items that actually turned it into a road complex. In conditions of long trips and hikes, these items were not only very convenient, but also extremely necessary. In the first place, of course, was the cloak, the variety of use of which we talked about earlier. Burka is most specific to the peoples of the North Caucasus. Highlanders have long made cloaks not only for themselves, but also for sale. Burka was a subject of trade, and often a direct exchange with neighbors, primarily with Western Georgia, which, in turn, served for the peoples of the North Caucasus as a source of various fabrics, threads, etc. Burkas were also sold to their northern neighbors - the Cossacks, where they not only entered everyday life, but also became part of the Cossack military uniform. The most popular were cloaks of Kabardian, Karachay and Balkarian work.

The second item characteristic of the road complex was the hood. Western European travelers in some cases call the hood a "travel hood". A feature of the cut of the hood was long blades, which made it possible to wrap them around the neck, which was not protected by anything other than the standing collar of the beshmet, and it, apparently, was not always high. The same blades could cover the face from the wind, cold (or, if desired, be unrecognized). Hats were also exported to Transcaucasia, to Russia, to the Crimea. The peoples of the North Caucasus, unlike the population of Western Georgia and Abkhazia, wore a hood only over a hat, and not directly on their heads. And if in Western Georgia there were dozens of ways to tie a hood, then in the North Caucasus it was simply thrown over a hat, and the ends were lowered forward or wrapped around the neck. The size of the hood to a certain extent depended on the style of the hat, since, worn over it, it had to cover the shoulders as well.

The cloak, hood and hat were the obligatory set of travel clothing for the rider in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. and existed as such almost throughout the Caucasus. The second complex is the output, front. The common features of the everyday culture of the peoples of the North Caucasus were also very bright in it.

It included a Circassian coat, a beshmet, sometimes a shirt, trousers (wide or narrow in step), leggings, leather or morocco shoes, most often with soft soles, a belt with a dagger and a hat of one or another style. In the case of going outside the village, the ceremonial ensemble was sometimes supplemented with a burka and a hood, and thus the first and second complexes were combined. Wealthy people had a full weekend suit. Sometimes the costume or its individual items could be used by other persons - relatives and friends of the owner. The ceremonial complex could include a festive hood, richly trimmed with galloon, tassels, and sometimes with embroidery. The hood in these cases was worn on the shoulders with a hood and blades lowered behind the back. It was fastened in front with galun or cord ties. Young people also wore such a hood inside the village on solemn occasions - for a wedding, for dances, etc.

The combination of the first and second sets of clothes formed the same costume, which the writers of everyday life often called the "ordinary mountain costume". The second complex was very close to the clothing of the population of Western Georgia (Imereti, Svaneti, Racha, Megrelia) and especially Abkhazia. This similarity was observed mainly in outerwear - Circassian coat (in Western Georgian chokha) and beshmet, shoes and headdress had differences. It was the above areas that were most connected in economic and historical-cultural relations with the North-Western and Central Caucasus - the Adyghe peoples, Karachays and Balkars, as well as Ossetians (the latter had the closest ties with the Kartalins). "Along with the traditional costume, the North Caucasian Circassian coat made of white or yellow cloth with gazyrniki on the chest was very popular in Kakheti and Kartli." The first and second complexes, characteristic of the peoples of the North Caucasus, existed in Dagestan, also as a ceremonial weekend costume.

N. G. Volkova and G. N. Javakhishvili. considering the issue of traditions and innovations in the Georgian men's suit, they write: "In men's clothing at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, traditional forms are more stable. In addition to them, elements brought from the North Caucasus, from Persia, Turkey ( Circassian coat, split sleeves in a chokha, pointed headdress made of fur, etc.)".

The third complex is everyday work clothes. It had great differences among different peoples. These differences were revealed not so much in the cut and character of individual objects, but in the composition of the complex as a whole.

The daily complex of clothes of the Adyghe peoples, as well as Karachays and Balkars, Abaza and Kuban Nogais, consisted of a beshmet, trousers with a wide step tucked into the legs, and rawhide work shoes with a seam on the back and toe. For some work, they wore shoes with soles woven from straps. In the summer, a felt hat or hat was put on the head. In winter, they wore a hat and a fur coat. A shirt with such a suit was not required (when leaving the village they put on a Circassian coat). This version of the everyday complex can be conditionally called Western.

The Adyghe peoples, Karachays and Balkars usually put on fur coats over a beshmet, sometimes under a Circassian coat. Ossetians, Chechens, Ingush wore a fur coat and right on the shirt. Covered fur coats were worn by more prosperous people and as an evening wear. The complex with a fur coat was also characteristic of the peoples of Dagestan - the neighbors of the Chechens. The peoples of Dagestan, unlike the highlanders of the North Caucasus, had a diverse set of fur coats.

1. The similarity of geographical conditions and economic activities associated with vertical zonality. Even the peoples who lived in the foothills grazed their cattle on alpine pastures, that is, they had the same conditions of production life as the inhabitants of the mountainous regions. The same forms of production activity - mainly transhumance combined with agriculture - provided similar raw materials for the production of clothing.

2. The presence of common components that participated in the ethnogenesis of many peoples, as well as common historical influences. The significance of the Alanian culture, the influence of the nomadic Turks, strong historical, cultural and economic ties with the Russians, with the peoples of Transcaucasia, primarily with the Georgians. Sources of obtaining materials, individual items of clothing were common to all peoples of the North Caucasus.

3. The long-term neighborhood and historical ties between the peoples of the North Caucasus were of great importance in the addition of common forms and entire complexes of clothing. Specific forms of relations between peoples: atalychestvo, kunachestvo, twinning, intertribal and interethnic marriages - were accompanied by the exchange of items of clothing, its donation to the husband's relatives, sometimes clothing was part of a ransom for blood, etc.

Since the creator of the costume was mainly a woman, her transition from one ethnic environment to another served as one of the ways to add up the commonality of clothing. All these types of ties, especially interethnic marriages, were characteristic mainly of the feudal elite, where borrowing and following "fashion" were observed to the greatest extent. Undoubtedly, the influence of the clothes of the Kabardian feudal lords on the clothes of neighboring peoples, primarily their privileged classes, who were often vassals of the Kabardian princes.

So, there were many reasons that contributed to the formation of commonality in the clothes of the peoples of the North Caucasus. But at different stages of historical development, one or another reason or a combination of them had the greatest influence. Reasons such as the similarity of economic activities or trade relations primarily determined the identity of the material for clothing. The similarity of the cut was dictated by common features not only in the economy, but also in everyday life, in particular military, etc. But to say "why" and even "how" does not mean to say "when". To illustrate the difficulty of answering this question, we will cite two opinions of major Caucasian scholars.

E. I. Krupnov, speaking about the second half of the 1st millennium AD, writes about the similar cultural image of the population of the North Caucasus: differences... According to all data, it is here, in the North Caucasus, that the main types of modern mountain costumes are born: hat, Circassian coat, beshmet, leggings and a belt decorated with non-ferrous metal.

Considering a much later period, L. I. Lavrov says: "As can be seen from the materials cited, in the XIV-XV centuries there were already prototypes of such later types of Adyghe costume as beshmet, cloak, legs and chuvyaks." As for the belt, according to L. I. Lavrov, it resembles the current one only in the form of a metal set. Circassian hat, papakha, hood, low felt hat with large brim, 19th century. have no prototypes among the known fragments of the Adyghe clothing of the XIV-XV centuries. Their appearance in the life of the Kabardians belongs to a later period.

When presenting the material on specific sections, in a number of cases we spoke about the antiquity of that one. or other form of clothing. But only later researchers will be able to answer this question more accurately, in whose hands, we hope, new material will also be available. We expressed the opinion that the terminology of clothing can to some extent contribute to determining the time of appearance of a particular type of clothing. As for the statements cited by E. I. Krupnov and L. I. Lavrov, with a divergence in certain points, it is important that both authors agree that the main complex of men's clothing was formed as a common one for the peoples of the North Caucasus many centuries ago.

E.N. Studenetskaya. Clothing of the peoples of the North Caucasus in the 18th-20th centuries. Moscow, 1989.

It is very difficult to imagine a Caucasian without his traditional costume. Some elements of the ethnic attire of the peoples of Transcaucasia are known to everyone: Circassians, cloaks, etc. And although all mountain peoples cherish the memory, respect and reverence for the national costume, you can now see it only in distant villages or are an opportunity to enjoy such an exquisite outfit

What are the main elements of the traditional Caucasian attire were especially any, not only the mountain inhabitants of the Caucasus? First of all, these are Circassian coats, cloaks, hats and scarves. All the clothing of this area is characterized by several common features - versatility, convenience, it does not hinder movement, it is both clothing and a protective device. It must be remembered that these are the clothes of warriors and shepherds, and based on this, it becomes clear why certain elements are on it. Now all ordinary national clothes have become only a weekend, solemn attire.

Cherkeska- a luxurious fitted caftan with one side and gazyrs, special wooden or bone nests for gunpowder, cartridges and wood chips for sawing.

Daily attire was dark, masking tones. The length is below the knees to keep the rider's knees warm, but may vary. The clothes are fitted, but do not restrict movement due to folds and gathers, girded with a narrow belt with a steel buckle. Sleeves - ideal for combat, wide and short. If not a robe is sewn for an old man, then the sleeves will be narrow and long so that the hands of a respected old man warm up. Festive Circassian coat of light colors, more fitted and longer.

A headdress made of fabric, fur or felt. The traditional national outfit is impossible without this personification of masculinity, honor and decency. There are a lot of varieties of this attire, flat and cylindrical, with a flat and beveled top, with and without a strip, hats differed from the nationality and from the destination. Previously, until the end of the 18th century, men's and women's head dresses did not differ, but now the male version is considered a true hat.

It was believed that every Caucasian man should have at least 10 popes, for different occasions. Such hats were kept only in clean cloth bags and were very reverently guarded, being inherited. Without a hat, leaving the house earlier was a bad form and disrespect for others, all the more so to come to a celebration or mourning event. The color of the hat could be any, but the everyday dress was dark, and the wedding, festive hat was white or light. This exceptionally warm and comfortable headdress was removed only to ask for an end to the war due to blood feud. Also, the guy threw his hat out the window of his beloved girl, as if asking if she would accept his courtship. Warriors and shepherds used this fluffy and warm hat as a pillow during long trips.

Burka- a very warm, waterproof sleeveless coat made of sheep or goat felt. Narrow at the shoulders and very wide at the bottom. The color is usually dark, but the weekend robes were habitually white. The neckline and front slit are stitched with leather for elegance, durability and practicality, plus leather ties.

For horsemen, warriors, long, sewn models with wide shoulders and a long pile were made. They made it possible to cover not only the rider, but also the horse. The horse's eyes were also covered with the cloaks if it needed to be sent into the river or forced to jump over a cliff. For foot mountaineers - short, seamless and smooth.

With a weight of a couple of kilograms, a real felt cloak stands on the floor, so durable and high-quality material is used. It is made only by hand, by felting wool with women's hands, boiling and impregnating, washing, drying and sewing on the lining. The process is very difficult and time-consuming, it takes from three days with the simultaneous work of three women.

This traditional shepherd's attire made it possible to protect oneself from any weather troubles. It could be used as a tent, as a blanket and a temporary protective structure, it saved from an attacker with a dagger and allowed you to hide your weapons under the wide floors. Therefore, like most clothes of Caucasians, the cloak is not just a beautiful outfit, but also vital necessity. Now it becomes only a decorative or festive weekend attire. Now it is made for small children, and for the decoration of bottles with drinks.

Beshmet- an elegant caftan, a feature of which was a standing collar. It was worn as a basis for a shirt and a dressing gown, and worn separately, at home. They sewed from a variety of materials, gradually they began to make insulated models, such as a padded jacket, and shortened ones.

Handkerchief for Caucasian women, it is as important a part of the outfit as for any other nation. But it was worn and worn all the time, even on top of a scarf. This is a way to cover up feminine beauty and the prestige factor. The importance and power of the scarf is hard to overestimate. Thrown to the floor, between two swearing men, it is able to stop an argument and even a fight.

Researchers identify more than 40 main types of scarves among the peoples of Transcaucasia. Multi-colored and single-colored, with and without fringe, with embroidery and without decor, small and shawl - there are more than a hundred varieties of scarf. They differ in material, motives on it and purpose. A particularly important and luxurious wedding scarf. He adorned the handsome bride, could cover his face, protected the young from the evil eye and damage, hid a young family from evil spirits. Such a protective and magical scarf was white or red. This is always a welcome and expensive gift for the most luxurious holiday and occasion.

The decoration and tailoring of the scarf must be handmade so that it carries the energy that is attributed to this invariable attribute of a Caucasian woman and girl.

Traditional Caucasian attire has always been and will be part of the culture of these mountain peoples, but now you can see a truly national outfit only during Caucasian dances or festivities.

Clothing of the highlanders of the North Caucasus in the second half of the 18th - 19th centuries. had similar features. Men's clothing consisted of a shirt made of cotton or light red taffeta. On top of the shirt was worn a silk vest, usually decorated with embroidery. The shirt was tucked into wide trousers that tapered down. An integral part of the national costume of the highlanders (primarily the Circassians) was the Circassian. It was sewn to the waist, with flared floors and a wide neckline on the chest. Its length, as a rule, reached the knees. Usually Circassians were sewn from black, brown or gray homespun cloth. On the chest, on the sides, there were undergarments, which were made of leather or morocco. Initially, there were 4-5 nests for gazyrs, but by the second half of the 19th century, their number increased to 8 on each side. Festive Circassians were made from purchased cloth of different colors and decorated with galloons.

An obligatory detail of a man's suit was a belt with a metal set. Wearing a Circassian coat without a belt was considered indecent among the Adygs. The outerwear was a cloak - a long sleeveless felt cape, bell-shaped, expanding at the bottom of the form (see Appendix No. 1).

The shoes were boots and high heels. Together with chuvyaks, they wore legs made of felt, sometimes made of cloth or morocco.

Hats, felt hats, and a hood were used as headdresses in case of inclement weather.

An indispensable attribute of the men's mountain national costume was edged weapons (dagger, saber, checker), which will be discussed in more detail below.

Women's clothing differed little from men's except for color: women preferred white, while men never used either red for their caps or white color in your clothes.

Young women from noble families wore a red cap under the veil, and their hair was braided into several loose braids. Dresses, as a rule, were long, open in front, with fasteners on the chest to the waist. In addition, the mountain women wore wide long trousers (shalvars) gathered at the ankles. Festive clothing for women consisted of a semi-caftan made of silk or cotton, over which they wore long clothes made of cloth with open sleeves. To keep their figure, noble mountain women from the age of 10 wore a corset before marriage (on their wedding night, the husband ripped it open with a dagger). Thanks to the corset, a modest diet without frills, many Circassian women retained a beautiful figure for a long time. In general, the ideal of beauty among the Circassians and other peoples of the Caucasus was to have a thin figure (only men should have broad shoulders). European travelers who visited the Caucasus in the XVIII - XIX centuries. repeatedly emphasized that the Circassians were trendsetters in the North Caucasus, like the French in Europe. Indeed, the clothes of the Circassians served as a model for the clothes of other mountain peoples of the Caucasus.

The making of clothes was the duty of the women, who achieved a remarkable art in their work. The garments of the Adyghe craftswomen were known far beyond the Caucasus. Decorations of clothes and shoes, made of galloon, gold and silver threads, amazed with their perfection. Russian officer F.F. Tornau, who observed the life of the Adyghes, being in their captivity in 1864, spoke flatteringly about the products of the Adyghe craftswomen: “Circassian women are distinguished by their wonderful art in women's work - the material will tear rather than a seam made by their hand; the silver galloon of their work is inimitable. In everything they make, good taste and excellent practical equipment are found.

As many researchers have noted, in the middle of the 19th century, the clothes of the Abkhaz were similar to those of the Circassians. They wore a half-caftan, and under it a narrow dress lined with cotton wool (beshmet). Abkhaz men wore tight trousers, and cloth stockings were worn over them, which were tied under the knees with patterned braid (legs). Abkhazians wore a cloth hood (hood) on their heads. Princes and noble people wore small cloth hats with fur trim.

Ossetians also dressed like Circassians, only their clothes were longer and less tasteful. On the body they put on a short shirt and pants, on top of the Circassian clothes made of coarse cloth, which they made themselves or bought from their neighbors. Like all highlanders, they also sewed two pockets on their chests to outerwear, divided into small compartments, in which they placed from 5 to 8 rounds.

The clothes of women were similar to the clothes of Circassian women, however, Ossetians did not wear shalvars, and their hairstyle differed from the hairstyles of Circassian women (they wore loose hair or one braid under a coverlet).

The manufacture of clothing was a widespread craft and the main occupation of the mountain women of the Caucasus in the period under study (mid-18th - late 19th centuries). Women's labor produced all clothing and footwear (including Circassian coats, cloaks, leggings, gloves), all leather accessories for military equipment (pillows for saddles, scabbards for checkers and daggers, bows and quivers for bows and arrows, and later - with the spread of firearms). weapons - cases for guns, holsters for pistols).

As for the manufacture of weapons, it was purely masculine

trade and the main occupation of professional gunsmiths. The Circassians were especially famous for their gunsmiths, who knew how to make even Damascus steel, the secret of making which, unfortunately, has now been lost.

Here it must be emphasized that the manufacture of weapons has long been one of the most important crafts of the peoples of the Caucasus. The military way of life of the highlanders required the constant carrying of weapons due to the constant danger that arose due to various reasons (external wars, feudal strife, raids by neighboring tribes, etc.).

In addition, according to the concepts of the highlanders, military affairs were the only thing worthy of a man. A dzhigit was considered a daring rider, a well-aimed shooter, successful in raids. As a result, all the men of the mountainous population of the Caucasus were well versed in weapons, knew military affairs well and were ready to repel danger at any time.

For these reasons, the importance of weapons in the life of a highlander cannot be overestimated. The Circassian never left his sakli without a weapon, and even while at home, he never took off his dagger from his belt. The weapon was the only decoration of the walls of the highlander's dwelling. Since the weapon had a high material value, it played a big role in vital calculations. For example, the payment for the bride (kalym) always included a weapon.

I. Blaramberg noted in detail what types of weapons the kalym consists of. The princes and nobles were obligated to wear chain mail, a helmet, combat gloves and elbow pads, a saber, a gun, a pistol. In addition, it was supposed to give the father of the bride a slave boy, eight bulls, a horse and horses.

Among the commoners, an obligatory part of the kalym was guns decorated with a silver notch, two horses, two bulls, ten rams and goats. The weapon also played a big role in the wedding ceremony (during the wedding, jumps and shooting at the target were arranged). The wedding train (carriage with the bride) was accompanied by horsemen with songs and firing from rifles and pistols. A masterfully performed dance in token of approval was accompanied by firing.

The weapon was also included in the payment of a fine for the dead. For example, the payment for the blood of a nobleman included a shell, a helmet, a saber, elbow pads, a gun, a silver goblet, a good horse, 23 horses, bulls and small cattle.

Consider the Caucasian edged and firearms.

Melee weapons are a means of attack and active defense, activated by the human hand. Bladed weapons are one of the types of melee weapons. In the Caucasus in the XVIII - XIX centuries edged weapons with a long and short blade were used.

Swords and broadswords belonged to weapons with a long straight blade (the difference between them was that the sword had both sides of the blade blade sharpened, while the broadsword had only one). This type of weapon was most common in the XVI-XVII centuries.

As for the 18th century and especially the 19th, during this period weapons with a curved blade (sabers and checkers) were the most common in the Caucasus. The special purpose of the curvature of the blade is to give the center line of the slashing weapon a line of direction of impact, that is, so that both of these lines (the slashing weapon and the direction of impact) coincide. Some blades had a double-edged end.

The checker is a kind of saber, its name is of Circassian origin and means "long knife". The saber was the earliest version of a weapon with a curved blade, the saber was a later one. The fact is that sabers with a long blade and a powerful bayonet end were designed to pierce chain mail. In the 19th century, as firearms became more and more widespread, chain mail was used less and less, as a result, the need for a saber with a bayonet end disappeared. The checker was a lighter weapon, it was always worn on the belt; thus, the highlander, in the event of a sudden attack, took it out of its sheath with one movement and, without changing the position of the hand, struck.

For Circassian drafts, a slight bend of the blade is characteristic, for Kabardian - lightness. According to the Kabardian formula, "a checker should be as light as a feather, elastic as a vine, sharp as a razor."

The decor of Circassian checkers is as follows: in the center of the head of the handle was placed a 4 or 6 petal rosette. It was surrounded by closed circles and ovals, forming double or triple frames. The stalk of the handle was often decorated with oblique stripes, which were filled with inscriptions and comma-shaped petals.

Another type of Circassian ornament is an ornament consisting of dense stems with large leaves and buds, inside of which a white pattern (curls and commas) is placed. This ornament is always made in smooth niello, bordered by a line of secondary engraving.

The most common type of edged weapons, which was worn by literally all mountaineers without exception, was a dagger. In Dagestan, Adygeya, Ossetia, Chechnya, Kabarda, daggers were worn by men constantly, starting from adolescence.

Caucasian daggers had their own characteristic features. Their blade is straight, with two blades. The blade ended with an elongated tetrahedral point, and in the section it had the shape of a rhombus. Such an end was adapted for a stabbing blow. The average length of the blade is 33-35 cm, width - from 3 to 3.2 cm. The handles of the daggers are straight, they were made of various materials(bones, horns, iron, etc.). Many dagger blades had inscriptions containing the names of the masters, owners, the date of manufacture, the brand, and some sayings. These inscriptions, as well as blade decorations, help identify where they were made.

In the second half of the 19th century, daggers were produced significantly more than other types of edged weapons, for the reason that after the end Caucasian War only those inhabitants of the Caucasus who went to serve in the Russian army could have sabers and sabers, but every highlander, as usual, had daggers.

The next type of weapon we will look at is firearms. The appearance of firearms among the Circassians, according to many written sources, dates back to the second half of the 17th century. According to the testimony of the Turkish traveler Evliya Chelebi (1660s), in honor of the holiday, which he attended, the Circassians fired volleys from guns. The proportion of warriors armed with firearms (according to the traveler) ranged from one third (among the Bzhedugs) to one sixth (in Malaya Kabarda).

The 18th century is the time of the coexistence of firearms with bows and arrows. During this period, all the infantry was armed with guns, and the horsemen - mainly with bows, arrows and spears.

However, firearms in the mountains of the Caucasus gradually replaced the archaic (bow and arrows) and the 19th century can already be considered the time of widespread distribution of firearms. As noted by the Circassian scientist A. Khan-Girey (1830s): "There is almost no Circassian who would not have firearms." He also testified that in Circassia "in each aul, gunpowder is prepared in small quantities."

It must be emphasized here that, like most other Caucasian peoples, in this period the Circassians themselves produced gunpowder, for this they mined saltpeter - “powder salt” in the mountains.

The production of firearms in the Caucasus has its own history. Having originated in Dagestan, presumably at the end of the 16th century, it successfully developed over the next two and a half centuries. Turkish guns of the 16th-17th centuries served as the initial examples of firearms. By the middle of the 18th century, the Caucasus developed its own type of Caucasian flintlock gun, which has several varieties. The high point in the development of the production of firearms was the period of the Caucasian War, when mass production took place. TO late XIX century, the handicraft production of the Caucasian flintlock gradually faded away, supplanted by factory production and the spread of more modern weapons of European origin.

Let us give a description of a Circassian-made gun, highly valued in the Caucasus during this period. As a rule, the gun had a long, massive, mostly round barrel, decorated with floral ornaments and not having any brand or inscription. The locks of such guns were the same as those of the Crimean ones (they have a Turkish prototype). The stocks were made of walnut. Wide clips are made of silver. Clips and overlays are decorated with an ornament made of smooth niello on silver. The ornament has several options: wriggling branches with round leaves; a circle filled with a blackened dashed “sieve” pattern, as well as solar rosettes with horn-shaped curls located in circles.

In connection with consideration characteristic features Caucasian weapons, both firearms and cold steel, it is necessary to note the Caucasian centers of weapons production.

The famous center for the production and decoration of edged weapons in the Caucasus was Kubachi (Dagestan). The Lak ornament, which adorned sabers, sabers, and daggers, was also distinguished by unique originality and originality (the Lak craftsmen lived in the Kazikumukh district of Dagestan). The ornament on the silver details of the Lak weapons, as a rule, consists of a main symmetrical pattern that creates the overall composition, and an additional background that fills the free space. The main pattern was engraved with niello, and the additional pattern was engraved without niello, differing from the background surface only in the convexity of the pattern.

The art of the Kubachi masters manifested itself not only in decoration, but also in the production of both edged and firearms. In addition to Kubachi, there were other centers in Dagestan - Upper Kazanishche, Kadar, Tarki, Untsukul, Gotsatl.

In conclusion, it must be emphasized that the type of Caucasian guns of the second half of the 18th - 19th centuries is, in general terms, the same for all regions of the Caucasus. It is characterized by the following features: long (round or faceted), as a rule, rifled barrels, decorated at the treasury and muzzle with a gold or silver notch. The castles belong to the Mediterranean flintlock type. If we take it as a Caucasian species, then it can be divided into Circassian, Kubachi and Transcaucasian samples.

Castles were usually decorated with gold notch, floral ornaments. The ornament was different and represented important indicator when determining the origin of the gun. The stock of the Caucasian rifle is thin with a long narrow stock. Silver slips and clips are decorated with engraving and niello.

During the Caucasian War, not only the mountainous, but also the Russian Cossack population acquired weapons from Dagestan masters, as these weapons were famous for their merits (durability, lightness and strength of battle).