Traditional Cloths of Mongolia

Traditional Cloths of Mongolia

Mongolian Dress


Mongolian dress has changed little since the days of the empire, because it is supremely well-adapted to the conditions of life on the steppe and the daily activities of pastoral nomads. However, there have been some changes in styles which distinguish modern Mongolian dress from historic costume. The deel, or kaftan, is the Mongolian traditional garment worn on workdays and special days. It is a long, loose gown cut in one piece with the sleeves; it has a high collar and widely overlaps at the front. The deel is girdled with a sash. Mongolian deels always close on the wearer's right and traditionally have five fastenings. Modern deels often have decoratively cut overflaps, small round necklines, and sometimes contain a Mandarin collar.

Depictions of Mongols during the time of the empire, however, show deels with more open necklines, no collars, and very simply cut overflaps, similar to the deels still worn by lamas in modern Mongolia. In addition to the deel, men and women might wear loose trousers beneath, and men may have worn skirts during the later Buddhist period, and women might wear underskirts, but in fact it appears on some Mongol paintings women wore wide trousers gathered at ankle, similar to shelwar or Turkish trousers. Skirts of the same style are still worn in part of Mongolia and China today; they have plain front and back panels with closely pleated side panels. Paintings of Mongols from Persian and Chinese sources depict men, and often women, wearing their hair in braids. The hair would be divided into two pigtails, each of which would be divided into three braids. The ends of the braids would then be looped up and bound to the top of the braid behind the ears. Men shaved the tops and sides of their heads, usually leaving only a short "forelock" in front and the long hair behind. The famous bogtag headdress worn by women seems to have been restricted to married women of very high rank.

Each ethnic group living in Mongolia has its own deel design distinguished by cut, color, and trimming. Before the revolution, all social strata in Mongolia had their own manne
r of dressing. Livestock breeders, for example, wore plain deels, which served them both summer and winter. The priests wore yellow deels with a cape or khimj thrown over it. Secular feudal lords put on smart hats and silk waistcoats

THE MONGOLIAN TRADITIONAL COSTUME 

The Mongolian Tradition Costumes consist of a Hat, Deel, Boots and Accessories.

Hat

One of the most colorful and original items of Mongolian national dress is the traditional head wear. The Mongolian headdresses differed in shape and purpose; there were hats for the young and old, summer and winter & men & women, holidays and ceremonies & fashionable and everyday hats. Their fashion and trimmings & colors were amazing varied depending on the sex of the person wearing it his or her social position or to who's tribe or nationality they belonged. There are 400 different styles. For example, the cone-shaped top of the hat (blue or red) had 32 stitching symbolizing the unification of 32 Mongolian tribes.

The middle ages women & men wore summer hats made of plush wet velvet upturned brim &brocaded pointed tops. The hat has crowed with a fanciful knot. In ancient times it symbolized power capable of frightening enemies. In summer Mongols wore either the hat or flat-topped "Toortsog" hat consisting of six gores. The toortsog had an upper and a lower part. The upper part was not one piece but was sewn from six separate pieces.

Married women were not permitted to wear this hat, only girls & men. Women's holiday headwear was noted for it is original and richness of adornment. It consisted of holiday silk and velvet hat and a complete decorative set for the hair the lower part of the hat was made from velvet and the upper part from red silk. The hair holder was covered with coral, pearl, and mother pearl. The Shanaavch the temporal adornment with little silver bells was fixed to the hair holder. The "Tolgoin boolt" was a headdress usually made of silver and studded with a precious stone and semiprecious stones. Women's hats were more fashionable than men's, and the ribbons on them were decorated with turquoise.

Deel

The Deel is a loose calf-length tunic made of one piece of material. It has long sleeves, a high collar, and buttons on the right shoulder. The Deel buttons. If they are not commercially produced from decorative stones or silver, they are narrow strips of cloth tied into intricate knots. Each ethnic group living in Mongolia has its own individual Deel, distinguished by its cut, color, and trim. These distinctions go unnoticed by foreigners but are obvious to Mongolians. Before the Revolution, all social strata in Mongolia had their own manner of dressing. Live stockbreeders, for instance, wore yellow deels with a cape thrown over it.

There are basically three types of deels, each worn during a particular season. The "Dan Deel" is made of light, thinks bright materials and is worn by women during the late spring and summer. The "terleg" is a slightly more padded version and both men and women. The winter Deel is serious, padded tunic lined with sheepskin, or layers of row cotton. Deels have the same cut whether worn by men or women. Male deels are just wider and in more somber colors. The Deel for everyday wear is gray, brown or some other dark color, white the holiday Deel is bright blue, green or claret silk with a silk sash of contrasting color several meters long. The sash is not simply adornment. It also serves as a soft corset facilitating long riders on horseback.

Boots

The toes of boots are upturned, and several explanations have been offered for this unconventional style. If boots had upturned toes pre 1578 when Buddhism introduced to Mongolia, then this would be an example of religion using indigenous customs, beliefs, etc. to support advance their own religion. Another explanation is that the upturned tip prevents a rider's feet from slipping out of the stirrups. However, it's also true that boots are so thick and rigid that if they were flat, they would be almost impossible to walk in.

Accessories

Traditional accessories are usually made of silver. Mongolian women usually wear a pearl head dressing and silver earrings with pearls. The necklace is not common. 

Source: Wikipedia and Discover Mongolia.


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