Clothes of the Kyrgyz

The peculiarities of the nomadic way of life of the Kyrgyz people were reflected in the national clothing. Firstly, the clothes had to be light and comfortable so that they could be comfortably worn on horseback. Secondly, the clothes had to be durable but uncomplicated so that they could be easily made in the subsistence economy. Thirdly, it should reliably protect a person from the cold, which is important in the mountain climate. Coarse wool, felt, and animal skins and skins were the basic clothing materials. The noble families could afford the clothes made of expensive fabrics brought from the cities of the Great Silk Road. The outer garment for men and women was called chapan. Chapan is a semblance of a robe on absorbent cotton or made of strong and warm woolen fabric, with buttons and a stand-up collar. In winter, sheepskin sheepskin coats (ton) and fur coats (ichik) made of fox, wolf or lynx fur were worn. The main traditional footwear was boots with long cuffs and narrow socks, decorated with colored ornaments. Men wore spacious pants of leather or suede embroidered with colored threads (chalbar, kandagai), full-length shirts (köinök), and a felt robe (kemntai). The nobles and the rich wore jewelry. The attribute of wealth in men's clothing was a wide leather belt (kemer), decorated with various silver inserts. Traditional women's clothing consisted of a long white shirt or dress (köinök) and long trousers. Young women wore sleeveless shirts made of colored velvet - chyptam. Married women wore a jacket with fur and patterned embroidery - beldemchi. Headdresses occupy a special place in the traditional clothing of the Kyrgyz. The ak kalpak, a white felt hat worn by men, is a true symbol of the Kyrgyz people. A unique is the headdress in the form of a turban made of thin white kissey - elechek, which is worn by married women.