Buryat national costume

The headgear is drilled ( Bur. Malgay ) - it is a conical- shaped hat trimmed with velvet or fur, which at the top ends with a silver hemispherical top with a red bead ( Bur. Denze ). Red silk tassels flow down from the bottom of the dense ( Bur. Ulaan Zalaa ).

Enger or Durbelzhen Enger (dl. Quadrangular board ) is an important element of the Buryat national costume, located on the chest of the upper floor, where three multi-colored stripes are sewn - below pinkish-red, in the middle of black, on top of golden yellow, white, green or blue colors. The original version of Enger is yellow-red, black, white. ^[2]

Enger as an element of clothing of the Mongol-speaking peoples, according to L. L. Viktorova, has been known since the time of the Khitan empire ^[3] .

For Mongolian peoples, researchers have recorded the existence of two types of Enger. One of them, according to B. Rinchen , tashuu enger (lit. slanting side ) was characteristic of an old Mongolian costume and was replaced by another version with a square side under the influence of the Manchus during the Qing Empire . Although the variant characteristic of the Buryat national costume or square enger is recorded in various Chinese sources describing the Mongolian peoples from the time of the creation of the Mongolian empire . For example, a message translated by R. Khrapachevsky: “Their black Tatars are worn to the right by a square hollow, in the old days it was made of felt, wool and leather, and now it is made of linen and silk stitched with gold threads.” In the translation N. C. Munkueva and Lin Kyung-i: “At their upper dress, the floor is smelled to the right, and the board is square.” A note from another Chinese observer adjoins this description: “The floor, which is called square, is a floor similar to a quadrangle. The collars are the same as the Chinese do. The owner of the Tatars, together with members of the jungshu sheng and other people from the upper classes of society, no longer wear such a robe. ”The clothes of the“ upper circles of society ”, as exemplified by Go-wang Mukhali, say the following:“ The dress to the ceremonial system follows the rules that exist for the son of Heaven ( that is, the Chinese emperor). ” In the opinion of D.V. Tsybikdorzhiev, by the time of the creation of the Mongol Empire, such an element of Mongolian clothing as the square enger had begun to become obsolete and replaced by an oblique Enger, although it had been widespread since the time of the Khitan Empire and the heyday of the Naiman Khanate because of its practicality. covered his chest well, and in the version with a stand-up collar - neck and throat, which was important when riding a horse.

The Enger of the Buryat national costume is distinguished by the existence of the upper band, which, unlike other bands, bears the special name sagaals and was originally only white. Over time, along with it, golden, green or blue colors began to be used ^[4] .

Probably due to the spread of Buddhism, a golden yellow color began to be used in the upper part of the Enger. In Buddhism, yellow, especially deep, rich golden yellow is the color of the crop and ripened grain, which symbolizes not only material wealth, but also spiritual. Yellow means an abundance of good qualities, especially an abundance of virtues. At the highest level, in the highest sense, the yellow color represents the inexhaustible riches of the enlightened mind, the inexhaustible virtues of reality itself. At this level, the yellow color represents the unlimited productivity and creativity of the enlightened mind, creative energy that not only flows out, but pours out in a generous stream, flows in abundant rain, is overthrown by the wealth of spiritual qualities on all living beings. ^[five]

The black color of the Buryats is associated with the land and the house and is a symbol of the presence of their homeland ( Bur. Toonto ). ^[6]

Red color is associated with fire and symbolizes vital energy. ^[6]

Blue is traditionally associated with the eternal blue sky . ^{[6] [2]}

Ulaan Zalaa or red brushes are a decorative and symbolic element on the headdress of some Mongol-speaking peoples. It exists in the form of a red brush in Oirats (including Kalmyks ) and Buryats or a piece of red cloth in Khalkhs .

In 1449, the Oirat Esen-Taisha , leading the Mongol forces defeated the army of Minsk China and captured the emperor Zhu Qizhen . In honor of this, he ordered the Ulaan Hall to be worn on the head of all the peoples that were then part of the Mongolian state. ^[7]

Knife ( drill. Hutaga ) and flint ( drill. Heta ) - most often they are paired and must be included in the equipment of men. The knife along with the sheath could be presented as a thank you for any service or to act as an exchange of gifts.

Initially, the Buryat knife was used for purely utilitarian purposes. Mainly as a tool for slaughtering cattle. They slaughtered the nomads in the old fashion (the Spanish toreodors also use this method) - unexpectedly sharply dropping a blade through a special bottleneck at the base of the skull. The animal did not have time to get scared. For this, a narrow, long and straight blade was needed. In addition, this form of the blade was perfect for cutting joints , refreshing the skin and cutting the carcass of an animal. Thus, unusual forms of the Buryat knife are associated with its initial use in the nomad's economy. ^[eight]

The primary utilitarian function of the knife eventually changed to a decorative one: the knife became the subject of decoration of the suit.

The sheath and hilt began to be decorated with metal, gems, and a metal pendant was also embossed. Usually silver was used, the metal preferred by the Buryats for jewelry, sometimes cupronickel. Gold was not used due to the high cost and inaccessibility. ^[9]

Flint - a pair of objects to the knife - a flat leather handbag, similar to a wallet, measuring 4-5x7-10 cm, a steel chair is attached to it below. The front side of the flint was decorated with silver patch plates with chased patterns, among which zoomorphic, floral and geometric prevailed. A tinder and flint stone were stored in a leather wallet, with which sparks were cut out and fire was produced. Therefore, the flint as a source of fire is one of the sacred objects; they carry it like a knife on a belt, forming a triad - a belt, a knife and a flint.

The Buryats have long had a custom - at the time of the birth of a son, the father ordered a knife for him, which he passed on to his son, so he was passed down from generation to generation. If the belt is considered a symbol of male honor and dignity, then the knife is the repository of his soul, vital energy. It was impossible to transfer the knife to other persons, especially strangers. ^[ten]

Buryat traditional clothing was presented in winter ( bur. Degel ) and summer ( bur. Terlig ) versions. The main material for winter clothing was sheepskin, which was covered with velvet and other fabrics. Everyday degel was sewn mainly of cotton fabric, and a festive degel was made of silk and velvet. Wealthy Buryats sewed costumes from expensive fabrics and furs (sables, Baikal seals, etc.), jewelry was made mainly from silver.

Degels have two floors - upper ( Bur. Gadar Khorma ) and lower ( Bur. Dotor Khorma ), back ( Bur. Ara Tala ), front, bodice ( Bur. Seezhe ), sides ( Bur. Enger ).

A man’s robe was usually sewn from blue fabrics, sometimes brown, dark green, and burgundy. Mandatory attribute of a man’s dressing gown were belts, various in material, manufacturing technique and size. ^[ten]

Outerwear was directly dorsal, that is, not detachable at the waist, with long hemline expanding downward. One to three silver, coral, and gold buttons were sewn on the collar. The following buttons were sewn on the shoulders, under the arm and the lowest on the waist. The top buttons were considered to bring happiness, grace. During prayers, ceremonies unbuttoned the buttons on the collar, so that grace without obstacles entered the body. The middle buttons regulated the multiplicity of offspring, honor and dignity. The lower buttons were symbols of livestock fertility, material wealth of the owner. The longevity of a person depended, according to the views of the Buryats, of the Mongols, even on how the buttons fasten. The canonical pattern of donning and fastening - from bottom to top - starts from the shoe, then goes to the dressing gown, while the buttons are fastened from the bottom up, the hat is put on last. ^[eleven]

Women's clothing consisted of a shirt ( bur. Samsa ) and pants ( bur. Umde ), over which they wore a dressing gown ( bur. Degel ). Clothing changed in accordance with the transition from one age to another, with a change in the situation in society, the family and was strictly consistent with the age of the woman.

Girls wore long terligs or winter degels, girded with cloth sashes that emphasized the waist. At the age of 14-15 years, girls changed their hairstyle and cut dresses, which were cut off along the waistline, and a decorative braid ( boure . Ace ) closed the seam line in it around the waist. In a girl’s suit there was no tank top.

When getting married, the girls braided two braids, in accordance with the ritual uhe zahaha (“hair weaving”). Close relatives of the groom, girlfriend of the bride, gathered to perform this rite.

Women's wedding outfit - Degalay was worn over the dress, leaving it open, there was a cut in the back of the hem. For married women, the suit consisted of a skirt and sweatshirt sewn at the waist level, the left floor was wraped on the right and fastened at the collar, on the shoulder and on the right side, on special buttons - tobsho. The gate was a low stance or turn-down. The sleeves at the base were wide and had assemblies on the shoulder, trimmed with brocade and braid in the middle along the seam.

The top of the dressing gown was covered with some kind of fabric, sometimes silk, inside the degel must have a lining. The hem of the skirt and the edges of both floors to the sweatshirts were sheathed with stripes of colored fabric. Sometimes the hem was decorated with otter fur.

Complementary outfit sleeveless jacket (uuzha) - an indispensable element of the costume of a married woman of all Buryat tribes. At the eastern Buryats the sleeveless jacket - esegyn uuza - was short and consisted of one vest. The western Buryats were wearing a sleeveless jacket - sezhebshe or hubaysi - had a vest and a skirt sewn to it. Elegant sleeveless jacket was decorated in front along the section with silver coins or buttons made of nacre. Like a dressing gown, she was made on a lining. This detail of the costume played an important role in the life of a woman; she should not have been shown to men without wearing tank tops, and she should also always wear a hat on her head.

Buryats attached great importance to jewelry. Female jewelry of the eastern Buryats was distinguished by complexity, multicomponentness and multicomponent. They were made mainly of silver with inserts from coral (pink coral was considered the most valuable), turquoise, amber. It is traditionally believed that the headdress of the eastern Buryats is composed as follows: the upper part of the headdress indicates the sky - tengari, the red tassels - the rays of the sun - naran, the lower part - the earth - gazar. The temporal jewelry and earrings that fall to the chest from the headgear symbolize the stars, the sun, the moon, rain, snow, etc. The neck and breast ornaments (guu) have fertile symbols and correspond to the Earth sign.

The most common decorations were: rings (behelig), rings (boulevard), which were worn on almost all fingers, sometimes in several rows, with the exception of the middle finger. The woman had silver bracelets on both hands. Bracelets and earrings were worn constantly, without taking off. The breast ornament was a system of ornamented silver medallions (guu, urlei guer) of a square shape (tebher guu), triangular (zurhen guu) and also round and arch-shaped. In them, as in amulets, prayers in the Tibetan language were usually invested.

A characteristic feature of the head ornaments is the abundance of temporal-breast ornaments from coral beads and silver falling from top to bottom (darulugyn huuhe) in the form of massive cast silver rings (emeg) and many pendants. The length of these jewelry ranged from 22 to 75 cm, and the width was from 30-50 cm. Another type of temporo-breast jewelry (huuhe-honho) was a necklace with bells.

Shoulder jewelry (murenai guu, emeg-shuretei, utakan sasagtai) was common among girls and young women of only the Khorin clan. He was sewn on a dressing gown (girl) or a tank top (woman). The jewelry consisted of a silver base cone-shaped round or square, hollow inside and with a coral insert in the center. Drops of beads, corals, pearls or silver chains with silk tassels at the ends, two in front and two rows in the back, descended along the edges on both sides.

Young women and girls on marriageable age wore side pendants (hanzhuurga). This jewelry consisted of two round silver plates (backyn hantarga, bele), which were fixed on both sides at the level of the belt for young women, for girls on the belt. Tongs, an earwig (cultibsha), and a toothpick (shoudney shagshuur) were hung from one plate on a woven silk ribbon or silver chain. On the other plate was a small lock, a miniature knife (khutaga) and a flint (hete). Pendants ended with lush tassels of silk threads of red, green and yellow. ^{[12] [1]}