Orest and Cheryl's Wedding costume - Boiko costume and embroidery of Turka county, Halychyna, Ukraine

Hello All,

Today i will talk about one of the Boiko costumes, that of Turka county, which is the best documented. The Boiko region covers three counties in L'viw Oblast, plus the mountainous part of Ivano-Frankiwsk Oblast, west of the Hutsul area, and the extreme southeast corner of Poland, east of the Lemko area. Drohobych and surrounding areas are also sometimes considered to be part of the Boiko region. Some Boiki do not like the term, preferring to call themselves 'Verkhovyntsi', or 'Highlanders'. Here again is our map of L'viw Oblast so you can orient yourselves.

 I should start with a photo giving a good view of the costume. When Orest and Cheryl got engaged, our dance group [the Omaha International Folk Dancers] decided to make them a set of costumes from this region, because Orest's father is from the village of Berezhok-Zhukotyn' in Turka county. I came up with the idea, researched the costume and organized the project, but everyone helped. Somehow we managed to [almost] complete the costumes in time for the wedding without them finding out. Here is a photo from the wedding reception.



The embroidery on her apron should extend all the way to the edge, which has since been rectified, but otherwise the costume was complete. Today i will show you their wedding costume, andin a later post  i will add some other material that they collected from his father's native village. Here is the chemise which we made for her.

Turn down collar, embroidered inset on top of body piece, smocking and embroidery on top of the sleeve. Smocking is very typical of this region, and forms part of the embroidery design. Here is a closeup of the inset [ustawka] embroidery.

Nyz, or darning stitch embroidery, which in this region is not necessarily filled in with other colors, with border in braid stitch and cross stitch. I got this design from Krawchuk.

The smocking and the bit of embroidery framing it are quite typical of this region as well. Here is a closeup of the lower sleeve and cuff. If i was doing it today, i would put a backstitch frame around the embroidery on the cuff.

Here is a a closeup of the embroidery on the collar.

You can see that the body of the shirt is smocked into the collar, front and back, but not on the ustawka. We had to guess at the collar measurement, and we made it too small, so she added a piece in back. In Krawchuk, this design was originally for a cuff, with smocking on the sleeve.

The skirt would be the maliovanka for every day, with a design more black than white, see the photos in the posting about the Drohobych costume. For festive occasions, the skirt was linen, made of four or five loom widths, the ones in back being embroidered and gathered and also smocked into the waistband, and the fourth left smooth and plain in front. Here is Cheryl's skirt. The opening is in the middle front, and the skirt was tied around the waist by cords pulled through buttonholes in the waistband.



Here is a closeup of the embroidery, cross stitch with some braid stitch which I also took from Krawchuk.

The graph shows this as the shoulder inset, with smocking embroidery on the upper sleeve shown at the bottom.

We put the same embroidery on the apron. The apron, as in other parts of Halychyna was made of two loom widths joined in the middle by a decorative stitch. I had wide material, so i made it in one piece, but put the joining stitch on the surface, so it would look traditional. And, as i promised, the embroidery is now complete. Cheryl took it and finished it.

I took the edge design and turned the corner with it to run on either side of the central joining stitch. I also put a row of merezhka hemstitching on either side, and of course to join the hem as well.  This is often done to finish embroidery compositions.

We made a second apron from challis cloth, just for variety, this was commonly done as well. The middle front of is smocked.

This is one of the few regions where the men's shirts are traditionally embroidered on the shoulder inset. Here is Orest's shirt. It is made with the same cut as the women's shirt, which is typical of Halychyna.

We made an attempt to choose embroidery designs that harmonized between the two. Here is a closeup of the shoulder inset and upper sleeve embroidery.

The embroidery is cross stitch, with a decorative joining stitch holding the pieces together. Here is another view. If i were making this today, i would have some small framing embroidery on the sides of the sleeve.

I picked shades that i thought would harmonize nicely. In Krawchuk, this design was originally drawn from a man's wedding shirt

I took the same design and altered it to make the embroidery on the cuffs, collar and front. The ties to close the shirt were sewn into the seam. I made the ties by twisting the same floss i embroidered with.

 Then we made the vests, very similar for both, except Orest's is short. Actually we had his made to order by a woman who did sewing, her company name was Folk Couture. We had our hands full finishing the embroidery. Both vests are finished with red and white cording, with loop and knot closures.

Cheryl's is longer, and is slit on the sides.

Just for verification, i would like to post two drawings by Kul'chytska.

Thank you for reading. I would like to thank everyone who participated in this project. If you would like to be mentioned by name, let me know. You know who you are. I decided to err on the side of privacy. I hope that this may inspire someone else to undertake such a project.

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:

The photos were taken by Orest Lechnowsky, and the costumes are obvioulsy part of his and his wife's private collection.

L. Krawchuk, 'Ukrajinski Narodni Vyshywky L'viws'ka Oblast' [Ukrainian Folk Embroidery of Lviw Oblast], Kyjiw [Kiev] 1961
K. Matejko, 'Ukrajinskyj Narodnyj Odiah' [Ukrainian Folk Clothing], Kyjiw [Kiev], 1977
O. Kul'chytska, 'Folk Costumes of the Western Regions of the Ukrainian SSR, 1959

Costume & Embroidery of the Kalmyk

Hello All,

Today i will talk about the costume and embroidery of the Kalmyk people, also spelled Kalmuk. They live around the mouth of the Volga, where it empties into the Caspian Sea, and the surrounding steppe. Here is a map of Kalmykia, showing its relationship to other peoples in the region. Kalmykia is shown in a dark rust color.

You can see that the Kalmyks are mostly surrounded by Russians, shown in pale green, but that they are not far from Kazakhstan on their east, shown in darker green, and also not far from the Caucuses, and in fact border on Dagestan, shown in bright green to their south. The capitol is Elista, and this is their flag.

The Kalmyks are part of the Oirat people, who are originally from western Mongolia and neighboring regions. They left after a prolonged conflict with the Khalkha, the ruling people of Mongolia. The migration took place between 1618 and 1630, in which year they arrived in their present homeland. The word Kalmyk is from the turkic, meaning 'remnant'. It was at first applied as a derogative, but has been embraced by the Kalmyk people. Those who stayed behind still refer to themselves as Oirat. The area had been part of the Astrakhan Horde, but their power had long since dissipated. It was nominally under the control of the Russian Empire, but in fact, it was very thinly inhabited, mostly by nomadic Nogay. The Nogay were driven south, and now mostly live in the coastal regions of Dagestan. For a more detailed history, see this article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmyk_people

The Russians were at first wary of the Kalmyk, but soon realised that they in fact formed an effective buffer in front of the various Muslim Turkic peoples of the area, and came to an alliance with them. For their part, the Kalmyk nominally accepted Russian overlordship, but mostly ruled themselves. The Kalmyk are unique in Europe in that they mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism.

To illustrate one of the frustrations of doing this kind of research, Here is a drawing done by the artist Christian-Gottfried-Heinrich Geissler in the early 1790's during his trip to the area of a Kalmyk couple.

Poorly executed, short on detail, definitely underwhelming, and not very helpful. Unfortunately this is true of many artists who made such images. One has to approach their images critically. We see boots, an under robe and an over robe with sleeves on both. The sleeves on the over robe of the woman are not verified by any other of my sources. Here is another drawing made about the same time by Gustaf Feodor Pauli.

For the woman, a chemise of which only the collar shows, a long gown fastened down the front by loops and knots, typical of Mongolian garments, but with the opening centered, unlike the overlapping side opening of Mongolian robes. You will notice that the opening overlaps at the waist. There is ornamentation on the edges of this garment under the closures, made of appliqued rows of braid. Over this is worn a long sleeveless garment with protruding shoulders, edged with ribbon, and provided with ties which may be used to close it. You will also see cloth sleeves covering the braids of her hair, again a feature very typical of Mongolian garments. In the background you can see camels and yurts, which the Kalmyk, like the Mongols, call 'Ger'.

Now we turn to our old friend Max Tilke, and he obligingly has drawn us a schematic of the two garments. He also informs us that the undergarment is called. chonor. Other sources say that it is called terlyk. The chonor/terlyk is sewed shut on the bottom/ Notice that the outer garment, tsegdyk, is slit in back. this is not always the case, but it makes it easier to ride. The outer garment, the tsegdyk is typically worn by married women.

Here is another drawing showing the cut of the undergarment.

Here is a photograph of a similar set of garments from a Russian Museum.

You will notice the rows of contrasting braid around the edge of the outer garment. You can see just the collar of the chemise. The overgarment is tied shut with two ribbons ending in the flat ornamental knots so typical of east Asia. There is ornamentation on the front of the chonor/terlyk, the undergarment. You can also see the unusual shape of the cuffs, which seem to be a remnant of the famous 'horsehoof' cuffs of Mongolia.

The cuff is edged with wide gold braid, then three circles are embroidered in gold thread, then narrow braid of various colors are arranged around them. This, as we will see, is a very typical ornamental motif of the Kalmyk. Here is another exhibit, but with the outer garment left open.

Again we see substanitally the same arrangement, on the front of the undergarment, wide monocolor braid on the edge, then circles embroidered in gold, outlined with contrasting rows of braid. The semi horsehoof cuffs and the asymmetrical cap are also in  evidence. Bossert gives us this image of the ornamentation on the front of the set of garments. This type of ornament is called 'eeeg'.

You will notice that there is a strongly contrasting set of rows of braid around the edge which take central focus in the overall effect. Thus uniquely, the main motif does not consist of positive space or negative space, but the border between the two. This recurs over and over in Kalmyk ornamentation.  On the garment edges, 

 in rectangles,

 in circles, like these pillows,

and on the semi-horsehoof cuffs.

Here are a couple of photographs of a more recent, slightly simplified version of this costume. The semi-horsehoof cuffs have disappeared, replaced by european style cuffs, but with the same ornament, the outer garment is cut in such a way as not to cover the ornament on the front of the choron/terlyk, and there is no sign  of a chemise. She is, however, wearing braid covers. The asymmetrical cap is quite unique. The very large pompom on top of the cap is again typical of Mongolian and Manchu garments.

More closeups of this type of cap.

You will notice the gold embroidery on the last two examples. This is also common among the Kalmyk, and is also used on the costume, as well as on caps. here are a couple examples.

The men's costume is basically the same as that of the caucasus, a shirt, beshmet, under a jacket, Cherkesska, pants, belt with metal ornament and boots. They wear various kinds of caps. One big difference is that the sleeves are usually much fuller than in the caucuses, and are gathered into cuffs, making a winglike effect. In modern performing groups, the beshmet is sometimes omitted, and the cherkesska is made to close up to the collar, and ornamentation is placed on the front where the shirt would originally have shown through.

The costume of unmarried girls is somewhat different, and only includes the under dress, which is cut rather differently. Again you will notice the wing like extension on the sleeves. This is called Biizie.

Here is a photograph of two variants of the girl's costume.

I will admit to a particular love of Kalmyk dance. Here are a couple of videos showing off the costume. First is a group of older people in the married costume. This is old style music, without accordian. The men are wearing the all in one jacket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBDZRrSAO9Q&feature=related

Here is another group showing the girl's costume, and if you watch closely, the men are wearing the two piece costume, with a separate ornamented shirt under the jacket. The girls have panels of gold embroidery on the front of their dresses, and on their caps.This is the dance ensemble 'Tiulpan' or Tulip. Tulips grow wild on the steppes of Kalmykia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMWMdgdvDFg&feature=related

And just one more video, where the dancers are more visible. Again the men are wearing the all in one jacket, and the women are wearing the unmarried girl's costume as in the previous video. This is the ensemble 'Carousel'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I3zP7O8gWA&feature=related 

For more information, here are a couple links to Kalmyk organisations.

http://www.kalmyksrus.org/

http://www.kalmykamericansociety.org/

Thank you again for reading as always. I hope that this presentation of a rather different esthetic tradition may inspire you in your own creative work. 

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:
Max Tilke, 'Costumes, Patterns and Designs', New York, 1990 [reprint]
E. Korneev, 'Costumes of the Peoples of Russia in the Graphic Arts of the 18th-20th centuries', Moscow, 1990
N. Kalashnikova, 'National Costumes of the Soviet Peoples', Moscow, 1990
Josephina Bul, 'The Epic 'Djangar' and Kalmyk Stage Costume', Elista, 1997
G. Tsakirova, 'Kalmykia', Moscow, 1983
Helmuth Bossert, 'Folk Art of Europe', New York, 1990 [reprint]
V. Pal'chikov, 'Khal'mg Ulsin Erdm' [Kalmyk Folk Art], Rostov na Don, 1970

Costume [and dance] of the Koryak people of Kamchatka

Hello All,

I have been doing some looking around dance videos on U tube, and i keep running across various dances by native siberian peoples. Although they look very similar, they are attributed to different national groups. I have recently figured out that many of them actually represent one group, the Koryak, and perhaps the Itelmen. These are two seperate, but closely related peoples, The Itelmen live on the main body of the Kamchatka peninsula, and the Koryak live on the ithsmus that connects it to the mainland. Here is a schematic map of the eastern tip of Siberia, showing the native peoples.

The Koryak are shown in pink, the Itelmen south of them. The blue on the very eastern edge represents asiatic Eskimo. [btw, Eskimo is not the greatest term, but not all the Eskimo peoples refer to themselves as Inuit. That tem is only used by the central Eskimo peoples, basically those of Canada. Those of Greenland,  Alaska and Siberia consider themselves to be distinct, referring to themselves as Yupik, Inupiaq, etc.]
I will cover the clothing, dance and embroidery of the Koryak. I have very little information as to the material culture of their neighbors to the south, but some of the videos that i will post links to are claimed by both of these peoples. If an Aliutor, Koryak or Itelmen can provide me with more information, i would be very grateful. Both are outnumbered in their native territory by Russians, which is true for many indigenous peoples. Here is the flag of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug.

The Koryak have no indigenous textile tradition, but they do have a very rich tradition of working with fur, as many of the northern people do. The men and women basically wear the same thing, a parka like shirt with a hood, and often a bib flap in front, baggy pants and boots. The men's being more often belted, and the woman's shirt being longer, more like a dress. Here is a video make in Yakutia, performed by an Evenk youth group, doing a Koryak dance in Koryak costume. The tendency of the various indigenous groups to perform each others dances is one source of the confusion concerning these videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bkZEr_LigU

Here is an Image of a Koryak man's outfit. It is a dance/festival oufit, and is more highly ornamented than usual. This one has no hood or bib flat. The ornamented and beaded boots are typical for most of the indigenous peoples of Siberia, although they differ in detail My source suggests that it might actually be Aliutor. Some collectors were less than exact when documenting origin.

 Here is an example of a woman's dance coat/dress. The beaded fringes are part of the traditional Koryak clothing. You will notice them on the various videos.

Here is another video of Koryak Dancers. I am not sure about the first group, they might be Itelmen, or even Aleut, Their shirts resembe the seal-gut shirts of the Aleut. They are very different from the Koryak type. The second group are better dancers, and are definitely wearing Koryak outfits. Look for the bib on the front, and the beaded fringes. The women come in about halfway through. One of the men is wearing a cloth shirt which appoximates the fur one. This became common as summer dress among many of the indigenous peoples.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ7Q74lWSFU

The same group explaining their costumes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJeM8t_CO_M&feature=related

Here is a depiction by the artist Gustav-Feodor Pauli from the album 'Peoples of Russia' published in 1862. He calls this image 'Kamchadal', which just means inhabitant of Kamchatka. You can see that it is essentially the same outfit, but he makes the coat very long.

The hood and the bib flap are so much part of the Koryak costume that they are clearly shown in this illustration from a book of Folk tales of Siberia, to accompany a Koryak story called Foxy Vixen.

Here is another woman's coat/dress for a festive occasion. You will notice the beaded fringes, a prominent part of Koryak costume. This one has the fur on the inside. It is also richly embroidred.

Here is a closeup of the ornamentation on the back. Again, note the beads, fringes, and in this case, lavish embroidery.

The beaded fringes are often anchored in ornamental circles, as shown here. You will see these in several of the videos, forming a prominent feature of Koryak dress.

Here is a back view of a man's festive coat, showing the fringes rooted in circular motifs. In the video above, one of the young men had similar ormamentation on his garment.

There is an applied patch with applique and embroidery close to the bottom hem. Here is a closeup of it.

Notice the older form of embroidery, made up of strongly linear designs, made up of squares and rectangles. This type of design recurrs over and over in north Eurasia, showing up in Chuchki and Evenk bead work and even Saami [Lapp] pewter embroidery. The floral work seen above is a more recent development, or perhaps shows more east asian influence. Here is another example of the linear embroidery, combined with yet another recurring ornament found in Siberia, fur mosaic or patchwork.

The linear designs are very clear in this one. The fur mosaic takes advantage of the white belly fur of the reindeeer, piecing it together with the dark upper fur to make patterns, in this case, diamond shapes. Some of the other Siberian peoples do much more complex designs. This is the hem of a man's garment. Here is the layout and composition of the garment. Notice that this garment is sewn fur side out.

Here is one more example of a man's garment, and the detail of the hem ornament.This is a particularly fine example.

Thus we see that even a people with no tradition of woven cloth because of their native climate, can still have a very rich and beautiful textile tradition. The beads were obviously obtained by trade, ulitmately either from the Russians or the Chinese, but this indigenous people took them and made their own distinctive display of daily beuty from their work.

Here is yet a different performing group showing the Koryak Costume.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoIrHh30Nug&feature=related

And one more, perfoming a lyrical spring dance.This group is only referenced as being from Chukotka, but it also shows the Koryak costume.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCHK131JjvA&feature=related

As always, thank you for reading.

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:

N. Kaplan, 'In the Land of the Reindeer - Applied Art in the North of the Soviet Union', Leningrad, 1974

Fitzhugh & Crowell, 'Crossroads of Continents - Cultures of Siberia and Alaska', Smithsonian, 1988

Kalashnikova & Pluzhnikova, 'National Costumes of the Soviet Peoples', Moscow, 1990

T. Razina et al, 'Folk Art in the Soviet Union', Leningrad, 1990

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

N. Shtukaturova, 'Folk Costumes of the Peoples of Russia in Graphic Arts of the 18th-20th centuries', Moscow, 1990

Y. Rachov, 'Kutkha the Raven, Animal Stories of the North', Malysh Publishers, 1981