Clothing of the Russko-Ustiinians

  The study of clothing types gives an opportunity to vividly show the fundamental changes that have occurred in the life, way of life, in the entire material culture of the northern people. However, the study of clothing is not only of historical interest, but also of practical importance for modern artists and fashion designers, especially for those who solve the problem of creating warm, comfortable and beautiful clothes for the inhabitants of the Far North.

  The main types of material used by Indigirka old-timers to sew their clothes were reindeer and fox skins, as well as fabrics - cloth, canvas, calico, bought in Ust-Yansk and Nizhnekolymsk. Wolf, fox and beaver skins were used for finishing. Footwear was sometimes made of seal and cow skins. Threads for sewing clothes and shoes from hides were made from reindeer tendons.

  The processing of skins and sewing clothes was a purely female occupation. The skin was dried for three or four days by fixing it to the barn wall with fur inside. Its processing began with scraping the top layer of furs with a scraper. The scraper ("skrebalka") was a wooden stick 60-70 cm long with a sharp metal plate embedded in the middle. Then the fur was smeared with "mazanka", a porridge made of a mixture of boiled liver and rye flour. The skin was folded with the fur inside and left to lie for two or three days. Then the liver was scraped off and smeared with mazanka again. The operation was repeated several times until the hide became soft.

  After it was dressed, the fur membranes were dyed for greater durability with paint made from alder bark: the bark was put in a bucket, poured with boiling water and left for about a day, resulting in a yellowish-coloured solution. The dried skin was kneaded with a serrated wooden sickle-shaped scraper "kidyran". For leather dressing they also used "skomodver" a device in the form of two folding logs. Sometimes the skin was painted with burnt clay - "lichina".

  Suede was made in the following way. The hide was kept in water for several days, then the wool was easily removed with a blunt knife so as not to damage the furs. After that the suede was dried, daubed and kneaded, then stretched, then smoked. The result was dark yellow coloured suede - "rovduga", which was used for making summer trousers, gloves, boots and mittens.

  Clothing of women. On weekdays, women wore an ordinary dress - "kapot" (a type of dressing gown with sleeves) - of such length that it covered the calves of the legs, with long sleeves and a closed collar. The dress was fastened in the front. On top of the dress wore a sarafan - "perednik", which was fastened on the back and had two patch pockets and shoulder wings - "bufy". They also wore a long, up to the heels, wide gathered skirt. On it was a jacket with long sleeves and a standing collar. Canvas or rovduga trousers were tucked into fur, morocco or suede boots, and the skirt or dress had to be of such length that the trousers could not be seen from under them.

  The head was tied with a kerchief or shawl in the usual Russian way, i.e. with an angle on the back and a knot under the chin. Married women wore a "kokolka": they tightly covered their head with a kerchief, leaving the forehead and part of the hair in the front open, and tied the ends of the kerchief over the forehead. Older women wore bonnets.

  In winter they wore a linen, slightly fitted jacket, lined inside with fox fur and with a fur collar; the cuffs, pockets and floors were lined with fox, wolverine or tarbagan (a Siberian marmot) fur. A long fur coat covered with velvet, garus or cloth was worn on the road. A thin shawl was first tied on the head, and over it a fur fox or beaver hat was put on - a "yermolka" - a low cylinder with a conical top and cloth earmuffs, which were tied under the chin with straps - "shveska". A large shawl - "nakidka" - was thrown over the yermolka; folded crosswise on the chest, it was tied with a knot on the back or fastened in front with a pin. Sometimes women wore a "parka" - a deaf garment made of reindeer skins with fur outside, with a length below the knees, slightly widening at the hem. The parka was covered with Arctic fox or fox fur and decorated at the hem with narrow strips of cloth. This type of clothing, apparently, was borrowed by Russians from their neighbours: Yukaghirs or Chukchis.

Pleky, torboza, oklyany. Products by E.S. Kiseleva

  Women's footwear. Torbaza - fur boots sewn from reindeer camus (skin). A narrow strip of wolf or fox fur was sewn to the upper part of the shanks, and cloth ‘tops’ were sewn on the edges with red or blue cloth. The sole of torbazas was made of old reindeer hide, which was sewn with fur inside. Grass insoles were put in torboza and in any other footwear. At the ankles the shoes were tied with "obory" - long strips of seal skin, from which the wool had been removed beforehand. Fur stockings - "chazhy" - sewn from the trimmed hide of a young deer (with fur inside) were worn under winter shoes.

  Oklyany - are boots with shanks made of rovduga. The heads of such boots, which did not cover the entire instep of the foot, were made of black morocco or chrome. From the instep to the toe, a half-oval of coloured silk or cloth embroidered with fine beads, gold or silk thread was applied to the oklyany. The oklyany were also tied with obory at the ankles below and above the knee.

  Polusarky - boots with shanks made of morocco, tied at the bottom with ruffles. The upper part of the shanks was covered with black cloth or velvet, decorated with one or two multi-coloured strips of cloth.

  Obushky - boots made of smoked hide of a young deer with fur inside. They were also tied at the bottom with ruffles, and the top of the shins was covered with cloth.

  Men's clothing. A Russian cut shirt with a standing collar, tied with a sash and overlapped with trousers. A fox waistcoat covered with cloth was worn over it. A fur half-coat covered with cloth or corduroy, with a small standing collar made of beaver or wolverine fur. The men's headdress was a malakhai, a cap from fur of a young reindeer by Chukchi cut. The front edge was covered with beaver or wolverine fur and decorated with multicoloured leather or cloth strips. Inside it was lined with fox fur or wadding. To the lower part of the malakhai were sewn straps - "shveski", with the help of which it was tied under the chin. In summer they also wore a malakhai lined inside with soft cloth or flannel. In summer, the earmuffs of the malakhai were lowered down, but, on the contrary, they were raised and tied on the parietal area with braids; this was called ‘wearing a malakhai with tags on the hem'. In winter, in case of severe frosts, a travelling malakhai, usually made of wolf skin, was worn over and above the usual one.

  Dunduk - a fur shirt made of summer reindeer skins with fur on the outside, knee-length. The hem of the dunduk was lined with wolf fur.

  Parovoy dunduk - two fur shirts, worn one on top of the other, the inner shirt was worn with fur inside, and the outer one - vice versa. The lower dunduk had a large lapel collar made of wolf fur sewn to it, which was let out over the upper dunduk. The lower dunduk had two patch pockets and was put directly on the shirt. A wide cloth shirt with a hood was worn over the dunduk to protect it from moisture.

  Kukhlyanka - a large fur shirt, below the knees, with or without a hood, made of reindeer skins. It was worn over a coat or dunduk outdoors.

  Men wore cloth, rovduga and cotton trousers. In winter they wore pantaloons (sharovari) - Chukchi trousers sewn from reindeer paws - kamus, ankle-length. The pantaloons were fastened by a strap on a hanger. The lower part of pantaloons was ornamented. The pantaloons were worn loose over fur boots-plek and tied at the bottom with a strap on a hanger. In autumn and spring time they also wore pantaloons made of seal skins. Men's everyday footwear was almost the same as women's, but men did not wear oklyany.

  Men wore "pleki" and "shatkars" under their trousers on the road. Pleki - fur boots made of reindeer feet. The sole was made of winter reindeer skin with fur inside. They were put on fur stockings "chazhi" and tied with obory. Shatkars differed from pleki only by the fact that their soles were made of reindeer brushes, lined with fur outside and were more durable.

  Budunyonky - boots made of sealskin with the fur on the outside.

  In summer, men and women wore "brodki" (with a hole in the heel area) - soft boots made of rovduga. The heads of such boots were made of seal. Brodki were tied at the ankle and under the knee. The sole was made of young reindeer hide, lined with trimmed fur inside. They also wore "sary" - waterproof boots made of horsehide. They were bought from Yakuts.

  In summer they wore gloves ("perschanki") made of rovduga and embroidered with herringbone on top, in winter - mittens made of reindeer paws with fur on the outside.

  Bedding consisted mainly of down featherbeds and pillows. Blankets were made of fox skins. Reindeer skins were always laid on top of the featherbed, sheets were almost never used. Men's travelling bedding consisted of a winter deer skin, a small pillow and a fur blanket covered with cloth.

  Thus, we can assert that a great influence on the Russian population of the Indigirka was exerted by the surrounding small indigenous peoples, and from them they adopted, first of all, that which had a clear advantage in practicality and convenience and was adapted to the conditions of polar nature. This refers first of all to fur trade clothes, all elements of which (dunduk, pleki, pantaloons, malakhai, etc.) contain many features of the Chukchi type of clothing.

  The peculiarity of the Russko-Ustiinians' trade clothing is its blind cut. This is common among the peoples of the Far North-East (Koryaks, Chukchis, Eskimos and Itelmens).

  It should be noted that Russians, having borrowed fur trade clothes, gave them their own, purely Russian, names: "sharovary", "dunduk", "shatkary", "malakhai", "brodki", etc.

  At the same time, despite the huge temporal and territorial isolation, the Russko-Ustiinians retained a number of features of the Northern Russian costume, such as: the shape of the headscarf bandage, a sundress with an apron, a yermolka hat, a men's shirt with a waistcoat, a fur-lined women's jacket and many others.

  The closest neighbours to the Indigirka Russians, the Evens, adopted their shirt and dress styles. The way of tying the kerchief and shawl of the Evens was almost the same as that of the Russians.

 

Alexey Chikachev ‘Russians on the Indigirka’

 

 

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