Koryak, Children’s overall, 1958. Reindeer hide,
dressed reindeer skin, 105 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography,
St. Petersburg. Koryak National Okrug, Tigilski District, Sedanka village.
Koryak, Children’s overall, 1958. Reindeer hide,
dressed reindeer skin, 105 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography,
St. Petersburg. Koryak National Okrug, Tigilski District, Sedanka village.
“The tribal peoples have become masters of creating, with artistic skill and thoroughness, clothing that defies Nature’s elements and expresses the human spirit.”
As in many cultures, clothing is an essential aspect of the indigenous Siberian life. What a person wears is at once an indication of his or her status or rank, a means to artistic expression, and, of course, protection against the elements. Whether a garment is loose-fitting or tight, made from squirrel-skin, bear-skin or fish-skin, covered in elaborate decorations or plainly sewn, it serves a purpose in the physical and social life of the wearer. A wealthy Siberian native might wear a silver belt over his cloak; a reindeer hunter might prefer liberating, close-fitting leggings to the wide-legged skin trousers of the sledge driver; a woman awaiting her wedding might wear particular pieces or jewellry and part her hair a certain way, according to tradition.
The dress of the Kamchatkas in winter and summer is made for the most part of skins. Their winter costume consists of sealskin boots or torbasses worn over heavy reindeerskin stockings and coming to the knee; fur trousers with the hair inside; a foxskin hood with a face border of wolverine skin; and a heavy kukhlianka, or double fur overshirt, covering the body to the knees.
This is made of the thickest and softest reindeerskin, ornamented around the bottom with silk embroidery, trimmed at the sleeves and neck with glossy beaver, and furnished with a square flap under the chin, to be held up over the nose, and a hood behind the neck, to be drawn over the head in bad weather. In such a costume as this the Koryaks and the Chukchis defy for weeks at a time the severest cold, and sleep out on the snow safely and comfortably in temperatures of twenty, thirty, and even -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
When they leave the settlement to hunt, heavy kukh-lankas, or hunting-shirts of spotted deerskin, confined about the waist with a belt, and fringed round the bottom with the long black hair of the wolverine, cover the bodies of the Kamchatka people from the neck to the knee, ornamented here and there with strings of small coloured beads, tassels of scarlet leather, and bits of polished metal. Fur trousers, long boots of sealskin coming up to the thigh, and wolfskin hoods, with the ears of the animal standing erect on each side of the head, complete the costume, which enables free movement while keeping the body warm and covered.
The dress of the Buryats is partly Mongol and partly Russian, adapted for the specific conditions and activities of the people. Their caps are often conical in shape, made of quilted cloth and ornamented with a silken tassel attached to the apex. Their trousers have a Chinese appearance, but their coats were generally of sheepskin, after the Russian model. They decorate their belts with colorful bits of steel or brass.
Like many indigenous groups in Siberia, the Buryats favor a garment called the dehar. The Russian dehar is generally made of antelope or deer skin, and forms an admirable defence against cold. Often reaching to the heels, it touches the floor when the wearer stands erect. When the collar is turned up and brought together in front, the head is barely visible. The sleeves are four or five inches longer than the wearer’s arms, and the width of the garment can be enough for two people. Walking is very difficult in a dehar, and its wearer often has a limited range of movement. However, the warmth of the garment atones for its cumbersome character, and its gigantic size is fully intentional. The length protects the feet and legs, the high collar warms the head, and the great width of the dehar allows it to be well wrapped about the body. The long sleeves cover the hands and preserve fingers from frostbite.
The costume of the Lamout is very effective, and has a theatrical character. It is made of the skin of very young deer, and is embroidered in fanciful designs with beads and dyed deer sinews. The fur cap and high moccasins reaching to the belt are also embroidered with beads. The waist is encircled by a belt, from which hangs the hunting knife, powder horn, and bag with bullets.
Reindeer fur is beautifully warm, which of course is why it is utilized so much by the aboriginal peoples of Siberia not only as an insulating covering for the ground and for the linings of the chooms and yarangs, but also in the making of clothing – especially clothing for the reindeer herdsmen and the hunters who are required to spend considerable periods of time out of doors during the winter.
Evenki, Woman’s belt, early 20th century.
Dressed reindeer skin, beads and seed beads, metal, 91 x 9 cm.
Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Siberian Krai,
Turukhan district, the Nizhni (Lower) Tunguska river basin.
Chukchi, Winter outfit of an elderly man, back view, 1904-1907.
Reindeer fur and leg fells, dog fur, seal undercoat, fabric,
Parka: 93 cm; Cap: 27 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography,
St. Petersburg. Primorskaya Oblast, Anadyr Krai.
Chukchi, Winter outfit of an elderly man, front view, 1904-1907. Reindeer fur, leg fells and bristle, dog and wolverine furs, dressed reindeer skin, fabric, Parka: 85 cm; Trousers: 101 cm; Sleeves: 53 cm; Shoe soles: 27 cm; Cap: 27 cm; Boot height: 17 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Primorskaya Oblast (region), Anadyr Krai (territory).
Yakut, Woman’s bracelets, 1904. Metal, 8 cm.
Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Yakut Oblast.
The Nenets wear the malitsa, a large reindeer-fur tunic with an integral hood and mittens – the fur on the inside. When it becomes really cold, they put on, over the malitsa, another garment made of reindeer-hide called the sokwi, which has its own hood. The sokwi of the Nenets and the Nganassani hunters is stitched together from different materials: from reindeer-skin at the back in order to keep the shoulders and lumbar region warm, and from dog-skin at the front in order to soundproof the movements of the hunters as they go. The costume of Nenet women is, with some trifling distinctions, nearly the same as that of the Ostyak women. They wear girdles around the waist, ornamented in front with large plates of brass, emblazoned with various figures. The plates are commonly of a circular form, and broad enough to cover nearly the whole of the chest. From these hang strings of beads and sounding pieces of metal, which dangle in front. Bells of metal are often fastened as ornaments to the elbows. The Nenets depend on furs for trade as well as clothing. Various specimens of foxes, which fetch high prices, come from this district, as do blue ermine, and ducks, the down of whose necks is very much prized for its exquisite beauty, and, after undergoing a certain process, is used to ornament pelisses.
The dress of the Koryaks is also of deer skin, and comprises a frock, pantaloons, and boots or leggings. Both sexes dress alike, and wear ornaments of beads in their ears. The Chukchis and the Koryaks wear the kukhlianka, a reindeer-fur double tunic – double because it is made in two pieces so that there is fur on the inside and on the outside, but summer clothing is of dressed skins alone. The neck and the sleeves of the kukhlianka are sometimes decorated with strips of dog or wolverine fur. The persons of the Chukchi are not peculiarly large, though their dress, which is of enormous size, gives them a gigantic appearance. Many men wear a long fur coat of deerskin, fur trousers, moccasins, boots bordered with beaver, fur hood bordered with fox paws, and gloves of fox-fur. The clothing of the Chukchi is often embroidered with the skins of mice.
In these groups, the dress of either sex differs from that of other nations chiefly in their mode of ornamenting it. Often, it consists of trousers of the reindeer skin, with the hair inside, and stockings and boots of the same animal. A coat or jacket also of leather, sometimes lined with white foxes’ or with hares’ skins, supplies the place of a thick sort of short overcoat of double leather without the hair; and lastly, for the severity of winter, of a single or double frock with hair in and outside, the two leather sides being together. A warm cap and large gloves, with sometimes a guard for the breast, of white fox, called nagroodnick, or breast-cover, and a comforter round the neck, formed of the tails of the squirrel; such is their costume, which is almost wholly furnished from the skins of reindeer. Foxes’ skins serve for caps and linings, and a wolf’s is considered valuable, as the warmest of all outside garments. They have also a guard for the forehead, ears, nose, and chin. In summer, they wear nankeens, and at present most of the Koryaks and Chukchis wear a shirt. The women have also adopted the Russian head-dress. In trimming their garments, they are very skillful, and cut bits of deerskin into various fantastic shapes.
Eskimo, Man’s belt, 1909. Seal hide and skin, walrus tusk ivory,
Belt: 100 cm; small bag: 5.8 x 3.9 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography,
St. Petersburg. Kamchatka Okrug, Chukchi District.
Eveni, Woman’s outfit, back view, 1910, 1907. Dressed reindeer skin,
gopher and dog furs, seal and reindeer hair, beads, Outfit: 91 cm; Cap: 30 x 28 cm.
Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Primorskaya Oblast, Anadyr Krai.
Evenki, Girl’s outfit, front view, 1905. Dressed reindeer skin,
horsehair, beads, seed beads, reindeer fur, cotton fabric, Caftan: 88 cm;
Chest panel: 90 x 38 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography,
St. Petersburg. Yenisey Gubernia.
Evenki, Girl’s caftan, back view, 1905.
Dressed reindeer skin, horsehair, beads, seed beads, 88 cm.
Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Yenisey Gubernia.
Yakut, Woman’s earrings, man’s ring, 1959.
Metal, Earrings: 8.7 cm; Ring: 2.2 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography,
St. Petersburg. Yakut ASSR, Vilyuy District, Chochunsk village, Yakutsk.
In general, winter costumes consist of the following garments: stockings made of the skins of reindeer, with the hair turned inward; high boots made of the skins of the legs of the reindeer, and very roomy, so as to afford plenty of space for hay, with which they are well stuffed and which serves as insulation; under-clothes, trousers and vest of woollen cloth; an inner coat of the skins of reindeer, and a large overcoat of reindeer-skin. The coats are put on over the head like shirts; on the head, one frequently wears a large hood, covering the whole face, leaving an opening only for the eyes, a feature of the costume which enables one to travel long distances in the biting wind and blinding glare of the snowy expanses. The hands are protected by gloves of reindeer-skin. In particularly severe weather, a sledge-driver may wear two heavy kukhliankas, two thick reindeerskin hoods with long fringes of black bearskin pulled up over his head, and a squirrelskin mask to protect his nose and mouth from the driving snow.
Reindeer-skin snow-boots (untiy, torbaza, and other technical terms), ornamented with glass beads on the front and most often with a felt sole, are worn in all the regions of northern Siberia, even in the towns. Most articles of clothing made from reindeer skin are soaked and smeared with fish fat to further strengthen the material against the wind and wet weather.
The skin of the semi-domesticated reindeer varies from snow-white to dark grey or nut-brown. A brown skin with white spots is most sought-after for making festive clothes, which differ from ordinary everyday clothes in that they tend to be covered in metal ornaments or strands of multicoloured glass beads, or hung about with all kind of pendants (for instance, little furry animals dressed in the ethnic costume of the Eveni people).
From the month of April, the inhabitants of the tundra and the taiga have to shield their eyes against the reflection of the sun on the snow and against the wind. In the past they used to use special eyeshades split into two sections horizontally, made in metal, birch-bark or wood, or otherwise just lengths of coarse hair.
Koryak, Doll-child, 1988. Reindeer fur, beads, seed beads,
dressed reindeer skin, 23.5 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg.
Koryak Autonomous Okrug, Kamchatka Oblast, Achai-Vayam settlement.
Buryat, Necklace with swans, 5th-4th century B. C.
Wood, leather, gold, 60 x 28 cm.
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
Buryat, Apron, first century B. C. Feathers, fabric,
60 x 33 cm. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
Koryak, Man’s winter clothes, 1970s. Reindeer hide and leg fells, dog fur, dressed reindeer skin, bearded seal skin, beads, Parka: 126 cm; Trousers: 106 and 110 cm; Footwear: 71 and 74 cm; Shoe soles: 32 and 31 cm; Cap: 32 cm x 33 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Koryak National Okrug, Kamchatka Oblast.
By tradition, the summer clothing of the coastal people was always made of the skins (or various internal parts) of seals, walruses or bears, whereas winter clothing was made of reindeer-hide. Before they began to barter with the reindeer-herders, however, the Eskimos also used the skins and feathers of birds in their clothing. Today they wear fur socks and stockings, over which are knee-boots and trousers made of sealskin with the fur on the inside. In extremely cold conditions, like the Chukchis and Koryaks they wear the reindeer-skin kukhlianka. On top of all other clothing they can wear the kamleyka, a garment stitched together with the completely waterproof intestinal membrane of the walrus: it is particularly commonly used for hunting trips at sea where its remarkable waterproof and humidity-proof qualities are especially appreciated. The costume of the Amur river tribes consists of a fur hood, tight fur trousers, short deerskin boots, a Masonic apron, made of soft flexible buckskin and elaborately ornamented with beads and pieces of metal, and a garment similar to a frock-coat cut in very civilised style out of deerskin, and ornamented with long strings of coloured reindeer hair made into chenille.
Various parts of the fish are utilized in making summer clothes and footwear. The Nanai people and the Olchi wear vests and shirts made of fish-skin, decorated with embroidery and ordinarily having a round, Chinese-style collar that does up on the right-hand side. The method of preparation of fish skins for clothing is fairly simple. The skins are dried and afterward pounded, the blows making them flexible and removing the scales. This done, they are ready to be sewn into garments. A coat of this material embroidered and otherwise decorated can be extremely beautiful, and sheds water remarkably well. Fish-skins are also used in making sails for boats. During festivals, young girls of the coastal areas adorn themselves in holiday dress, and wear large breastplates, made of rounded discs of metal linked together, over tunics embroidered with deer sinews dyed in various colours.
In winter, the traditional headgear of the Nanai people is conical in shape with a fur border; it is worn with round fish-skin ear-muffs that are furry on the inside and embroidered on the outside. In winter, the fish-skin clothes are lined with cotton. That is the time too for cloaks made of dog-fur or, more often, of reindeer-skin. Shoes, and even boots, made of fish-skin are light, waterproof and surprisingly heat-insulated: during the wintertime they can be padded with dry grasses that keep the feet beautifully warm. This is the customary practice of the peoples not only of the Amur but also of Manchuria and northern China.
The summer dress of the Yakuts consists of the robasehka (the Russian “over-shirt”), and the balachbn, a kind of blouse, both of cloth, long boots of soft leather, and wide breeches of the same material. The dress of the women differs from that of the men only by its greater length and its ornaments. In the winter they dress in fur, more or less costly according to their circumstances. The warm skin of the polar hare is very much in use as lining. The fur-coat, which is made like a shirt and put on over the head, has usually a hood of the same material attached to it. Many Yakuts wear a tobacco-pouch with pipe and flint and steel, together with the indispensable long knife, attached to the belt about their waist. Frequenters of the taigas or Siberian forests are obliged to wear veils to protect their necks and faces against the massive swarms of mosquitos, gnats, and other vicious insects.
Yakut, Man’s belt, 1971. Metal, leather, 126 x 7 cm.
Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Yakut ASSR.
Nanai woman’s fishskin coat, 1898-1899.
Dyed and undyed fishskin, thread, 104 cm.
American Museum of Natural History, New York. Amur River Region.
Yakut, Woman’s holiday outfit, 1903, 1908.
Woolen cloth; brocade; furs of beaver, seal, gopher, wolverine, sable, lynx;
metal; silver; silk; fabric; beads, Fur coat: 134 cm; Head gear: 70 cm;
Head adornment: 97 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography,
St. Petersburg. Yakut Oblast, Yakut Okrug, Boturuski Ulus (settlement).
Yakuts, Cross, worn on the body, 1906.
Metal, 49 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg.
Yakut Oblast, Yakut Okrug, Vostochno-Kangalaski Ulus.
On their gala-days and festivals, the summer dress of the Khanty people consists of a shirt, commonly of red or yellow cloth, and sometimes of white linen. In the latter case, the collar as well as the borders below are of black cloth, trimmed with divers-coloured beads, and shining-tin or brass plates; shoes of cloth, of all colours, complete this costume. The every-day apparel of a Khanty woman resembles in all points that of the man, except that she wears a veil, which cannot be laid aside even when in her own yurt. Khanty men and women alike plait their hair in braids, one on either side of the head; but the woman’s braids admit of much more adornment. Hanging down from her shoulders, their ends are united by a string, or flattened cord, about three inches broad, richly studded with beads. From this point the two braids fall together; and at certain distances, several other strings of beads are attached, and in that manner the hair descends almost to the heels. Each string of beads is, at its termination, fastened to a circular metal plate of the size of a coin, which, at the least movement of the head or body, striking against the glass beads, keeps up a constant, musical noise.
For such an occasion as a wedding, a man sometimes wears a richly-coloured yellow and crimson tunic, with a pair of black velvet trousers embroidered in various-coloured silks. He may sport a valuable green shawl round his waist. On his head, the man wears a crimson cap, turned up with black fox-skin. His leather pouch is usually decorated with iron, inlaid with silver; in this he carries his flint, steel, tinder, and snuff bottle. A knife, pipe, and a whip, stuck in his sash, complete the outfit of the Siberian bridegroom.
As strange as the costume of the indigenous peoples of Siberia may seem to western observers, it was once even more elaborate. A traveller amongst the Kirghis community in 1860 was amazed by the savage beauty of the native dress. He recounts,
“Several [of the men] had horse-skin coats, with flowing manes down the centre of their backs; the skirts tucked into their trousers of yellow leather. On their heads they had horse-skin caps, with part of the mane on the top falling back like a helmet, which gave them a most ferocious aspect. Others had sheepskin coats, leather and fox-skin caps, with lappets hanging over their ears.”
—Thomas W. Atkinson (1799-1861)
Much has changed, however, and among most of the peoples of Siberia, traditional costume is no longer worn at any time other than on ceremonial occasions. Among the Yakuts it is the women who are then more colourfully dressed, for onto their costumes are sewn the furs of marmot, beaver and sable. The lining is of red and green cloth or even Chinese silk. The outside is decorated with embroidery, beads and silver ornaments. This form of costume, which in the old days was passed down from mother to daughter, is completed by a fur hat crowned with a little cloth top-piece with pointed edges. On the hat are many silver decorations, while similar carved silver ornaments of more complex design hang from the wearer’s ears and as wider panels over the breast and back.
With the influence of European Russia, indigenous people have been exposed to western dress, and will chose it for daily wear. For dancing and festivities, many Siberians appear in full dress with fur-boots, wide fur trousers and fur-lined velveteen coats. In groups bearing significant Mongol influence, the women wind their hair in a peculiar knot, near the nape of the neck. They pierce this knot with two long pins like knitting needles, and trim it with bright ribbons and real or artificial flowers. They have earrings, bracelets, and finger rings in profusion, displaying considerable taste and care in the adornment of their bodies.
Yakut, Man’s belt, fragment, 1971. Metal, leather,
Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Yakut ASSR.
Chukchi, Woman’s winter outfit, 1970s.
Reindeer fur and leg fells, dog fur, bearded seal skin,
dressed reindeer skin, Length: 103 cm; Spread of sleeves: 170 cm.
Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Chukchi Peninsular.
Koryak, Woman’s holiday clothes, 1970s. Reindeer hide and leg fells, dog fur, dressed reindeer skin, embroidery thread, beads, Parka: 127 cm; Shoe soles: 26 cm; Boot height: 28 cm; Span of sleeves: 130 cm. Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg. Koryak National Okrug, Kamchatka Oblast, Karaga village.
Amur region, Boots. Reindeer skin, fish scales, fabric, eggs, soot.
Russian Museum of Ethnography, St. Petersburg.
Metalworking, particularly silversmithing, is a craft that has been much practised over the centuries and that flourishes even now in Yakutia. Women there continue to wear their traditional jewellery – especially rings, necklaces and decorated earrings. The head-coverings of some are in the shape of tablets, falling in a perpendicular line on the forehead. Some women’s costumes are studded with a quantity of silver and gold coins, giving forth a sound at every movement of the head. Other head-dresses are fashioned in the shape of diadems, cut out at the top in the form of a crescent, the ends of which projected on both sides, like two horns. These diadems, like the tablets, are adorned with a number of plates and studs of brass and of other metals. Some women have their bosoms and necks covered with silver and gold medals of various sizes, and a portion being bored and strung together to form a sort of costly necklace.
In addition, the Yakuts carve and make sculptures out of wood and, from the 18th century, out of mammoth-tusk ivory – earrings, bracelets, ornamental combs and trinket-boxes, little statuettes, and so on. Such handicrafts merely add lustre to the skills they demonstrate in working with skins and furs.
The indigenous people of Siberia exhibit considerable talent and efficiency in their creation of clothing. Centuries of life in the challenging climate of the tundra or taiga have taught them how to use every resource available to them, every scrap of reindeer fur or fish skin, in order to protect their bodies from the cruel weather. But besides these strictly practical considerations, the garments and lifestyles that represent the cultural heritage of the peoples of the north revolve around many traditions, rituals, customs, rules and taboos that flow from a specific way of thinking, a highly particular conception of the world: the beliefs and practices associated with Shamanism.
