Formation and Development of the National Costume of the Kyrgyz People

National Clothing and Costumes of the Kyrgyz

The formation and development of the national costume of the Kyrgyz were influenced by the characteristics of their economy, lifestyle, natural and climatic factors, migrations of tribal groups, trade relations, and contacts with other ethnic groups, as well as religious beliefs, although in the 19th century, the latter factor was not particularly significant.

The genesis of clothing forms, like all material culture of the Kyrgyz, dates back to the period of the formation of early nomadic societies in the Eurasian steppes (mid-1st millennium BC). Archaeological excavations of burial mounds in Noin-Ula (Mongolia) and the Pazyryk Valley (Altai), the Kenkol burial ground, and burials in the Talas and Batken regions of Kyrgyzstan, as well as other finds, indicate the presence of common features in materials, cuts, ways of wearing clothing items, types of decorations, and footwear among early nomads of Central and Middle Asia - the Sakas, Huns (Xiongnu), Usuns, Turks on one side, and the Kyrgyz on the other. Ancient Turkic stone sculptures - these first sculptural representations of nomads found across the vast expanses of the Eurasian steppes, including in Kyrgyzstan, also reveal similarities in elements of ancient Turkic and Kyrgyz costumes.

The first written evidence of the clothing of ancient Kyrgyz (Yenisei) comes from Chinese sources during the Tang dynasty. For instance, the dynastic chronicle "Tang Shu" states: "Sable and lynx furs constitute a rich garment. Ajo (the title of the leader of the Yenisei Kyrgyz - A.K.) wears a sable hat in winter and a hat with a golden rim, conical top, and curled bottom in summer. Others wear white felt hats. In general, they like to wear a whetstone on their belt, otherwise known as a musat. The lower classes wear sheepskin dresses and go without hats. Women wear dresses made of woolen and silk fabrics" (Bichurin, 1950, p. 352). The mentioned features of the costume of the Yenisei Kyrgyz were to some extent inherent in the Kyrgyz costume, which persisted until the early 20th century, and the felt men's headdress, likely a kalpak, remains an integral part of the national costume to this day.

Archaeological and historical sources already indicate that the Kyrgyz wore clothing made from imported fabrics. First of all, elegant garments made of silk, imported from China and Near Eastern countries, were worn by noble people. It is known that in ancient times, caravan trade was conducted between the nomadic periphery and the settled agricultural centers of Eurasia. The Great Silk Road operated steadily, one of its branches passing through the lands of the Kyrgyz. The Yenisei Kyrgyz received fabrics of Chinese or Near Eastern production, as well as other necessary items, in exchange for iron, livestock products, furs of wild animals, and musk. Clothing, fabrics, and valuable furs were always part of the gift exchange system between the Kyrgyz and other peoples of antiquity, constituting a mandatory element of diplomatic ceremonies.

Sources on the history of medieval costumes of the Kyrgyz of Tian Shan, Pamir-Alai, and Fergana include Central Asian miniatures of the 15th-16th centuries (Pugachenko, 1956), as well as various written sources. Thus, sources from the 18th-19th centuries, which contained more realistic and comparable data, report differences in clothing between leaders (elders) and ordinary people. The former wear garments made of brocade and felt hats adorned with fur, are girded with red silk sashes, and their footwear is made of red leather, while the latter wear clothing made of coarse woolen fabric with a canvas belt, hats without decorations, and boots made of rawhide (Abramzon, 1990, p. 136).

Epic tales and historical legends also contain very interesting information about clothing. In particular, the epic "Manas" abundantly includes the technology of its production and the purpose of various costume items. Folk memory has preserved information about unique types of clothing that emerged from traditional life by the end of the 19th century - this includes the kupu coat made of camel wool, outerwear made of bird feathers, girls' clothing resembling a corset kokuzbek, shaman costumes, and many types of battle attire. Valuable descriptions, sketches, and photographs of Kyrgyz costumes are found in the works of Russian and European travelers, scholars, and artists from the second half of the 19th to the early 20th centuries.

The mentioned sources allow us to assert that Kyrgyz clothing at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century had a generally unified type, conditioned by a nomadic lifestyle. This did not exclude the presence of local complexes, which were the result of complex ethno- and cultural-genetic processes (Makhova, 1959, pp. 44-58; Antipina, 1962).

Ethnography