Women's Headwear
was characterized by diversity, primarily determined by a woman's belonging to a particular family-age group, as well as local traditions.The maiden headwear, which was worn starting at the age of 9-12, was the tebetei hat with a felt crown covered with plush, velvet, cloth, or silk in bright colors.
The crown was usually sewn from four triangular wedges, the height of which determined the height of the headdress. Old tebeteis varied in height. There were also hats with a low cylindrical crown that had a flat top. Maiden tebetei hats featured a fur trim made from otter and a tuft of owl feathers sewn onto the top of the uku-tebetei. The topu-maiden tubeteika was characteristic of the southern Kyrgyz costume, the top of which was decorated with embroidery or various appliqué details made from mother-of-pearl, beads, silver, etc.
The ancient wedding headdress shokulё was distinguished by a high conical crown with three lobes: rectangular ear flaps and a triangular nape flap. The headdress was made from red cloth or velvet, quilted on wool or cotton together with a lining in frequent parallel rows, giving the shokulё a ribbed texture and special density. The decoration of this ritual headdress consisted of a complex symbolic system and included feathers from the crane or heron, appliqué figurative plaques made from precious metals and mother-of-pearl, and embroidered ornamental elements.
A large round silver or gilded plaque kalkan was attached to the forehead area. The shokulё was worn by the bride when going to the groom's house, and she wore it for about a year, after which, during a special ritual, she changed it for the headdress of a married woman - a turban elechek, teki, kalak of complex shape, worn over the kep takiya or chach kep cap. Among different groups of Kyrgyz, the turban had variations in the methods of wrapping the fabric, which also affected its shape.
Wealthy women made their turban from 30-50 meters of thin white cotton fabric or muslin. In the northern regions, three main ways of wearing the turban were practiced, determined by the age of the wearer. Thus, young women under 20 wore a turban with three to four wavy protrusions at the front, a chin strap attached to the side or back, with feathers from cranes or owls, as well as a silver ribbon decoration kyrgak, corals, or an embroidered band. Women over 30 wore a turban with even protrusions, decorations, and a back covering; the turban of women over 50 combined a chin strap and back covering, as well as a scarf draped over the top, with the ends pulled back. Widows wore a turban without decorations, its height was reduced, or the upper part was slightly tilted to the left side after wrapping.
The cap kep takiya or chach kep had a helmet-like shape, tightly fitting the head and covering the hair. It was made from white hand-made or factory cotton fabric. The cut of the caps in the northern and southern regions of the Kyrgyz had significant differences. In the north, the cap had a small round crown with a short nape flap, while in the south, the kep takiya had pronounced ear flaps jaak and a long back (draped) strip kuyruk, sewn to the nape flap. Caps in the north were not decorated, while in the south, jaak and kuyruk were richly embroidered, and at the end of each ear flap, a long coral pendant sagak was attached.
The ear flaps were embroidered in two ways: either with a tambour stitch or with the ancient stitch terskayik, performed according to the count of threads. The terskayik stitch was never used for embroidering the diagonal strip, and its style was often unrelated to the embroidery of the ear flaps. Along the edge of the cap, framing the face, pearl or coral beads, mother-of-pearl plaques or buttons, as well as silver spherical bells were sewn. The strip kuyruk was finished at the end with a braid with fringe, woven from silk threads.
The complex of women's headwear among southern Kyrgyz included a large white scarf duriyа, richly decorated with silk embroidery around the perimeter and in one of the corner segments. The scarf was draped over the turban in various ways.
In the early 20th century, the turban began to replace the large scarf made from Russian manufactured or factory-produced wool or silk with tassels, either solid-colored or polychrome.
Women's clothing and decorations of the Kyrgyz in the 19th - 20th centuries.