LANGUAGE OF NATIONAL COSTUME

Clothing, like humans, has its own fate and history. Ever since man learned to hide his body from the aggressive environment under clothing, it has changed over time as quickly as time itself. The clothing of ancient nomads, warriors, aristocrats and commoners was created in view of its practical use and geographical and regional characteristics. As the territory of Azerbaijan has 9 climatic zones and about the same number of ethnic ones, clothes evolved over time according to these features.

The style and composition of costume have similarities, but each ethnic region has its own colours in clothing. For example, in Lankaran people prefer green and its shades. It is the colour of grass and woods. In Naxcivan, brown tones and shades are preferred. It is the colour of earth and clay. In Karabakh, you can see red colours and their shades dominating clothing. In Borcali, they prefer black and maroon colours, in Saki - bright green, blue and purple, and in Samaxi - dark blue and brown.

In Iravan, black with silver and gold is preferred. The ingenuity of Azerbaijani women has no limits! They were able to talk about their feelings and fate even at the level of artistic language expressed in ornaments. The buta is the most common symbol that embodies the pagan preferences of the people connected with the worship of fire. The very word "buta" means "fire" in Sanskrit (Bute - puta - buta). A small steppe shrub has the same name. The flowers of this plant resemble the buta symbol and have a special intoxicating flavour and narcotic properties. In ancient times, they were used in religious rites of fire worshippers, who burnt them in temples, shrines and at the homes of the worshippers of the green goddess Vega, Anahit, Mitra and later - Ahura-Mazda.

However, few people know that the buta has 7 different positions in the artistic composition of the ornament. And they know how to eloquently talk about love, friendship, terrible hostility, grief or loneliness. It all depends on the position and rotation of the upper part of the picture, which skilled embroiderers call the head.

Dress

Women's costume deserves special attention and study, because it is women who made clothes as attractive as possible. Obviously, that's how the notion of fashion once emerged. As for fashion in women's clothing in the Baku area, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, it looked like this. A wealthy woman could afford clothes of silk, velvet, taffeta or tissue called hara. Hara is a rather dense fabric that feels like thick cotton mixed with silk thread.  Pictures could be printed or embroidered by hand. They were embroidered, as a rule, with crystals, pearls and silk threads. Ornaments adorned the bodice of the arxaliq in full (the upper part of everyday clothing), or only the zipper and the short sleeves. The arxaliq was sewn from velvet, and it was worn over a blouse with long sleeves made of silk (the so-called koynak). It was sewn with a cut under the throat, with a straight sleeve down to the elbow or to the wrist, and then it went down with a bell bottom sleeve (ilanci-qol). The wrists were covered with numerous bracelets, as a rule, made of gold or silver, depending on the wealth of the Baku woman's husband. The skirt (tuman) was sewn from taffeta or hara. It was very simple to sew. The fabric was sewn on the side. It was tucked and pierced on top, and a special cord or rubber band was inserted in this hole, or deep creases were made. The width of the skirt (tuman) at the bottom reached 8-11 takhtas. A takhta is a measure of length, which is 80 cm by today's standards. Therefore, one tuman took from 8 to 10 metres of fabric. There were two tumans, and they were worn on top of one another over a petticoat, which they put on a shalvar. The koynak-blouse (if its bottom was not decorated with coins) was tucked into the tuman, and the arxaliq was worn on top with a belt of gold or silver around the waist. Thus, with this width of the tuman, the waist seemed very thin! Under the tuman, they put on a shalvar (caxcur) - pants with cuffs that encircled the leg along the ankle, and socks of the same fabric were sewn on it. The woman's leg could not be naked! Carixs - soft shoes made of leather or brocade - were put on the feet. Corabs - warm socks made of wool yarn - were worn in cold weather. They could walk in them at home.

Jewellery

A woman's jewellery always matched her status as a married woman and the social status of her husband. The more jewels she had, the higher the social status of her husband. Jewels were made of gold and silver, or from large ocean pearls brought to Azerbaijan by the Silk Road from India and China like expensive silk and brocade fabrics. Earrings, rings, bracelets or even belts were often decorated with semiprecious stones or small diameter coins. By the way, unmarried girls were supposed to have a more modest look. That's why the belt that supported the tuman was worn not over, but under the arxaliq. As for jewels, they were allowed to wear only a minimum number of them. It was unbecoming of a girl to flaunt herself. She was supposed to attract not with the wealth of her costume, but with maiden modesty. As for the colours, Baku women preferred blue. The colour of the sea and the sky, which changed depending on the weather, prompted a variety of possible shades and even the style of the baska on the arxaliq, which was not folded along the waist line like in Karabakh, but was packed in a light collection resembling a Caspian wave. Baku women knew a lot about high-quality clothes, and therefore, valued only clothes sewn by hand. And as time showed, they were absolutely right. Such clothing survives for the longest time. Wealthy women did not wear the burqa. Their heads were adorned by an araxcin on top of which they wore a kalagai, a silk scarf. The ends of this large 150x150 cm scarf were tied around the neck or simply thrown on the back. Why do modern Baku residents not wear the clothes their ancestors preferred for many centuries in a row? Here is what the art director of the Baku national house of fashion, Konul Valibayli, says.

- Nowadays, some Baku women wear national dresses on holidays, including Novruz. The tradition of pre-wedding celebrations associated with the application of henna patterns is coming back. The interest in clothing and customs is coming back.

- Maybe women feel uncomfortable walking around in such tumans? It is uncomfortable on transport, because someone is sure to tread on their hem...

- I don't agree. The clothing is comfortable and practical. It's just not popular. Simpler and inexpressive clothing is in fashion now. It does not express the individuality and nature which is peculiar to women.

- The house of the national dress sews women's, men's and children's clothes...

- We sew for dance groups and carry out individual orders. It has become a tradition to hold an annual fashion show on the eve of Novruz Bayram festival. So this year on 15 March, we showed more than 50 models of national children's, men's and women's clothing at the Central Exhibition Hall (the former Lenin Museum). We are doing this in order to return the interest in our clothing, because it is able to emphasize the individuality of a person rather than hide it behind the faceless pret-a-porter style.

- Do you think it is enough?

- It is necessary to start somewhere! In the future, we may well organize and conduct a citywide campaign and go out on the streets of Baku in these costumes! I don't know ... This idea is still in the air. But I like to think that maybe it will work and we will arrange a national clothing festival, going out on the streets. And those who still have vintage items from their grandparents at home will also support us and go out on the streets with us. The campaign may be interesting and attractive, even if you don't find anything but kalagais, hats and araxcins in the old coffers.

Incidentally, with regard araxcins, this hat deserves a more detailed review, because it still maintains its positions as part of the modern men's and women's costume.

Araxcin is not a skull-cap

This hat was very popular among both men and women in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This is evidenced by the results of numerous excavations on the territory of Azerbaijan and ethnographic studies. The araxcin is really shaped as a skull-cap worn by residents of Central Asia. But the araxcin is round, and the skull-cap is square. In Central Asia, it is a street headgear. In Azerbaijan, the araxcin is worn only indoors. And if you go out, you leave it under the main hat (hat, turban, kalagai, shawl or veil).

By colour and embroidery, the araxcin is divided into men's, women's and girl's hats. The men's araxcin is adorned with strict geometric patterns. The women's and girl's araxcin has rich embroidery, usually coloured silk and gold threads, beads and pearls. Gold was also used to decorate the araxcin. The traditional pattern was the buta. Twisted cords and applique from brocade fabrics were used for decorating it. This headdress was sewn for the fair sex from velvet and velour, and for men from harder fabrics. But in all cases, the araxcin had a monotonous lining. A special woven bag was attached to the back of women's araxcins so that her hair could be put in it. But then women abandoned it.

However, women did not wear the araxcin in all regions of Azerbaijan. In Naxcivan, for example, it was worn only by girls. Women gave preference to the karka. It is also a hat similar to the araxcin in shape, but it had a band, which was fixed with oak bark. The karka was decorated with stamped metal plates and laces. On top of it, they wore a variety of shawls as well.

The araxcin is rarely seen in the costume of modern Azerbaijanis - men and women. Perhaps, another reason is that the secret of its making is partially lost. Although in Saki, for example, the production of araxcins continues to live and grow, in Baku it was abandoned a long time ago. Now, this hat is part of artists' professional interest.