Women from the village of Barantsev Zhabinka district in traditional costumes. Expedition of 1998. Photo by M. Vinnikova.
TUT.BY to discuss features of the national Belarusian costume. As for centuries that same suit develop? What items of clothing Belarusians have come and gone over time? Was it possible to call our ancestors fashionable and stylish? What is special ornament on the clothing, but what is the symbolism of the flowers? How to wear our ancestors guarded from evil spirits?
This was not just in the air TUT.BY told Maria Vinnikov, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Department of Ancient Culture at the Institute of Arts, Ethnography and Folklore of the National Academy of Sciences.
How long were formed national characteristics Belarusian suit and what are they?
Features costume evolved over a very long time. Our museum has drawn reconstruction of female costume XII century. There, you can consider all the components that are typical of traditional Belarusian dress late XIX — early XX century. First of all, it’s linen shirt. The next component — a skirt, or as it is called, spadnitsa — summer, linen skirt or Andarak — winter, wool skirt. Essential component of women’s costume was an apron. From teenage girls must necessarily have been wearing it since the apron is an additional talisman female womb.
Apron not just do a protective function in the everyday lives of women. He was required and in a festive costume. It is such a piece of clothing that a girl for the first time starting to weave or embroider, do yourself. By the way was woven or embroidered apron, can be judged on artistic ability and skill of the girls — the bride, the wife, the mistress.
As soon as she put on her own made her apron, she was considered a girl. It could invite more of young adults.
How was restored appearance costume XII century?
Women from the village of Barantsev Zhabinka district in traditional costumes. Expedition of 1998. Photo by M. Vinnikova.
It was rebuilt by archaeological finds. Naturally, with the XII century fabrics have very few — Archaeologists find only fragments or prints on various subjects. But by location jewelry, buckles, belts fragments can be determined that it was put on the person and how the suit was decorated.
As far as was practical, such clothes in XII century? Whether, for example, pockets?
Pockets were not. But there was a kind of hanging pocket, which was attached to his belt. The belt was a necessary component of clothing of the time. In the men’s suit, it is retained as a compulsory element until the mid-twentieth century. In the traditional culture of Belarusians now endowed with magical protective properties. In addition, he served as the symbolic, aesthetic and moral functions. No belt was just a sin to even out the door at home. A man could get out of the house barefoot, bareheaded, but no belt — ever. Had this element and practical purpose. First, he held the clothes that did not have buckles or wide shirt. Second, to a belt or tie for it stops up the necessary things in life — a knife, snuff tobacco, flint. If a man went into the forest to cut wood, he stuffed his belt ax. The woman hung up on the Time key to the chest, «Tsurkov» — a device for knitting sheaves, etc.
Speaking of fabric, basic and traditional material was flax. To flax in Belarus had a special relationship.
Linen, in any of its form, be it plant, fiber, yarn or fabric, people called God candle. And at first I thought that such treatment of flax — some local peculiarity. But in their expeditions, I began to observe that almost the entire territory of Belarus is called God linen candle.
Why?
You probably know the expression — «born in the caul», which means that people from the earliest moments of his life in the care of God’s power. Apparently, the white linen was associated in people with God’s light and grace. Since linen things accompanied man from birth to death, the county also serves as a talisman. But the shirt is not guarded the whole body. And where it ended, it was necessary also to make a barrier. Not only from the cold or the heat, but also from various evil spirits that could penetrate the soul of man. And in those places we see now and ornament.
Going back to the XII century costume — whether people thought at the time about fashion?
Of course, the women thought about beauty and aesthetics. The costume is traditionally decorated with embroidered or woven patterns. Each area had its own characteristics in the ornamentation, which we call the regional and local features of the traditional costume and Belarusian textiles. But it is impossible to trace the origins of ornamentation. We can only say that our geometric designs originated during the Neolithic or even earlier, because it is such a pattern, we can see in the ceramic ware of the time. On fabrics this pattern was introduced later. Suit itself is changing. This process is influenced by both trade and cultural relations with other nations, and the development of its own economy. But during the twentieth century, it is already possible to trace the influence of fashion on traditional Belarusian dress. Three years ago, we held the exhibition, which is called «Vyaskovyya» fashion «dvatstsataga stagoddzya.»
Again, all of this only if the costume is changing. He comes over, he began to incorporate elements of floral ornament. But this can not be called fashionable. Rather, it was the new ideas that could not get past our village. It was the influence of the city, the city of culture, which was popularized and spread in the late XIX — early XX century. An example of this is a perfume company «Brocard and the company.» On promotional materials and its products, soap wrappers or other perfume samples-uzorniki printed cross stitch. At the same time, on the open market appears percale — white cotton fabric, which was available at a price and you will gladly bought and rural residents. Of percale sewed shirts, aprons, which should decorate. You can not just put on a white shirt — not traditional and not nice. And in everyday life is cross stitch. First embroidered ornament was in a red-and-black color scheme and floral motifs are very stylized. Then, gradually, embroidery lace, motives become more kind.
And in the middle of the twentieth century, there is a surge of polychrome embroidery stitch.
Today, in some villages, you can see that women are still a lot of embroidery. Although not used in the embroidery traditional geometric and stylized floral motifs, the traditional location of objects on the remains.
Take me back. Were there any elements of the suit, which will eventually go away?
Sure. Out traditional headdress — basting. This is a very old hat, rushnikovogo type — a long piece of cloth, width from 27-28 to 60 inches and a length of 2.5 to 4.5 meters. Basting woven of the finest quality and linen thread. Occasionally basting fabric was thin to transparency, as gauze. This fabric starch. There were many ways nametok scrolling, which are determined by local traditions. Basting is an attribute of a married woman. When a woman married, maiden braids of her hair makes women — hair combed and wound around the hoop, made of skeins of flax and linen wheel. On top of this hairstyle worn cap that fits on the bottom cord tightened and thus fixed the hair. And then to cap wound basting. And in some places than basting, on or under the cap, put on a special frame to give some form of headgear. On Turovshchina in David-town was amazing hats, which consists of high-frame hornlike crest on the front. This frame was covered with polychrome her cap embroidery and on top of it very nicely curled transparent serpanku-basting. In Belarus these hats were not preserved. I found them in St. Petersburg, at the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after Peter the Great, Russian Academy of Sciences (Kunstkammer). They were handed back at the end of XIX century. Some of them are stored in a curled position, making it possible to fully reconstruct this hat and recreate a very distinctive local variant of Belarusian folk costume, which we had almost lost.
If the head can be corny scarf to hide from the sun or cold, why to do it all — put a framework to wind him a huge canvas, and tie it in different ways?
Way scrolling basting. on Pinkovichi Pinsk district of Brest region. M. Vinnikova reconstruction based on SEM (St. Petersburg), and George D. photo.
It was a tradition. Headgear with Basting was characteristic not only for Belarus, but for Russian, Polish, Bulgarian, Lithuanian. Everywhere has its own characteristics. He was the kind of marker — in the way scrolling outline, the characteristics of the fabric — how it subtle or blunt as bleached or bleached, for ornament on it — you can understand where I came from was this or that woman. In our time — card or passport. So much and it took us forever, as our marshy old woman kept himself a hat, and the rest of garment — to the death. «Smerotny knot» they consisted of a blueprint and a traditional costume.
Were our Belarusian women of those times peculiar accessories?
In the women’s costume decoration served beads — paterki, different tape. There were rings, and earrings — mumps, and medallions. In costume decoration was that hangs from the waist — handbags for receiving money-box. Sometimes a handbag — Kalita — worn by the strap over the shoulder.
Is it possible to learn more about amulets, as an element of the national costume?
As I said — linen shirt itself was already a talisman. Was also a guardian and ornaments that adorn clothing.
Was considered an important talisman handmade woven or woven belt.
Our ancestors knew of the existence of power relations and very clear to use this connection in his suit, and in life itself.
How to make the name of your museum, where it is and what it represents?
Museum of Ancient Culture at the Institute of Arts, Ethnography and Folklore named Kondrat Nettles of the National Academy of Sciences. We are located at the address: Minsk, street Surganova, Building 1, 2. Now, our museum is in a state of repair — repaired foundations, and is waiting for updates exposure. So for the moment we do not take trips.
You have very valuable assets. The more you do it the same elegant collection of icon painting. No wonder that to you at the time, Patriarch Alexy visited. You even have a gift inscription in the book?
Yes, it is.
Of which you have a very large collection of not only the costumes, but also items from different regions?
In addition to icon painting and costumes in our exhibit archaeological collections, objects of ethnography, products of various pottery centers, artistic fabrics, wood carving, sculpture.
Let’s go back to the costume … Strongly whether different everyday costume from the holiday?
Sure. It will not work, a woman in a thin transparent serpanke to milk a cow? She would be very inconvenient.
Casual dress different from the holiday not only because it was less ornamented, but the composition and method of wearing its various components. Sunday best all its elements and details suggested a celebratory mood. The same hat with blueprints — it feels very differently. I tested this on our contemporary. When a woman puts on a traditional ceremonial dress and start basting curl, it’s right in front of change — is changing. And changes its behavior. Perhaps this is due to some internal feelings, which makes traditional costume.
Have you ever been on expeditions? Where today, besides the museum, and is it possible to see the real Belarusian costume? Whether there were any white patches in the study of Belarusian costume?
Love Nikandrovna Shlomo, who lives on Pinkovichi, member of the folk ensemble «Krynica» trying baster before the performance. 2010. Photo by M. Vinnikova.
Let’s start with white spots. A lot of them. Traditional costume — it is not a simple set of clothing. Everything in it is subject to each other and interconnected. No wonder that the suit itself is called the «system.» And it is not enough to take the clothes from one place, so that they fit each other stylistically. It is also important to know — how they were driven. And the million dollar question is, again, related to the basting. At the time, did not record how it scrolling. And today, we have to collect bits and pieces right material and restore the true image of hats with basting.
If we talk about the expeditions, they are, but less and less often. In my experience, in 1991 we had a series of expeditions to Polesie. Then began the search for information on the traditional ways of curling nametok. We asked older women who still remember these methods. Even if they no longer wore these dresses, you may have seen in my childhood, as they curled their grandmother. After all, children’s memory is very tenacious. It fixes a lot, and for a long time.
In addition, there was a long ceremony Polesie curling nametok at weddings. Although not a traditional costume worn rite young curling at the wedding in some places existed until 1950. And those women who performed this ritual, much to remember.
In addition to all this, we use a variety of archival material. I am often in the Russian Ethnographic Museum, which holds more than a hundred years, «tied» basting. As women took them from their heads, so they lay more than a century on the shelves in the museum. Staff try their smaller touch, because if accidentally razovesh, that, not knowing way scrolling, restore cap will be difficult. But they allowed me, without developing, carefully examine some options hat. The outcome was a series of renovations. And in the book «Culture Tradytsyynaya Mastatskaya Belarusians: Brestskae Palesse» (Mіnsk: Higher School, 2009) is written by me on the costume section of the West Polesie, which just gives me some reconstructed ways nametok curling — a kind practical advice, up to a picture Image way scrolling.
I was recently invited to the village Pinkovichi Pinsk district, to teach women curl outline of local folklore ensemble «Krynica». I reconstructed the way scrolling based on the Russian Ethnographic Museum and photographs taken in the village of St. George D. in 1937. I combined the trip with the expedition and visited not only Pinkovichi, but in other villages, which also found a lot of interesting things.
Are women willing to go to the contact?
When they see a genuine interest and that it is not an idle concern, they are very reluctant to touch.
It turns out that the opening of the Belarusian costume for you is not over yet?
This is still far …