National Clothes of Altaians: Essential Features Revisited

Introduction. With reference to works by Russian ethnographers and collected field materials, the paper presents the first insight into specific features of Altaian traditional clothes and changes the latter undergo in the modern period. Goals. The work primarily seeks to reveal transformations of Altaian national garments in the late 20th – early 21st centuries. Materials. The study examines data from field expeditions to Ust-Kansky, Shebalinsky and other districts of the Altai Republic in 2017-2019. The research data collection methods included those of questionnaires and interviews among local communities of the mentioned districts of the region. Results. The paper highlights various aspects of men’s and women’s clothes represented mainly by outer garments, such as sheepskin coats, e.g., nekey ton (a sheepskin coat a with long thick fur), akar ton (a coat sheepskin with short thick fur), kyptu ton (a coat with fabric-trimmed upper elements), tortok ton (a short sheepskin coat), and also sleeveless jackets (kögÿspek) and national gowns (chekpen). The work describes caps worn both by men and women (tÿlkÿ bychkak börÿk, talbañ börÿk, kish börÿk, bolchok börÿk), shoes made of fur (skin) from animals’ lower legs (bychkak ödÿk) or leather ones (katu/ köm ödÿk, charyk ödÿk, shiri ödÿk) usually decorated with upright pointed toes. Special attention is paid to women’s wedding and festal clothes, namely: dresses with wide sleeves and long cuffs that were to completely cover hands, the former decorated with buttons, beads, and ornaments to be worn under a full-length silk sleeveless jacket. The research explains differences between the classical and contemporary conventionalized chegedek full-length sleeveless jackets worn by women over a special dress during wedding ceremonies. Chegedek communicates a symbolic message that a girl acquires the new status of a married woman. Some attention is given to men’s undergarments, such as regular shirts (chamcha) mostly worn untucked with woolen trousers (shtan). Conclusions. The Altaian clothes have underwent certain changes but some centuries-old traditions survive till nowadays, e.g., women’s dresses are distinguished by special sleeves (ushtuktar) and ‘wings’ (kanattar). However, it is noteworthy that the tradition of selecting colors for garments with due regard of age and sex is lost, and layout of decorative elements has also changed. The loss of ethnic features in national clothes results from the wide use of commercial cloths and services of tailor shops. 

1. Author’s Field Data

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