How in Russia they drove girls into a pony, and What could be learned about a woman by her clothes

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

Today, not many people know what a poneva is. What is this strange word? But it denotes traditional women's clothing, which was worn by ancient Slavs. At the same time, by the way the woman was dressed, one could learn a lot about her. Read how they drove the girls into a pony, what were the wedding ponies, what the unfortunate centuries had to wear and who were strictly forbidden to wear this type of clothing.

What are ponies and how to distinguish a girl from a married woman by them

Poneva, a long peasant skirt made of several pieces of fabric, although it was a traditional element of a woman's costume, it should be worn according to the rules. In the studies of ethnographers, you can find references to the colors of these clothes. For example, red - for everyday wear, black or "nigella" - during sad life events, namely after the death of a close relative (this was called "great sadness"). The blue color symbolized sadness with "less sadness", that is, when the year-long mourning for the deceased ended. There was no strict fixing of colors, moreover, in different areas, they could mean different situations.

Different provinces had their own preferences. Near Smolensk, they wore ponytails, that is, those whose sides were open. Ryazan residents preferred corrugated models, and near Tambov and Oryol, so-called bags, ponevs, tucked into the belt were in use.

By the look of the pony, one could judge the age of its owner. For example, married women often sheathed the hem with woolen threads from the bottom, and satin ribbons were suitable for girls who were not yet married. But the most accurate indication was the pattern applied to the fabric. If a woman recently gave birth and at the same time she lived in the Voronezh province, then on her ponytail there was necessarily a drawing in the form of an "eagle's eye".

The women sewed clothes with their own hands and wore them very carefully. Often, ponies were inherited by a daughter or granddaughter. Young girls procured this type of clothing as a dowry. By the number of ponies, the wealth of the family was judged.

How the girls were "driven into a pony"

There were also restrictions, although they concerned very young girls - they did not wear a ponytail. They put on canvas shirts on future brides, and the belt was red. This continued until the girl reached puberty. And then they put a poneva on her, but not just like that, but in the process of a special ritual.

It was very interesting. When the name day came, the parents invited all the relatives to visit. The girl was put on a wide bench, on which she had to walk. The mother, on the other hand, moved in parallel with her daughter, holding an open poneva in her hands and at the same time urging her child to "jump" into clothes. According to tradition, the girl had to ignore these requests for a long time and stubbornly, but then quickly "jump" into the ponytail. Everything, the long-awaited moment came when she could be called to marry. Since this garment was a symbol of physical maturity, readiness to bear and give birth to a child. This ritual was called "to drive into a pony". The girl's brothers could replace the mother if they were older than her, but most often they still adhered to the first option. Researchers believe that this ceremony was not only symbolic, but also pursued practical goals: when a woman had critical days, a long and tight skirt hid possible incidents from prying eyes.

Wedding ponies - and if you please jump into them with a run

In Russia, girls rarely stayed up in girls and, having reached adulthood, quickly got married. There are many ethnographic studies that describe poneva as the bride's clothing. For example, Boris Kuftin notes that in some regions, girls were not allowed to wear such an outfit before the wedding. In other words, there were wedding ponies that were sewn specifically for this solemn event and were kept in a chest for the time being. It is interesting that they put it on in about the same way as during the rite of "pony-up". Only in this case, she was holding clothes in her hands and in every possible way persuaded the young to jump into it, not the mother of the bride, but her godmother. Then everything was as usual - the daughter-in-law walked up and down the bench, pretending that she was not going to fulfill the godmother's requests, and only pulling a good time jumped into the pony.

It happened that the girl willingly jumped into the snow, because after that she was solemnly led down the aisle. This happened when marriage was made for love. Unfortunately, such cases were not very common practice in Russia. Some villages had their own rules: a girl was married in her usual clothes, but she solemnly put on a new poneva only after the marriage was concluded.

And the age-old - an eternal shirt and a zapon

Not only little girls had to walk without a ponytail, in a shirt. This restriction extended to some stratum of the female population. To walk all life in a shirt, putting on a girl's skirt on top, which bears the name "hem" or a special apron (it was called a zapon) should have been vests. This was the name of women who did not marry. A sad rule, because in this way you could immediately understand what the status of the girl was. The age is already considerable, and she is dressed in a shirt - it is clear that in front of you is the so-called old maid.

The nuns were also strictly forbidden to wear a ponytail. This was the result of voluntarily giving up worldly clothing and taking a vow of celibacy. When a nun wore black clothes, it was tantamount to a symbolic imposition of a crown. The girl forever refused earthly carnal joys, from marriage. She did not marry, did not give birth to children. The nuns were called brides of Christ, they were other, not worldly women. Poneva, on the other hand, symbolized marriage and the birth of babies, therefore it was impossible for the modest and pious servants of the church to even think about her.

Well, bread has always been revered in Russia. AND it was strictly forbidden to do these things with him.