Every girl, woman, both in the modern world and in the past: very recent, and the one that has remained in the mists of time, strives to be beautiful. The canons of beauty change, but the desire to improve one's appearance does not change. A modern woman knows how to be beautiful, elegant, well-groomed and at the same time businesslike. Is it enough one desire and skill of a woman. The modern world dictates its own rules to a woman, and if a woman keeps up with the times, she no longer stops halfway. Fashion designers, cosmetologists, plastic surgeons and hairdressers… These are the helpers of a woman in the 21st century… Our time does not allow us to determine the exact age of a woman, her position, whether she is married or not…

And it was quite different, it seems quite recently, at the beginning of the twentieth century. When looking at a woman, everyone understood how old she was, married or not ...

The difference between girls' and women's headdresses remained even when the traditional costume began to disappear. Much could be learned about the woman.

Before the wedding, the girl wore one braid and girlish headdresses - a variety of crowns, bandages and hoops that left the top of her head open.

And in this case, the form and ornament of these decorations, although they were unique, almost for every village, but obeyed some canons. The simplest girl's headdress among the Karelians, Vepsians and Russians of Karelia was a red ribbon or a rectangular piece of fabric sewn from multi-colored pieces of matter.

A ubiquitous girl's headdress was also the so-called "hoop" - a ring, less often a half-ring, made of bast, birch bark or cardboard, sheathed with calico or brocade (for the Old Believers - black satin). Karelians-lyudiki sometimes additionally decorated the hoop with artificial flowers. If the material of the crown was decorated with sewing from beads or pearls, then it turned, in fact, into a festive “crown”.

The open crown was a sign of girlhood. Only in severe frosts or in bad weather did the girls completely hide their heads with a scarf. For Karelians and Russians, on holidays, a ribbon or a hoop was supplemented with a pearl bottom in the form of 3 or 5 flounces, in which pearls were strung on a horsehair net. Pearl earrings served as additional girls' and women's jewelry.

In areas with a Karelian population and neighboring Russians, the hairstyle and headdress of the betrothed girl changed. The bottom was complemented by a pearl "crown".

In the old version of the Karelian wedding, which had not yet experienced strong Russian influence, the girl's hairstyle for the woman's was replaced immediately after the matchmaking ceremony, at the stage that corresponded to the Russian "hand-handling".
The headdress of a married woman, whatever it was, always hid the crown of the head.

Many headdresses were made by hand over the course of several years. Embroidered with river pearls, beads, gold or silver thread. Satin, silk, and brocade were also used. Dressed on holidays and passed from mother to daughter. After the wedding, the hair was removed under closed hats. There were also several of them, the most common of them were kokoshniks, warriors, kicks, magpies. The names of ancient women's headdresses, probably, can only be sorted out by a specialist: an ethnographer, a historian ...

Under the influence of the Russian population, a female headdress, such as a kichka, spread among the Veps and Karelians. (Kika (kichka) - an old Russian female headdress, sometimes with horns, a kind of warrior (magpie - without horns, kokoshnik - with a high front). Kika was an open crown, decorated with pearls, beads and other precious stones).

Festive headdress of women of the Russian North at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries - kokoshnik. Such kokoshniks mainly came from the Kargopol district of the Olonets province. It should be mentioned that - the kokoshnik headdress is perhaps the most famous in the world. It is the symbol of the Russian national costume. Indeed, it was used as a festive headdress until the end of the 19th century, and in some villages it was worn by brides back in the 20s of the 20th century.

Despite the uniform form, they differed in the style of decoration, they used mother-of-pearl dies, and freshwater pearls, and white beads, embroidery was done with gold thread.

Unfortunately, even scientists-ethnographers, neither the origin of the kokoshnik nor its sacred meaning is reliably known.

And in the modern world, women headwear- it's probably more stylish accessory than a functional piece of clothing.

The headdress of a woman, once elevated by our ancestors to the rank of sacred action and ritual, gradually lost understanding of its deep essence, but the cipher of the sacred rite continues to live in it, regardless of whether we understand this cipher or not.

The article uses material and photos from open sources.

The historical and ethnographic group of Russians - the Old Believers - were among the first to come to the uninhabited lands of the Far East. Experiencing persecution for their religious beliefs in the era of tsarist power, and during the period of collectivization, and during the Stalinist repressions, mastering one taiga region after another, the Old Believers, nevertheless, retained their commonality, originality, confessional foundations and traditions. However, it should be noted that under the influence of these political changes and socio-economic processes, there have been changes in the form of ownership, in the system of agriculture and other economic activities, family and marriage relations, material and spiritual culture.

And yet, many elements of the traditional material, domestic and spiritual culture continue to live. Many of them are associated with confessional attitudes, the degree of which varies considerably in different regions of the Far East. So, if among the Old Believers of Primorye they were preserved only among the older (50–80 years) generation, then in the Amur region they are characteristic of all age groups. Moreover, in the Amur region there are settlements, the boundaries of which coincide with the boundaries of the community. For example, in Tavlinka, Khabarovsk Territory, only Old Believers live, who even have their own primary school, where the teacher is also from the Old Believers. And in Berezovoy (Khabarovsk Territory), where a rather large community of Old Believers-bespopovtsy lives compactly, who, despite their close proximity to other residents of the village, try to isolate themselves and preserve their originality. Members of the community, and among them there are representatives of such well-known Old Believer families as the Basargins, Bortnikovs, Guskovs, and others, try to reduce their communication with other people and secular authorities to a minimum. For example, marriage is formalized much later than the wedding and, as a rule, before the birth of the first child. The children of the Old Believers do not attend kindergartens, they do not eat at schools with their classmates. However, contacts are actively maintained with their fellow believers both in Russia and abroad (districts of the Khabarovsk Territory, the Jewish Autonomous Region, the Tomsk Region, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Canada, the USA, Bolivia). Marriages are made with them, visits are exchanged, books, magazines, and religious objects are ordered from them. Such a wide geography of marital contacts is explained by the fact that it is forbidden to marry persons up to a certain (eighth) generation of kinship, not only by blood, but also when it comes to children of godparents and their descendants.

Compliance with these rules is monitored older generation Bespopovtsy Old Believers, they also determine the correct observance of maternity, wedding and funeral rites. It is the family ritual and its regulations that have preserved the traditional features to the greatest extent to this day. For example, the name of the child is chosen strictly according to the holy calendar. A girl can choose a name within eight days from her date of birth, both in one direction and in the other. The community has identified several people who have the right to conduct the baptismal ceremony. They are baptized immediately upon discharge from the hospital in a prayer house or at their parents' house in a font with river water. As godparents, as a rule, relatives are chosen so that there are no difficulties when entering into marriage (the so-called kinship “by the cross”). During christening, parents are not present, because if one of them interferes with the baptism process, then the parents will be divorced (divorce among the Old Believers-bespriests is also possible if one of the spouses cannot have children). After baptism, the child is simultaneously put on a belt with a cross, which is not removed throughout his life (amulet).

The funeral rite also has its own characteristics. The Old Believers-bespopovtsy of the Sunny District of the Khabarovsk Territory do not wear mourning. It is not relatives who wash the deceased, but specially selected people, respecting their gender (men - men, women - women). The deceased is placed in a quadrangular coffin on the shavings that remained during its manufacture, completely covered with a sheet. Buried on the third day, in the morning. The coffin is carried depending on the gender and age of the deceased (men - men, boys - boys, etc.). They don’t drink at the wake, relatives don’t drink for 40 days, and they try to distribute the things of the deceased as alms. Traditional for us pancakes are not baked at the wake, but kutya, thick jelly, kvass, pies, noodles, shanezhki, honey are prepared. Prayer is served on
9th, 40th day and one year.

For the Bespriest Old Believers, daily home prayers are traditional. There are Saturday, Sunday and holiday prayers with hymns performed in specially built prayer houses.

Certain traditions also exist in material culture. The appearance of the Old Believer emphasizes his isolation from other residents of the village. Men of the Old Believers certainly wear a beard and mustache, married women wear a multi-layered headdress - shashmura and a dress of a special cut - a “cart”, and go to the prayer house only in sundresses. An indispensable part of the costume is a belt, woven or braided. AT holidays men wear loose-fitting silk shirts with a central front closure (not to the bottom) and embroidery on the stand-up collar, closure. Children's clothing on holidays is a small copy of an adult one, and on weekdays it is no different from children of non-Old Believers.

The basis of nutrition is traditionally made up of cereal products; products obtained in the taiga and water bodies are widely used: fish, red caviar, taiga wild plants (ramson, ferns, etc.), berries, meat of wild animals, as well as those grown on household plots vegetables. Old Believers strictly observe fasts throughout the year and on certain days of the week (Wednesday, Friday). On the days of weddings, funerals, commemorations, a certain ritual food is characteristic. Also, the Old Believers will not accept food prepared by non-Old Believers (this does not apply to factory-made products), and in their house each of them has dishes for non-Old Believers guests, from which the owners themselves never eat. All vessels with water must be covered with a lid so that evil spirits do not enter the water. Despite the refrigerators use the traditional glacier.

Separate features of the communal way of life have also been preserved. This is help in major chores for treating the owner and helping the lonely and the elderly both financially and in economic activities (plowing the garden, harvesting hay, firewood, etc.).

However, it is important to note (and the Old Believers themselves speak about this) that at present the requirements are being softened, there is no such “strictness in faith”, and, nevertheless, the Old Believers are not very willing to make contact, they are silent about many things and do not impose “their own” on anyone. faith." They retain their religious principles (the schedule of prayers, fasting, bans on work on holidays), traditions in everyday life and costume, have great friendly families, are loyal to the authorities and are of great interest to ethnographers.

Wedding rituals of the Old Believers-bespopovtsy

Traditional wedding ceremony Old Believers consists of the same stages as any East Slavic wedding. This is matchmaking, singing, a bachelorette party (hen party), the actual wedding, visiting relatives after the wedding. However, each of these stages, of course, has its own characteristics.

So, marriage. In addition to the groom and his parents, relatives and acquaintances both from the side of the bride and from the side of the groom may be present. Currently, young people, as a rule, agree among themselves in advance, although sometimes they may know very little of each other. After all, in addition to the ban on marriage between relatives up to the eighth generation of kinship, there is also a ban on marriage for "relatives by the cross." For example, a godmother's son and her goddaughter cannot marry. Therefore, the geography of marriage contacts of the Old Believers-bespopovtsy of the Solnechny region is quite wide. This and other areas of the Khabarovsk Territory, the Amur Region, the Jewish Autonomous Okrug, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, as well as the USA, Canada, etc. In each Old Believer community there are people who check the degree of relationship of the spouses. If a marriage is concluded that violates this prohibition (even out of ignorance), then it must certainly be terminated. There are cases when such families "departed from the faith" in order to save their family.

The next step is to sing. During the drinking, which is organized by the relatives of the bride, the so-called rite of "three bows" takes place. After praying, the groom and matchmakers bow three times to the bride's parents and the bride is asked about her consent to marriage. If the girl gives her consent, then the parents of the bride and groom become matchmakers. It is considered if after "three bows" the girl refuses young man, then she will not be happy in life. Also, after the “three bows”, the bride and groom do not visit the company of young people without each other.

Next comes the bachelorette party. It should be noted that among the Old Believers, not only girls, but also boys, and sometimes recently married young spouses, gather for this action. It is often carried out not at one time (depending on the wealth of the family), but from two to seven days. The central event of the bachelorette party is the putting on the bride of the headdress of the betrothed girl - krosaty. This is a headdress consisting of a wreath and ribbons, flowers, beads attached to it. His girlfriend wears before marriage. After the “marriage”, the young wife is put on shashmura - the headdress of a married woman (more on that later). At a bachelorette party, they treat themselves to sweets, nuts, seeds, sing “girlish” songs, play role-playing games. For example, girls sing the following chorus:

Alexey Ivanovich!
We congratulate you with an honest song,
Us a golden hryvnia!
You kiss Maria Petrovna,
Don't forget us
Throw money on a plate.

The guy who was approached kissed the named girl first, and then everyone else, except for the bride, and threw money on the dish. If the guy did not want to throw money or threw a little, they sang this chorus to him:

We were told that the good fellow does not hear,
Plant the good fellow higher!

The other guys toss him up and "shake" the money out of him. The funds raised in this way are used to buy wedding gifts for the young. After the bachelorette party, the whole company escorts the groom home, the bride and groom go ahead, the girls sing a song to the groom corresponding to this occasion.

The wedding is most often scheduled for Sunday, and if a holiday falls on Sunday, they are postponed to Monday. They do not play a wedding on Tuesday and Thursday (except for the continuous week before Lent, when it can take place on any day). Before the wedding, as a rule, on Saturday - "broom". Young people go to the groom for a broom (to wash the bride), and they also buy soap, a comb, perfume, etc. from the groom. The girls go to the bride, wash her in the bath with songs and disperse only early Sunday morning at about 3–4 o’clock. By this time, the bride is dressed, a scarf is thrown over her. A girl from a family of Old Believers must marry in a sundress (clothes in which women go to a prayer house). Currently, wedding clothes for the bride and groom are sewn from the same fabric (shirt, sundress, scarf). This is a trend of modern fashion, but the cut of the shirt and sundress has remained unchanged for many centuries. The groom comes to redeem the bride from those who block his path. With the groom - a witness and a witness (necessarily married, but not among themselves). They redeem the bride with braga, sweets, money, etc. The bride's brother sells her braid (if the groom does not redeem it, they will cut it off). The bride and groom are asked the names of their new relatives, etc. There is another married witness in the house with the bride, everyone goes to the prayer house to “marry” (the word “marry” is not used). In the prayer house, the young people are once again asked about their desire to marry, since divorce among the Old Believers is extremely rare. After this ceremony, the young wife is put on a "chin" - shashmura (a complex headdress of a married woman), braiding two braids before that. Without this headdress, a married woman does not show herself to anyone (except her husband) - this is a sin. It must be said that the custom of wearing a special headdress of a married woman is characteristic of all Eastern Slavs:

My mother scolded me
Do not braid on two braids.
Will you get married -
You will not see your girlish beauty.

Shashmura consists of three elements: a small handkerchief that fixes the hair, a special solid headband and a top handkerchief that matches the color of the rest of the clothes.

This is followed by a dinner in a prayer house, after which the bride's relatives sell her things, and the groom redeems them. After that, the bride and groom go to invite guests to their wedding feast. By two o'clock the guests gather at the groom's house. Parents meet the young with bread and salt. Young people stand in front of the icons, they are congratulated first by their parents, then by everyone else. It is interesting that the bride and groom do not take gifts in their own hands, they are accepted by the witness in order to divert possible negative energy from the young. And yet, during the wedding, the witnesses of the young carry a chain knitted from handkerchiefs in their hands, and go everywhere together: all this plays the role of a kind of amulet for a young family. On the second day, the newlyweds walk already without witnesses, connected only with each other. I do not mention the registration of marriage in the registry office, since the Old Believers do not attach this of great importance. Often they register their marriage only before the birth of their first child. At the wedding they sing songs, listen to music, but do not dance. The newlyweds do not stay long at the wedding table, the witnesses take them to sleep, and the guests continue to walk. In the morning, the witnesses wake up the young people, and they again invite guests "for a hangover." On this day, they change witnesses, sell gifts, dress up, have fun from the heart. A young wife must give gifts to her husband's relatives (parents, sisters, brothers). It can be a shirt, a scarf, a belt, etc. In the event that the groom does not have his own home, the young ones settle with his parents. Old Believers are generally characterized by large families in which several generations of relatives live. But at the first opportunity, young people try to build their own house. This is understandable, because the Old Believers large families. They give birth to as many children "as God gives."

The wedding cycle ends with a mutual visit of relatives. And for the newlyweds for another year, all members of the community receive additional attention.

Of course, wedding rituals are more influenced by time than, for example, funeral rituals. But still, the main elements of the rite continue to persist, which allows us to speak about the preservation of traditions known since the 18th century.

Birthing rites of the Old Believers
Based on materials of expeditions to the villages of Berezovy, Tavlinka and Duki of the Khabarovsk Territory

The birth of a child has always been major event for the family and the main purpose of the woman. Attitude towards infertility is always negative. It was infertility that was the only reason why divorce was allowed. And it does not matter who was the culprit - the husband or wife. They could remarry, and in such families, it happened that children were born. And yet it was the woman who was most often accused of infertility and, of course, took all possible measures against him. These are prayers, and herbal medicine in all forms (rubbing, tinctures, decoctions). If the listed funds do not help, then medical intervention is currently allowed, up to artificial insemination, but with the permission of the community and through a prayer service.

To artificial interruption Pregnancy attitude has always been negative, it is still prohibited. And yet, there have been cases like this. For such a sin, a woman must "carry the rule" for seven years.

In the event of a miscarriage (the woman is always blamed for it), it is also necessary to “carry the rule” (which one is not specified, each one has her own).

The gender of the child was not very important for the Old Believers. After all, God gave any child, so there were no ways to influence the sex of the child, and the Old Believers do not believe in signs. According to M. Bortnikova from the village of Berezovy, when young people are married, they are told: "Don't be superstitious."

The families of the Old Believers are characterized by a careful attitude towards a pregnant woman, but, nevertheless, if there are no older children in the family, then the entire household daily work a woman does it herself. Although it was necessary to beware of hard work, not to strain, to take care of the unborn child. Pregnant women do not work on holidays (however, this applies to all Old Believers), and they cannot do anything for 40 days after giving birth. There were no prohibitions in behavior, work, or food for a pregnant woman. There are only indulgences in fasting. For example, on days when it is forbidden even vegetable oil, a pregnant woman could eat it.

Despite the fact that there was a careful attitude towards the pregnant woman, in general, the attitude towards the woman is ambiguous. A woman among the Old Believers is considered "unclean" from birth. This is evidenced, for example, by such a fact (according to M. Bortnikova, the settlement of Berezovy). If, for example, a mouse falls into a well, then the well is “made” (that is, 40 buckets of water are poured out of it) and a special prayer is read. If a girl falls into a well, they bury it or board it up and never use it again. Or else: if festive table the baby was capricious and needs to be passed across the table, then this can only be done with the boy, but the girl is by no means passed across the table - only around.

Before giving birth, a woman usually confesses, as a rule, to her spiritual father.

Currently, births mostly take place in the hospital, but sometimes at home and in the bathhouse. To facilitate childbirth, there are special prayers to the Mother of God, Great Martyr Catherine. After the birth, the rector reads the prayer, then everyone else comes in. If they entered before they read the prayer, they carry the rule.

The services of a midwife in our time are practically not used (there was a midwife in Berezovoe, but she left), more often they give birth in a maternity hospital, but sometimes the mother-in-law acts as a midwife. It is not customary to pay money to a midwife. As a rule, she receives a handkerchief, a towel, etc. as a gift. A special prayer is also read to the midwife, she carries a small rule.

After giving birth, a woman in labor could stay in bed for several days, depending on her condition and the availability of housewives, and sometimes more (at this time she is weak, and they say that she “walks along the edge of the grave”). For 40 days after giving birth, a woman does not visit the prayer house, does not eat with everyone (the Old Believers do not each have their own plate, everyone eats from the common one), has separate dishes, because her body is weakened and susceptible to many infections. To improve health, the woman was given decoctions of various herbs, home-made wine (a little, to improve lactation).

The Old Believers-bespopovtsy of the Sunny District try to christen the child within eight days after the birth. If the child is weak and there are fears that he may die, then they are baptized even in the maternity hospital. Since baptism is a kind of amulet that gives hope for a successful outcome. But if a child dies not baptized, then they don’t bury him in a prayer house, don’t put a cross on the grave, and then they don’t remember him in prayers, because he has no name.

The names of the Old Believers are chosen for children only according to the calendar, and the name for the boy is within eight days after the date of birth, and the name for the girl is within eight days before and eight days after the birth (they say that the girl is a "jumping girl"). It should also be noted that further, throughout life, only the name day (angel's day) is celebrated, and not the birthday, and the birthday and name day most often do not coincide. It is believed that after baptism, a guardian angel appears in a child. In the families of the Old Believers there are children with the same names, and this is not forbidden in any way (in the village of Tavlinka there is currently a family in which two sons have the same name).

Baptized, as a rule, in a prayer house, rarely - at home, in the morning at 7-9 o'clock. Water for baptism is carried by the father, older children, relatives from the river (the water must be running, the water is not heated). In the same water, several children are not baptized (even twins). The sheet, tablecloth, on which the font stands, is also pre-rinsed in the river. The godfather and the one who baptizes are given towels. After baptism, the water from the font is poured out so that they “do not trample” on this place (it can be an abandoned well, a glacier).

After the child has been christened, they put on a cross, a belt and a baptismal shirt. Baptismal shirt - white, the same for girls and boys. Three days after baptism, the shirt is not removed from the child and the child is not bathed. During the baptism of a child, his parents cannot be present, because if one of the parents approaches the child at this moment, then the parents will be divorced.

There are several people in the bespopovskaya Old Believer community who have the right to baptize a child. As a rule, these are elderly people respected by all, physically strong enough (to keep the child during baptism). The gender of the godfather does not always match the gender of the child. The Old Believers try to choose close relatives as godfathers, so that later, when choosing a groom or bride for a child, they do not encounter the problem of “kinship by the cross”. And since the choice of a marriage partner is rather complicated due to objective reasons, they try to avoid additional difficulties.

Immediately after the christening, a baptismal dinner is held. The owner of the house is in charge of all meals. After dinner, they pray for the health of the baby and mother.

Godparents and godchildren maintain close relationships throughout their lives, since it is believed that godparents are responsible for their godson before God and the community, and in the event of the death of their parents, they replace them.

In general, the maternity and baptismal rites of the Old Believers of the Solnechny District of the Khabarovsk Territory have existed for a long time, practically without undergoing cardinal changes. At the same time, it should be noted that some “relaxations in faith”, characteristic of all spheres of life of the Old Believers, are also noticeable in this area (artificial insemination when it is impossible to give birth to a child, baptism in a maternity hospital, etc.).

Lyubov KOVALEVA (Komsomolsk-on-Amur)

Lyubov Vasilievna KOVALEVA, Head of the Research Department of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Museum fine arts. In 1999 she graduated from the Vladivostok University of Economics and Service, since 1998 she has been working in the museum. She has been studying the history of the Old Believers in the Far East since 1999, collecting materials during annual scientific expeditions in the places of local residence of the Old Believers. Participates in scientific and practical conferences and seminars.

Have you noticed that our faces are outdated? - asked the Old Believer Vladimir Shamarin and immediately answered his own question: - The character and essence of a person should be combined with a suit. Not everyone can wear a kosovorotka or a sundress.

The family of Alexei Bezgodov, chairman of the Novgorod Pomor Old Believer community / Photo: Andrey CHEPAKIN

It’s hard not to pay attention to the outdated faces. Even in ordinary clothes, the Old Believers often look like people from another century. To a person who is far from Russian history, bearded men in blouses may seem strange, a kind of "ideological mummers." But faith without the preservation of traditions, including in clothing, cannot be saved. Therefore, perhaps, the views of the zealots of ancient piety will become at least clearer if we try to “read” their costume. It is impossible to tell in one article about the dress code of the Old Believers of all consents. My heroes are bespopovtsy Old Believers from large cities of the North-West.

People exist in a certain era, therefore it is wrong to talk about them in isolation from the historical context. Of course, today's Old Believers are different from their ancestors who lived many centuries ago, because external life also affects the internal. Although the Old Believers have their own rules from time immemorial, their strictness and observance is a personal matter for everyone.

Not everyone in everyday life dress according to the covenant of their ancestors, but they try to strictly observe some rules. So, a strict Old Believer should not “be mired”, that is, be in the church of the Gentiles during the service (the exception is visiting New Believer cathedrals for the sake of worshiping miraculous icons. - Approx. Aut.); is obliged to “observe personal dishes”, that is, not to use common dishes with non-believers, and so on. Clothing also has its own rules, since a suit is a reflection of a person’s picture of the world, a “mental passport”.

according to the canon

Dimitry Urushev in a caftan (right) at a reception with the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church

“The traditional Russian costume, worn by most Old Believers a hundred years ago, is now out of everyday use,” says religious historian Dmitry Urushev. - It is worn only for attending services in temples. In ordinary life, the Old Believers wear the most ordinary clothes. The only rule they observe in dress is modesty.

The basis of the traditional Old Believer dress is the Russian peasant costume. In the 18th century, when the Old Believer merchants and bourgeoisie were formed, the life of the townspeople differed little from that of the peasants. Moreover, wealthy peasants moved to the cities, redeeming themselves from serfdom. With them they brought village habits, including a disposition to Russian clothes.

In the 18th century, the Old Believers dressed exclusively in the folk style. This was also required by the laws of tsarist Russia. For example, the decrees of Peter I ordered the Old Believers to wear exactly Russian dress, and even deliberately archaic cut - in the fashion of almost the middle of the 17th century. In the 19th century, Old Believers merchants and philistines began to gradually become familiar with modern European clothing. This is clearly seen in the portraits and photographs of that era. Today, megacities have destroyed traditional culture. Even if the city did not crush the village, urban life completely replaced the peasant way of life. Therefore, it is more and more difficult for the Old Believers to comply with ancient traditions.

The cut of Christian clothing is not defined by church canons. In former times, there were many differences in clothing between the Old Believers of different consents. The elements and level of rigor in the rules have varied from century to century. The rules were common among all consents, adjusted for the regional characteristics of the communities. In some areas, the dress code of the ancestors can still be observed. By the way, since the 1990s, Old Believers-priests began to revive the custom of wearing warriors by married women. Among the bespopovtsy, women put on warriors occasionally, usually at weddings. Before the prayer service, the bride is untwisted, two braids are braided and a warrior is put on. But after the warriors are rarely put on.

In the old days, men wore only ports (lower and upper) without widths, an undershirt, an upper kosovorotka. Neither men nor women wore short sleeves.

Women's costume: bottom long-sleeved shirt, sundress, headdress (shawl, warrior), low stockings. They didn't wear underwear. Both men and women put on zipuns in winter, long fur coats, woolen socks and stockings. The requirements for shoes today have practically gone into the "past and thoughts." And earlier, men had to tuck their pants into boots with high tops (ports are tied in bast shoes). Boots were worn with low heels. Women's boots were shorter, heels were also condemned. Shoes were perceived as slippers, only boots were worn on the way out. Mentors and clerks in some places still wear boots. In any case, the Old Believer dress code is not a dogma, but a tribute to tradition.

Old Believers- the traditional self-name of all zealots of church antiquity. The name "Old Believers" was introduced into official use under Catherine II instead of the former derogatory term "schismatics". Both priests (they have priests) and bespopovtsy call themselves Old Believers and Old Believers. Both those and others believe in the holy apostolic church, they make the sign of the cross with two fingers. The direction of the Bespopovtsy took shape by the end of the 17th century, after the death of Old Believer priests, ordained even before the reform of Patriarch Nikon - before the schism. Representatives of different directions (accords) pray only in their churches.

In the North-West, the traditions of the Fedoseyevites are strong among the Bespopovtsy Old Believers. Consent was named after its founder, Theodosius Vasiliev. One of distinguishing features Fedoseyevites were celibate: either single or widowed people were allowed to pray, the rest were only present. A joint meal of "married" and "celibate" was also not allowed.

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folklore element

- Asya, meet the guests! a booming male voice commanded as the door opened. And then the owner himself appeared on the threshold - a hero to match his voice. Asya is a cat, her owner is Alexei Bezgodov, an Old Believer-bespopovets of the Pomeranian Accord, chairman of the Novgorod community.

In the photo, the Old Believers usually have their hands folded on their chest, as in old portraits and daguerreotypes. The Old Believers themselves explain this gesture as a sign of obedience to God / Photo: Andrey CHEPAKIN

How does the imagination draw a Russian peasant? A slanting sazhen in the shoulders, a beard with a shovel, a look with a sly squint, in the house - homebuilding, in the soul - peace? Well, it means that there is no need to paint a portrait of Alexei Bezgodov - he is just like that. Severe as the Siberian frost, hot as a samovar, at the same time caring and gentle with his wife and children, despite the severity. And the rule not to let strangers into the house is not a dogma. Despite the tightness and disorder, the Bezgodovs often receive guests and are very hospitable. After visiting them, the stereotypes in my head diminished.

Alexei is 40 years old, he is a hereditary Old Believer, historian, graduated from the Russian State Humanitarian University, worked at Moscow State University, is preparing to defend his Ph.D. on the Old Believers. Studying archives, writing science articles, participates in conferences. We are sitting in Bezgodov's "office" - in the kitchen of a one-room Khrushchev in the center of Veliky Novgorod. At the dinner table, he edits an Old Believer pattern in Photoshop. Redraws ornaments from old books. Alexei has a small publishing house, he publishes Old Believer literature at his own expense. Processes photographs, makes ornaments, sends books to the printing house and to the customer. While the new apartment is being renovated, Aleksey and his wife Natalya and four children live in a rented apartment.

When Alexei proposed to Natalya, she, to the delight of the groom, said that she wanted to get married in a sundress. The groom put on a kosovorotka for the marriage prayer. Most of the clerks are married in traditional clothes. After the wedding, the Bezgodovs began to live in Novgorod, Natalia's hometown. Civil registration of marriage for the Old Believers is not very important: Alexei and Natalya officially formalized the relationship six months after the wedding, and, for example, Alexei's grandfather and grandmother did without the registry office at all. The eldest daughter of the Bezgodovs, Ulyana, is a first grader. 5-year-old Gury and his sister Pavla go to kindergarten. And the youngest, Kira, is still at home - she is only a year old. Children attend a regular kindergarten, school, go to circles. Ulyana is engaged in folklore, Gury - draws. Children in the Bezgodov family absorb the rules of adult behavior. In ordinary life, they are no different from their peers in outfits. In the temple, Guria is dressed like a father, girls - like a mother.

Natalya Bezgodova with her daughter Kira / Photo: Andrey CHEPAKIN

Alexey wears both blouses and regular shirts with t-shirts. For worship, as expected, he puts on Azam. In Moscow, a man in a kosovorotka is not surprising, but in other places there were funny things. In Novgorod and small towns, Alexei Bezgodov has repeatedly heard in his address: “ZZ-top”, “Santa Claus”, “bin Laden”. Sometimes they attacked with fists. People often wanted to look at Bezgodov as a revived "folklore element". Alexei endured human curiosity with Christian meekness and did not refuse attention.

Kirill Kozhurin's role as a "folklore element" is also familiar and unpleasant. He is outraged by the stereotype of people who are far from the old faith: allegedly, the Old Believer should walk in aziams and zipuns, although the apostles definitely did not wear them. In Kozhurin, a philosopher and writer, love for beauty is reflected in wardrobe experiments. Silk shirts, velvet jackets, satin waistcoats and, of course, elegant blouses… The “dandy-Christian” style combines longing for 19th-century luxury and glamor, traditional Russian dress and bohemian chic. He approaches the choice of attire reverently, glamorously merging the past with the present. For church events - blouses, for theaters (the rules condemn spectacles, but how can a philosopher without an opera?) - jackets ...

A velvet jacket and a satin vest are not casual wear, but an option for going out / Photo: Andrey CHEPAKIN

Prayer clothes

For worship, the Old Believer puts on appropriate clothes - a prayer one, but, having entered society, he assimilates. An Old Believer who sings in a kliros in a sundress can choose trousers in everyday life. Today, the appearance in a foreign environment in sundresses and blouses is the exception rather than the rule. Thirty years ago, the requirements for the clothes of permanent parishioners were stricter: all the men stood in the service in "half-azyams" - long black robes, and the women - in sundresses. They kept liturgical clothes in the temple. The black sarafans and kerchiefs of the clerks are a legacy of the Fedoseev tradition. In the Moscow community of Bespopovtsy, women wear blue sundresses and white scarves. Usually, dress rules apply only to those participating in worship, the rest dress more freely. The clerks order prayer clothes themselves, observing the accepted requirements of a particular community, but it happens that a community buys clothes together for the sake of uniformity.

“It must be assumed that in the 19th century, the most important part of the male Old Believer wardrobe was finally formed - aziam, an obligatory attribute of prayer clothing,” explains Dmitry Urushev. - It is also called a caftan, a coat, an Armenian, a dressing gown and a chiton, a shabur, a ponytail. A long caftan made of black cloth in the manner of a high society tailcoat looked spectacular with “accordion” or “bottle” boots polished to a shine.

The name "azam" comes from the Arabic word "adzhem", meaning any alien nation. Today, black Azam is the obligatory clothing of a spiritual mentor and clerks. The prototype of the modern azyam is the cassock. Solid woolen azam by Alexei Bezgodov - Moscow type: detachable at the waist with numerous assemblies. Clasp, as it should be, on left side, on hooks, although there are also buttons.

Vladimir Shamarin, mentor of the Pomor community in St. Petersburg / Photo: Andrey CHEPAKIN

... The voice of 55-year-old Vladimir Shamarin is young and strong, “trained”. And this is not surprising: Vladimir has been on the kliros since the age of 16. He is a mentor of the Pomor community in St. Petersburg. A mentor is rather an elder brother, but not a mediator between God and man. The Neva Monastery is located on the territory of the Kazan cemetery, where the Old Believers were once buried. The modern "administrative" building, resembling a castle, is visible from the street, and the old temple is hidden from prying eyes behind the graves. We are sitting in a cell in which custom-made services are performed, azyams are hanging at the entrance. As a child, Vladimir walked in ordinary worldly clothes. At school, he did not advertise his faith, although close friends knew. He graduated from INGECON, worked in a design bureau.

“If I take off the asia, you will see that I am wearing a bright turquoise blouse,” Shamarin laughs. - Azyams happen different styles. Today traditions are mixed. Previously, it was possible to understand the social status of a person by the cut: for example, married men wore azyams with assemblies on the belt. The one I'm wearing, with two wedges at the waist, was traditionally worn by unmarried or widowers. Therefore, in the St. Petersburg community, kliroshans wear azyams of such a cut. And in our Moscow community, the azyams are a little different. I have an azam of a single man, although I am married. This is the legacy of the Fedoseev tradition. Traditions are more strictly observed not only in liturgical, but also in funeral clothes.

From time immemorial, the prayer costume of a woman among the Bespriests is an undershirt with a belt, a sundress, two scarves - the lower and the upper one. The prayer sarafan was distinguished by three pairs of opposite folds laid from the collar to the middle of the shoulder blades and stitched on the back. In front, the sundress was fastened with buttons with loops. Moreover, the number of buttons should be a multiple of the symbolic numbers for Christians: 30, 33, 38, 40 (although sarafans with buttons were not accepted everywhere). The hem of the sundress at the back should lie on the ground, and its front part should not cover the toes of the shoes. Usually prayer sarafans were sewn from dark blue, dark brown or black fabric. Red was considered immodest, not suitable for worship. This is stated in the Charter of the Fedoseyevites of 1809. Kirill Kozhurin explains the rejection of red as follows:

- Firstly, the Fedoseyevites adhere to the monastic style in robes, so they still have predominantly dark colors, and, secondly, red, at least in the North, could be associated with a wedding dress. And the Fedoseyevites are celibates.

The parishioners of the Fedoseyevites do not gird the sundresses to the temple. The figure of the praying person must be hidden. It was for this reason that the Fedoseevsky Cathedral of 1751 forbade the girdling of a sundress. And the Old Believers of other consents wear a belt over a sundress. In the Pomor community, women come to the service in black sundresses - they are worn over ordinary clothes and kept in the temple. In the Urals they wear blue - real Pomeranians. In the days church holidays in the Pomor community, parishioners exchange dark scarves for white ones and put on white sweaters under a sundress. In some regions, women have an analogue of azyam. In Udmurtia it is called letnik, and in the Perm region - dubas.

Belt and scarf

From left to right: Alexey, Kira, Ulyana, Gury, Natalya, Pavla Bezgodova in the Church of the Nativity Holy Mother of God/ Photo: Andrey CHEPAKIN

The body belt is a thin lace that is put on by the child from the moment of baptism and is never removed. Words of a prayer are often woven on the belts; by the pattern, one can determine from which region he is from. There is no division into men's, women's and children's belts. Belts are both woven and twisted; wearable (on a shirt) and put on over a kosovorotka. But this is new. Previously, the belt was worn alone - over a kosovorotka or sundress. Women tie a belt high, almost under the chest, men - low, on the hips.

Belts are laid out like bright snakes on the sofa in the Bezgodovs' apartment - long and short, wide and narrow, bright and modest, with and without tassels. They were brought from different parts of the globe - from Perm to Uruguay. The belt from Verkhokamye is distinguished by traditional Perm rhombuses, which are very difficult to weave. Alexei says that in the Urals, many Old Believers know how to weave belts. You can tie a knot on any side, each region has its own traditions. Alexey ties on the left side, in the Moscow manner, although in the Urals they wore it on the right side. In peasant clothes there is no division into male and female - the smell is always on the left: the side of the angel (right) should cover the left.

- In addition to the constant wearing of the pectoral cross, a Christian must be girded, - explains Kirill Kozhurin. – For Christians, a belt is a thing with a deep symbolic meaning. This is the separation of the "carnal" bottom and the "spiritual" top, and readiness to serve God. Without a belt, one can neither pray nor go to sleep. Hence the common expression that has been preserved in the modern language: “unbelt”, that is, “become loose, unrestrained”. In ancient times, it was considered extremely indecent to be in public without a belt.

You can weave a belt on planks and reeds. Alexey and Natalya weave belts on boards (furnaces). This is a device consisting of one and a half dozen small boards with four holes in the corners for threads. Natalya was taught to weave belts by her husband, and then she improved in the courses. In addition to belts, Natalya weaves beads from beads. Belts, ladders, handguards are a kind of Old Believer liturgical accessories that you can flaunt. Lestovki for men and women are not separated, they are usually sewn from dark fabric, leather, weaving from beads.

Today, the Pomeranian parishioners wear a scarf in the corner / Photo: Andrey CHEPAKIN

While tea was being brewed, Natalia demonstrated two options for wearing a scarf - on the hem and on the corner. On the edge (in dissolution): a large scarf is chopped off under the chin and lies on the back with a bedspread. Remember the heroines of Nesterov, Surikov? In Moscow and Novgorod, it is customary for Old Believers-bespopovtsy to wear a scarf at an angle (it is chipped off with a pin under the chin, the right end overlaps the left one, and lies in a triangle on the back). Now all Pomeranian parishioners wear a headscarf in the corner. And in the Volga region, in the Urals, in Siberia, they are worn only on the edge. In St. Petersburg, choirs are tied to the edge of the scarf.

Fragment of Surikov's painting "Boyar Morozova"

In ancient times, by the way a woman's head is covered, one could judge her social status. The girls braided their hair and covered their heads with a scarf to the hem or wore headbands and braids. Young people tied a scarf to the hem on a povoinik or lower scarf. The women braided two braids, wore a povoinik or a lower scarf, but the upper scarf was covered in a corner. The old women wore a scarf in the corner. The widow, not going to marry, put on a warrior and a scarf in the corner. The widow, ready to marry, braided her braid and covered her head with a scarf in the corner. It was believed that before marriageable age(15 years old) girls could go without headscarves, and it was required to wear a headscarf to the temple from the age of 7. Today, in some communities, headscarves are worn by girls from infancy.

"Protopope Avvakum" and "noblewoman Morozova"

“I need to feed the cat,” Alexei smiles embarrassedly, interrupting the conversation, and opens the iPad to “feed” the virtual animal. Then he continues: - You should not perceive all the Old Believers as a single substance or "soldier of the Korean army." Despite the common faith, the Old Believers are people with different views and upbringing.

Each region has its own rules in dress, greetings, and so on. See the icons in the red corner? And in some regions they are closed from the “outsiders” (gentiles. - Approx. ed.) so that they do not pacify. Strictness is due not so much to church canons as local traditions. It's not about self-isolation, but about cultural memory.

In addition to persecution since the time of Nikon, the Old Believers survived the Soviet period with the oppression of any faith. Fear is alive in the cultural memory of the older generation and passed on to children. Repression created a system of self-preservation. The practice of praying at home at night has developed a tradition and attitude: to pray piously at night, but this is not required by the canons. Or, for example, the prohibition of photography, although many pre-revolutionary photographs of the Old Believers have been preserved. But this ban is out of fear of publicity. This is how myths are born. The closeness of the Old Believers was not originally characteristic.

Little Kira got used to a big scarf, like her mother and sisters / Photo: Andrey CHEPAKIN

If before the split there was wariness and fear towards the “outsiders” (non-Russians), then later the Old Believers transferred this wariness to people of a foreign faith. A university professor introduced me, an Old Believer, as a "genetic selection of a Russian person." I would call stubbornness a characteristic positive and negative quality Old Believers. There is also a saying: “Whatever a woman is the noblewoman Morozova, whatever a man is Archpriest Avvakum.” The modern "canon" rests on ignorance of the customs of neighbors: this is what grandfathers did - it means that it is right to pray, fast, tie a scarf only in this way. The figure of a prosperous merchant and a successful banker, a teetotaler patriarch has become a stereotypical image. Today, Old Belief is being stubbornly turned into a “religious reserve”…

Natalya Bezgodova is 31 years old and works as a midwife. A taste for the Old Believers was instilled in the girl by her Old Believer grandmother, who also taught her prayers. She began to strictly observe the rules a few years before marriage. Natalya always dressed modestly, gradually abandoned trousers and decorative cosmetics, however spirits enjoys. On the beach, Natalya will put on a bikini, in her wardrobe there are mini-skirts and open sundresses. At home, as a rule, he walks in a scarf, on the street he does not cover his head. Worship has its own dress code. As a married woman, Natalya should wear two braids, but today they don’t fit so literally into the traditions of her ancestors.

Nevertheless, the Bezgodov family is a good example of a harmonious patriarchy. By the way, Alexey can easily replace his wife in the kitchen, help with the housework. For the Old Believer, family and faith are the main thing in life. It would be wrong to perceive the life of modern Old Believers as a cranberry "Domostroy". The husband does not dictate the choice of his wife's outfit, although he does not welcome trousers.

"Gate", beard and cap

“It is assumed that a woman should not wear jewelry, use cosmetics and cut her hair,” explains Dmitry Urushev. – But life makes its own amendments to the strict Christian dress code. Not all Old Believers observe it outside the church walls. The same can be said about men. According to the rules, the Old Believer should not cut or shave his beard and mustache. But now, even in churches, you can see Old Believers who do not comply with this Old Testament prescription. However, the weakening of the Old Believer rules did not begin today. Already in photographs of the late 19th century, one can see Old Believers in three-piece suits and bowler hats, with neatly trimmed beards, and their wives in fashionable dresses and hats.

The secular lion thinks through his image to the smallest detail. Choosing a hat in Venice took an hour / Photo: Andrey CHEPAKIN

“Actually, haircuts are regulated,” says Vladimir Shamarin. - But now, except that strict Fedoseyevites cut their hair in a “circle”, cut a few hairs on the back of their heads - a symbol of the “gumen”, in ancient times mandatory for clergymen. And in the middle of the bangs, they also cut out a few hairs - a “gate”. I used to get my hair cut by a parishioner barber, but she died. Now I have a natural "humenzo" - a bald head, so there is nothing to cut. According to Orthodox teaching, barbering is a serious sin, since the one who shaves his beard expresses dissatisfaction with his appearance given to him by the Creator. Mentors often combed their hair in the middle. But the "bracket" that has now spread even among mentors - combed back - was considered non-Christian. It was believed that the hair on the body should not be cut, but there is no indication of this in written sources.

Alexey Bezgodov, like Kirill Kozhurin, cuts his hair in an ordinary hairdresser, remembering the rule: it’s decent for a man to wear short hair and not to shave her beard, a woman to let her hair grow. Also in the Fedoseevsky Charter, caps, caps, and berets are condemned. However, in the 20th century, caps and caps firmly entered the everyday life of the Old Believers ...

In society, there are more myths about the Old Believers than true information, and bearded men in blouses seem to be ethnographic exotic. This is partly why they fear publicity. Time erases a lot, but not the cultural code and mental traits of the ancestors. Therefore, my interlocutors are sure, the Old Believers will not disappear as long as their children and grandchildren are alive.

Source: Maria Bashmakova, Russkiy Mir magazine

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Kika (kichka) - an old Russian women's headdress with horns, a kind of warrior (magpie - without horns, kokoshnik - with a high front).

Horned kitty. Second half of the 19th century. Spassky district. Tambov province.

Kika was an open crown adorned with pearls, beads and other precious stones. Actually, not only the entire headdress, but also its lower part, which was made of glued canvas, was directly called kikoi. Since this part covered the hair, its other name was the volosnik. With the help of inserts made of hard materials, such as birch bark, the front part of the dress was shaped like horns, hooves or shoulder blades. A beaded nape was put on at the back, and an elegant magpie was worn on top.

F.G. Solntsev.

Previously, costumes carried a semantic load - drawings, patterns, interweaving of colors told about people's lives. Costumes - like cryptography, like hieroglyphs, carried encrypted information: what kind of person, where and where he goes, what class he belongs to, what he does. This is the surface layer of information. There was also a deep one: the mystery of birth, the mystery of being. This knowledge was passed down from pagan times from generation to generation, and served as amulets against evil spirits.

First of all, the horned kichka in the form of the moon showed the connection of a woman with the pagan Makosh, the Great Goddess of Fate, who, as the ancient Slavs believed, embodied all the power female energy. Female power under the sign of the Moon, male power under the sign of the Sun - this is how the Slavs understood the interaction of two energies - male and female. The most powerful property of Makosh was, according to the ancestors, the fact that it was she who determined the fate of a person. This is the Goddess of Fate, the Heavenly Spinner. Share and Nedolya help her. Wearing a kichka had not a utilitarian meaning, but a ritual one.

The headdress changed depending on the age and marital status of the woman. On the day of the wedding, after the ceremony, when the girl "turned" into a woman, the ceremony of "unweaving the braid" took place. The bridesmaids untwisted the braid for the bride. They divided their hair in half and braided two braids, stacking them with a whisk at the back of the head. The semantics of the rite shows that the girl found her soul mate and united with her for further procreation. They put on a low headdress (“kichka of a young woman”) with a barely outlined horn. After the birth of the first child, the young woman, having proved her fertility, put on a horned kichka or a high spade-shaped headdress. The longest horns were on the kichka of the oldest woman of the family. Over time, this tradition was lost and wedding suits acquired high "horns".

For the first time, "human" is mentioned in a document of 1328. Kika was an attribute of the attire of a newlywed and married woman, since, unlike the girl's "crown", she completely hid her hair. In this regard, kika began to be called the "crown of marriage." Kiki were worn mainly in Tula, Ryazan, Kaluga, Oryol and other southern provinces. Having arisen in one locality, existing in another, one or another type of female headdress retained the name of its homeland in the name: for example, “Kika Novgorod” or “Toropetsky heel”.

Kiki were made by craftswomen, as a rule, for a long time; bought as a gift from husbands to wives, they were kept with special care in all houses. The soft top of the kiki was sewn exactly to the head of her mistress; a hard top of various shapes and volumes was attached to the crown. In some places, the same birch bark was used for kicking, in others - "cardboard" glued in several layers of canvas and paper. All this "construction" was covered with a large piece of dense matter, which was sewn together at the back. Sometimes the fabric was thrown over the kiku not smoothly, but in the form of a scalloped assembly. Ahead, on the forehead, the kika was decorated with intricately woven lace, patterned galloon, mother-of-pearl dice from river shells, colored faceted glass, and beads. If embroidery was used in the decoration, then most often it was a floral ornament or stylized birds. Any kick was complemented by a pearl fringe or a net of pearls and mother-of-pearl beads - “underneath” or “ochelie”.

Maksimov Vasily Maksimovich Russian peasant woman. 1896

“In some backwoods, even at the present time, one can see among peasants and townswomen a headdress that looks like an inverted box. Sometimes it is with horns, made of lubok or glued canvas, covered with braid or fabric of bright color, decorated with various embroideries and beads. I even saw kiks decorated with expensive stones among rich women, ”the ethnographer and historian P. Savvaitov, an expert on Russian life, described kiku in this way.

Nekrasov Cossacks and Cossacks. In the center is a woman in a horned kichka.

In the 19th century, the wearing of kiki began to be persecuted by the Orthodox clergy - peasant women were required to wear a kokoshnik. Documents have been preserved, from which it follows that the priests were strictly ordered not to allow a woman in a kike not only to receive communion, but also to church. The ban was in effect for a very long time until the end of the 19th century. In this regard, by the beginning of the 20th century, wearing a headdress was almost universally replaced by a warrior or a scarf, while kiku could only occasionally be found in the southern regions of Russia. In the Voronezh region, the kichka was preserved as a wedding dress until the 1950s.

Wikipedia, article by N. Pushkareva, book by L.V. Karshinova "Russian folk costume".

In the 20s - 30s. 20th century in the Northern, and then in the Central, Southern and South-Eastern parts of the Altai District, the processes of further transformation of headgear proceeded intensively. Among Kerzhach and Siberian women, the headband in sashmurs and warriors became quite narrow, and sometimes it was only a quilted strip of 2-3 layers of fabric. Caps embroidered with lace, beads, sequins, which were attached to the head with hairpins, spread (hence tattoos). They were sewn from a piece of oval-shaped fabric, gathered on a straight strip, a cloth flagellum-rib was inserted into the seam of the connection. Tattoos were worn without a headscarf by young women on holidays and on occasion of attending a wedding (Fig. 89, 90). As already noted, there were also dresses simplified for a given area - from one or two purchased scarves tied around the head, which, at the same time, were folded diagonally from corner to corner.

Girls and divorced women who wore only one headscarf tied a knot under their chin. married women when performing work, like the girls, they put on one scarf, but tied it in a knot at the back of the head; in a festive and ritual costume they wore two scarves, the lower of which was tied at the back of the head, and the upper in front, under the chin.

The "Poles" of the Southern and Central Altai in the late XIX - early XX centuries. under the influence of kerzhachek, "horned" kichki were replaced by sashmurs, which by the 20s and 30s. 20th century firmly occupied a place in everyday costume. But, however, headwear made of two scarves, tattoos, even by the 30s. were not widely used here, and in some places the descendants of the "Polish women" did not wear them even at a later time. Even to this day, elderly women live in various regions of the Upper Ob region, on whose heads you can see sashmurs with narrow hoops, and in chests you can find kichki.

Literature for the chapter "Women's clothing". Shirts.

1. Fursova E.F. Polik shirts of peasant women of the Southern Altai in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. // Cultural and everyday processes among the Russians of Siberia in the XVIII - early XX centuries - Novosibirsk, 1985. - P. 199.

2. She is. Women's funeral clothes among the Russian population of Altai // Traditions and innovations in the life and culture of the peoples of Siberia. - Novosibirsk, 1983. - P. 73 - 87.

3. Sobolev M.N. Russian Altai. From a trip to Altai in 1895 // Geography.- 1896.- T. III.- Book. Ill-IV.-S. 60; Novoselov A.E. Among the Old Believers of Altai // Belovodie.- Irkutsk, 1981.- P. 394.

4. Grinkova N.P. Single-dvor clothing of the Korotoyaksky district of the Voronezh province (From the materials of the South-Eastern expedition of the GAIMK) // Izv. Leningrad state. ped. in-ta im. A.I. Herzen.- 1928.-Iss. I. - S. 152.

5. AGO, r. 27, o. 1, N 18, l. 132; Chizhikova L.N. Traditional women's clothing Russians based on materials from the Nizhnedevitsky district of the Voronezh region // PIIE. 1980 - 1981.- M., 1984.- S. 14; Bshetska V.Ukrashsk! shirts, tipi, involution and ornamentation // Materials for ethnologists and anthropologists Shevchenko at Lvov!

6. Shcherbik G.A. Collection of peasant clothing in the funds of the East Kazakhstan Museum of History and Local Lore // Cultural and everyday processes among Russians in Siberia in the 18th - early 20th centuries - Novosibirsk, 1985. - P. 219.