South Khanty Embroidery, Art of an extinct people

Hello All, I would like to talk today about a type of costume that has disappeared. Of course, most of what we call folk costumes are no longer in daily use, but are still brought out for special occasions, or to go to church, or for weddings. And many are preserved by societies created for the task. Today I will be speaking of the embroidery and costume tradition of the southern Khanty. On the map, the Khanty are represented by the brownish hatching on the right side, east of the Urals, which officially puts them in Asia. You will notice a dotted area on the map that sort of approximates the territory of this people together with the Mansi, who are shown in light green. This area is known as the Khanty-Mansisk National District, and this is their flag. In old documents the Khanty were known as the Ostyak and the Mansi were known as the Vogul.

These two nations form the Ugric Branch of the Uralic Languages, together with Hungarian. They split off from the rest quite a long time ago, and then at some later time, the Magyar, or Hungarian people traveled to Europe. The Hungarians have a legend of following a mystic white stag to their current homeland.

Here is one example of the embroidery tradition I will be talking about today. The Khanty, like many tribal peoples, are made up of various separate groups with widely divergent dialects and customs. Often outsiders who study them find it obvious that they form a collective whole, but the people themselves often identify only with th eir own tribal group. This is a woman's chemise of the Southern Khanty. This is a group which has today become completely assimilated by Russian settlers. Luckily, there were several people from Finland, Hungary, Germany and other places who traveled to this and other  regions in the 19th century and collected many examples of the local artwork. So we have a record of the artistry of this people.

The northern branches of the Khanty still exist, and do wonderful handwork, but theirs is of a different kind.

I will deal with that in a future posting. Here are a couple more examples of chemises that were collected and are now found in museum collections in the west.

This one is exhibited in the State Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg, and gives some idea of how they were worn, with a kerchief on the head, and a beaded decoration around the neck. Notes that we have from the people who collected these items say that these people embroidered many things that they used; mens shirts and pants, kerchiefs, and other items. Here is a kerchief that was collected.

As well as a closeup of one of the beaded necklaces that were worn. These beaded necklaces are still made an worn by the northern Khanty as well. In fact, beadwork is very widespread throughout this entire region.

Here is a picture of some beaded moccasins and patterned knitted socks also from this area.

If we take a close look at the embroidery, we see three main techniques. The first is the one we have already encountered with the Volga peoples. Outline stitch used to define design areas and introduce hooks, which is then filled in with red and blue stitching. In this case, not slant stitch, but one-sided satin stitch, as can be seen in this closeup of one of the hems of the chemises shown above.

The back of the stitching is clearly visible. Here is a closeup of another piece of embroidery. You will notice that the predominant motif is pairs of birds facing each other. Oddly enough, this is still one of the most common motifs in Hungarian embroidery, even though they do not use this technique.

 The other two techniques used were outline stitch used by itself, mostly in red and blue. and counted satin stitch, sometimes called brick stitch. The Hungarians, feeling a kinship with the other Ugric peoples have taken an interest also in their fork culture and i have found some of these designs charted in Hungarian books.

Here are some of the designs which i have taken from Hungarian sources. You will notice the use of the swastika, which is a very ancient symbol, used all over the world. I personally think we need to redeem this motif, and not let the actions of one recent group of people condemn a very ancient and beautiful symbol.

As you can see above, the most impressive chemises, which were woven from nettlecloth, were decorated around the front opening, down the sleeves, around the hem, and all the way down the front. Not all embroiderers were so ambitious, as you can see by this old photo.

I would like very much to find out what the mens shirts looked like and how they were embroidered, because i would like to make one for myself.

In fact I encourage all of you to take these designs and use them, make table scarves or runners, keep these beautiful designs alive.

Just before i was posting this blog, i found an entry online that shows some of these embroideries being made at a handicraft center in Khanty-Mansisk City. Here are a couple of photographs from that website. It is gratifying to see this work being done.

In this photograph you can see some chemises of the type we were discussing, along with a mens shirt cut in the Russian style but embroidered in the Khanty style. the chemise in the middle with the shoulder embroidery is completely Russian in style.

You can see these photos, as well as examples of North Khanty work, and other handwork which is pure Russian in style at this website.

http://russiatrek.org/blog/culture/the-handicrafts-center-of-khanty-mansiysk-city/

There are also two other websites run by Uralic groups that give more information and closeups of these people and this type of embroidery:
http://www.finugor.ru/en/7wonders/offers/embroidery
and
http://masterpieces.asemus.museum/masterpieces.aspx?o=b823d6fe-8b4f-452e-a485-04f277e10144

Thank you for reading, as always, and i hope this posting inspires you to go out and make something beautiful.
I would be glad to provide more charted designs upon request. 

Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals.

Roman K.

:Rkozakand@aol.com


Source Material:
Natalia Kalashnikova 'National Costumes of the Soviet Peoples', Moscow, 1990
Mary Gostelow, 'The Complete International Book of Embroidery', New York, 1977
Ildiko Lehtinen, 'The Finno-Ugric Collections at the National Museum of Finland', no year
Zsigmund Batky, 'Osztyak Himzesek' [Ostyak Folk Embroidery], Budapest, 1921
Tatyana Razina, 'Folk Art in the Soviet Union', Leningrad, 1990
L. Molotova et al, 'Folk Art in the Russian Federation', Leningrad, 1981
Gyorgyi Lengyel, 'Keresztszemes Kezimunkak', Budapest, 1981
Gyorgyi Lengyel, 'Nagyaink Oroksege' Budapest, 1986

North Udmurt Costume



Hello again, Today I will continue the series on the costumes of the Volga peoples. This posting will describe the costume of the Northern Udmurts. The Udmurt are shown in the golden yellow color on this map. In older documents they are referred to as the Votyak. During Soviet times it was decided to refer to [most] indigenous peoples by their self-designation, which, by the way, Americans still  do not do. The Udmurt have an Autonomous Republic in the Russian Federation, the capitol is Izhevsk, and this is their flag.



 Here are  some women wearing one version of the north Udmurt costume.

The southern Udmurt costume is quite different, and will have to wait for another post. You will notice that the costumes i am covering in this series form a coherent group. The basic garment of the north Udmurt costume is, as usual, the chemise, of which nothing shows when the entire costume is worn, except the sleeves, and often the lower hem. The cut of the chemise is very typical.
You will notice the appliqued strips of red cloth, which is quite popular in this costume and also among the neighboring Chuvash. A glance at the above photo will show that the embroidery of the sleeve has two possibilities. The women on the right show the first, a lengthwise strip, nowadays is narrow and flanked by red applique strips, formerly the strips of embroidery were wider, as seen below.The two women on the left show the other possible way of embroidering the chemise, with a small crosswise design high on the arm. Here is a closeup of one such piece of embroidery.

You will notice the similarity to the Mari embroidery, the black outlines in Holbein stitch is worked first, and then the areas are filled in with slav or slant stitch in red, with other colors added for accent. the bottom edge is sometimes left unadorned, if it will not show, but usually it has a narrow strip of embroidery, or a woven ornamental strip sewn on, with a red strip of cloth or a narrow ruffle added to the bottom, as you can see from the women pictured above. Over the chemise a kaftan is always worn. This kaftan always has a slit in the upper sleeve, as you can see in this drawing by Max Tilke, who drew a specimen from the collection

of a museum in Hamburg, but they did not have any of the rest of the costume. In fact, the kaftan is never worn in this way. The arms are always put through the slit in the upper sleeve so that the sleeve of the chemise is visible, as in the above photograph. The sleeves of the kaftan hang down behind, and are often cut short, so they do not fall below the elbow. The hem of the kaftan is usually somewhat shorter than that of the chemise, as seen in the photo above.
 

Here is shown the cut of the kaftan. There are ornamental strips of embroidery and/or applique on the upper part of the garment, as in the drawing on the right. Occasionally on particularly festive garments, the strips continue to the bottom edge as in the drawing by Max Tilke. Over the chemise and under the kaftan, there is worn a rectangular breastpiece, or dickey, which is tied with string around the neck, this garment in Udmurt is called kabachi. it is always heavily embroidered, and completely covers the front of the chemise.

 As you can see, each of the four  women above has a different design on her kabachi. Here is a closeup of one. This is the major focus for the embroidery of the women of northern Udmurtia. Again you can see the outline stitch filled in with slant stitch.
The bottom has designs executed in darning stitch.  I will have to publish another posting showing some of the diversity of the embroidery of this garment. The kaftan is held closed by an apron tied over it. Some of the older ones were made of material with ornamental stripes woven into them,.
sometimes with additional embroidery in between to supplement the design.
here below is one such specimen. Otherwise the apron is made of cloth woven with a small plaid, with the primary color being red. Sometimes the apron has a small removable bib, as shown on the photo of the woman below on the left. The costume is finished with strings of beads, a decorative cloth folded and worn on one or both hips, and a woven sash.
See the two photos below.

The man's costume consists of a shirt  with the opening on the side, the older ones seem to have it on the right side, in the old Persian style, and the newer ones have it on the left, as in Russian shirts. Although, noone knows why the Russian Shirts open on the left, none of the other Slavic peoples do that. It is possible that the Russians took it from the Finnic Peoples, as they have certainly assimilated several. The man's shirt was made of material woven in stripes, as shown here, sometimes with embroidery on the collar and opening placket. Otherwise it was made of the same kind of plaid as in the women's apron shown above, as you can see from the bottom photo. The mens costume was finished off with a sash, dark striped trousers, and either boots or footcloths and shoes woven of birchbark, as in the Mari. 

 

 Thank you very much for visiting my blog, and as always i welcome your comments and any suggestions of specific costumes or folk embroideries to research and write about.

Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals. I also choreograph and teach folk dance.

Roman K.

Rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material: Recently there seems to have been quite a bit of material published in Izhevsk on this topic.

S. Lebedeva 'Udmurt Kalyk Dyskut' ; 'Udmurt Folk Costume Izhevsk, 2008

L. Molchanova 'Udmurtskyj Narodnyj Kostium' Izhevsk, no year

S. Lebedeva 'Udmurt Kalyk Puzhyiaton' ; 'Udmurt Folk Embroidery' Izhevsk, 2009

Max Tilke, 'East European Costumes' London, 1926

K. Klimov, 'Folk Arts and Crafts in Udmurtia, Izhevsk, 1988

T. Kriukova, 'Udmurt Kalyklen Kiuzh Ustolykez' [Udmurt Decorative Applied Folk Art] Izhevsk, 1973

K. Kulikov, 'Vozrozhdennaia Drevnost' [Rebirth of the Ancient, the Folk Decorative Applied Art of Udmurtia] Izhevsk, 2005

Mari Folk Costume

Hello, This blog will be about one version of  the Folk Costume of the people who call themselves the Mari, in older documents they are referred to as the Cheremis. They are distant cousins of the Finns and Estonians, speaking a Uralic language. On the map their territory is shown in a dark army green color, south of the word Russia, and north of the Volga. There is another settlement shown east of the Kama river. There are three main branches of the Mari People, the Hill Mari, the Meadow Mari, who both live in the Autonomous Republic of Mari El, the main area north of the Volga, and the Eastern Mari, who live east of the Kama River. The capitol of Mari El is Yoshkar-Ola, and this is their flag.

This map shows some of the ethnic diversity in the Russian State, in fact there is even more, because this map only shows the Uralic peoples. The Chuvash, Tatar and Bashkir people also occupy this area. I will do a series of  posts concerning these, who are referred to as the Volga Peoples. The costume i am addressing today is this one, found in the State Museum of Ethnography of the USSR

This costume is typical of one group of the Meadow Mari, called the Shymakshan Mari, who occupy the central portion of the Mari El Autonomous Region. This Costume is very rich in embroidery, and is obviously one worn for festive occasions, the headcovering shows that this is for a married woman.

Here is photograph from 1914, showing Mari people at everyday tasks. 

The Man is plaiting shoes from birchbark strips, the girl in the center is spinning, and the woman on the left is laying out warp for a loom.

 

The basic garment is the chemise, as it is for many other European peoples. The center portion is made of one long length of linen, with a hole cut for the head, which extends the length of the garment both front and back.

The sleeves are each one width of linen sewn at right angles to the main body. and there is a third length of linen sewn into the sides of the chemise. There is a gusset sewn into the intersection of the side panels and the sleeves. There would have to be a small slit in the side panels to admit the gusset, which is square. In later garments the gusset is often of red calico. The width of the panels is determined by the width of the home loom on which the linen was woven. Embroidery is executed along the hem, the cuffs, the neck opening, and the vertical seams. They do patterns of Holbein Stitch in dark brown or black, but more commonly they do patterns of slant stitch, sometimes called Slav Stitch, rather like a half cross stitch in dark red, with small amounts of other colors, outlined with Holbein Stitch, with many little hooks.

This is typical of the Volga area, and is also found in Bulgaria.

Here is another chemise, showing detail of the embroidery. The chemise is folded in half in this photograph, showing both sleeves on the left side.

and here are a couple of examples of the sleeve embroidery from a couple other chemises.

The pointed headpiece is called the Shymaksh, which gives its name to this particular costume. The Shymaksh is a rectangular piece of cloth, with one short end sewn together to make a small hood. You can just see this in the top photograph, under the kerchief. You can also see the woman on left in the black and white photograph wearing the shymaksh without the kerchief. This figure shows how to prepare the hair for wearing the shymaksh, using a small birchbark cone. Amazingly useful stuff, birchbark!

The Shymaksh is hung on this little cone, and the flat end hangs down in back. The seam at the front and the bottom edge are embroidered.

here are a couple examples. 

The Shymaksh is also decorated with tassels, beads, coins and fringe, as you can see. It hangs most of the way down the back, almost to the waist. The kerchief, if worn, is tied over the Shymaksh, and the end of the Shymaksh shows below the end of the kerchief. The kerchiefs are triangular, embroidered around the edges, and especially in the back corner.

There are linen pants worn under the chemise, in cold weather woolen cloth is wrapped around the lower legs and tied in place. Footcloths, and either bast shoes, or boots if one can afford them are worn on the feet.

There is a simple rectangular embroidered apron and a woven sash.

Here are several examples of holiday sashes.

Here is a more contemporary photograph of the Shymaksh costume. Notice the hemline is quite a bit shorter than either of the above examples. This also shows how the kerchief and Shymaksh look like from the back.

This woman is also wearing a linen caftan over the chemise. If you look closely at the black and white photo above, the middle woman is wearing an ornament around her neck. similar ornaments, adorned with beads, coins, tassels, fringes, etc. are very common in the Volga area among all the various peoples, worn either around the neck, slung over the shoulder or hung from a waistband, as we will see. Here is one example of such an ornament as worn by the Mari.

The Men's outfit consists of linen pants, a sash and a shirt which is very similar in cut to the woman's, except it is shorter, ending above the knee. The everyday shirt is made with minimal or perhaps no embroidery. The festive shirt is embroidered, like the woman's chemise at hem, cuff, and neck opening. Unlike the woman;s chemise the seam embroidery does not extend all the way to the hem, but rather crosses the body of the shirt at some point below the sleeve. Here is a schematic.

The cut shown here is somewhat different from the one shown above for the chemise, either variation may be used for both men and women. Here as one final image is a young couple, the girl not yet married and wearing a headband instead of the Shamaksh. 

Thank you again for visiting my blog, and as always i welcome comments, corrections, and suggestions as to the subject to be researched.

Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals. I also choreograph and teach folk dance.

Roman K.

Rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:

T. A. Molotova 'Marijskij Narodnyj Kostium' [Mari Folk Costume] Yoshkar-Ola, 1992

Elmira Medzhytova 'Mari Kalyk Iskusstvo' [Mari Folk Art] Yoshkar-Ola, 1985

Natalia Kalashnikova 'National Costumes of the Soviet Peoples' Moscow, 1990

L. Molotova 'Folk Art of the Russian Federation' Leningrad, 1981

Tatiana Razina et al. 'Folk Art in the Soviet Union, New York, Leningrad, 1990

N. Klimova 'Folk Embroidery of the USSR' Moscow, 1981