What could be learned about a Russian woman by her headscarf

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Today, kerchiefs and shawls have become fashionable again. Women are happy to use this accessory without thinking about how they used to wear it. A scarf is tied so that it is comfortable and beautiful. Someone makes a bandana out of it, someone likes to tie a scarf under the chin. But before in Russia, this headdress could be used to learn a lot about a woman - from her marital status to social status.

Where did the custom of wearing headscarves come from and where does the hair come from?

Popular beliefs said that the true feminine power is hidden in the hair. A woman who walked with her head uncovered could be called a witch and tried to bypass. After all, she could jinx and damage. And ordinary peasant women should have covered their hair so that evil spirits could not harm them through them. So women walked in kerchiefs and kerchiefs, carefully hiding their braids.

These accessories were tied in different ways. For example, in the Krivichi tribe, which lived in the 8-10th century at the source of the Volga, women crossed the tails of the headscarf under the chin and tightened them in a knot on their heads. Researchers believe that this method helped the ladies hide from the draft and cold. Protecting themselves from the weather, women wore an ubrus - a scarf made of linen decorated with embroidery, which was pinned under the chin.

After the advent of Christianity, the tradition of wearing a headscarf became even stronger, since a simple-haired woman did not have the right to enter the church.

For edging, stitching, in a woman's way, for a girl's or as Russian women tied headscarves

There were different ways to wear a scarf or headscarf, but the main ones can be distinguished.

On the hem. The same option as with the trim - the kerchief was attached under the chin with a pin. This method was used by women living in Arkhangelsk, Vladimir, Kostroma and other provinces, most often from Old Believer families. It was called "to wear like the Mother of God." Residents of the Volga region also often wore kerchiefs for the edging, although they had nothing to do with the Old Believers.

Sadly. In fact, no one tied the kerchief here, it was simply thrown over the head, crossing the ends on the chest. In this form, city dwellers walked in the 17th century. In addition, a saddle headscarf was an attribute of brides and deceased women during ceremonies.

Like a merchant. In this case, the ends of the scarf should have been tied with the forehead. They tried to make the knot beautiful, neat, so that it resembled a flower. Two goals were pursued here - to tie a handkerchief comfortably and tightly and get additional decoration. The merchants usually used just such a combined version.

In a woman's way. The method in which the tails of the headscarf crossed under the chin, and then tightened from behind, was used by married women. By this they emphasized the social status: a woman with her husband, the keeper of the hearth, a family lady.

Girlish. The girls tied a scarf with a knot under their chins. This option was very popular in the first half of the 20th century. In almost all provinces, this is how young girls and maidens of marriageable age wore headscarves.

What the kerchief could tell about the family and social status

When a woman belonged to a high social stratum, she always tried to remind about it. And the way of tying a scarf too - about the merchants who made a knot on the forehead, it was said above. In addition, the handkerchief had to be made of expensive silk, so that it was clear for sure that "I am not an ordinary woman, but a well-to-do woman and not some kind of peasant woman for you."

The noblewomen did their best to imitate the representatives of ancient culture, like their "colleagues" in fashion from Western Europe. Often, aristocrats studied fashion magazines from France, preferring expensive shawls, as well as light openwork knit or lace scarves. Just as the famous inhabitants of Rome or Ancient Greece wore pelos (dense fabric with a national ornament) in a saddle, so Russian noblewomen put on their headscarves.

According to some ethnographers, in the 19th century, on weekdays, many peasant girls did not wear headscarves on weekdays, but only wore them on holidays and weekends, usually when visiting church. By the way, the back of the head and the top of the head remained open for potential brides. This was a signal for the suitors, saying “this is a maiden of marriageable age, rather get married before someone else called her to marry”. Peasant girls did not hide their beautiful braids, but married women had to hide their luxurious hair from those around them.

Where do you work, on a collective farm or in a factory?

The 20th century has come, and in addition to the division of women according to social status and marital status, another criterion has appeared: place of work.

By the way the kerchief was tied, you understood who was in front of you - a factory worker or a collective farmer. The latter most often tied a scarf under the chin, which made it possible to hide from the wind and cold. Factory workers, standing at conveyors and behind machines, hid their hair under a headscarf, which they tied at the back. This was required by elementary safety techniques: it was impossible to allow the hair or the scarf itself to get into the working machine. This threatened equipment breakdown and work-related injury.

At the present time, it would never occur to anyone to make sure that a married lady tied her headscarf correctly. The same is with social status - a student who bought it in the Second Hand store and a socialite who bought a scarf at an exhibition in Milan can flaunt a silk headscarf. No bans, no recommendations (except, of course, fashion trends, which some women follow, and some simply ignore). Rich and poor, married and free women wear headscarves as they please, making an exception only to attend the temple.

But this is with regard to the headscarf or headdress. Clothes, too, could tell a lot about a woman. Read how in Russia they drove girls into a pony, and What could be learned about a woman by her clothes.