Mongolian Costume
01 · Historical Records
The Chahar tribe was born in the time of Genghis Khan and formally took shape in the early sixteenth century; its costume culture has continued to the present for more than five hundred years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Chahar costume blends the characteristics of Mongolian costume from various regions, and has formed a distinctive style of cut. Chahar costume encompasses several parts including the long robe, the waistcoat, the belt, the boots and the headdress, and uses materials such as kujin brocade, satin, Tan-sheep hide and lamb hide in its making. In the choice of colours, men's robes mostly use deep tones such as blue and grey, while women's robes prefer pale tones such as light blue and green. The costume as a whole is designed with a right-lapel closure, and the edges of the front placket, collar, sleeves and hem are all trimmed with bordering. Women's robes have side slits at the hips and are worn without a belt, being characterised by narrow sleeves, a cinched waist and a close fit; men's robes have a stand collar and long sleeves, with a cut that is loose under the arms and broad across the chest, a roomy front placket, and slits that lie flat. As for accessories, men commonly wear a tall-topped round cap or a fan-brimmed cap, with a waistcoat or magua (riding jacket) over the robe, and carry ornaments such as the Mongol knife and a pouch; married women put on a waistcoat, matched with decorations such as coral and jadeite. Chahar boots are divided into the small upturned-tip boot, the old soft boot and the fur-eye boot, made of fragrant ox hide; both the boot leg and the boot upper are decorated with patterns. The headdress is simple, exquisite and elegant: from either side of the forehead band hang temple-hair pendants, and on both sides there also hang "suihe" (pendants), at the ends of which are strung gold, silver and coral beads. The forehead band connects to a back-of-the-head net inlaid with pearls and agate; at the ends of the net's tassels hang small bells, which give out a clear, crisp sound when one walks. Chahar costume has widely absorbed the essence of the costume culture of the various Mongol tribes, forming a style in which elegance shows fully amid plainness and nobility is contained within simplicity. Its basic cut is dignified and natural, attending to detail without appearing cumbersome. Chahar costume is not only exquisite and beautiful, dignified and natural, but also practical and convenient, fully displaying the outstanding wisdom and powerful creativity of the Mongol people in costume culture.
Cutting the narrow-sleeved fitted women's robe
The women's robe is cut narrow at the waist with side slits and no sash; the men's is broad-chested with a wide front.
Three boot types, from upturned toe to furred seam
Chahar boots come as upturned-toe hide boots, soft old boots and fur-eyed boots, all patterned on shaft and vamp.
The brow band and the netted back piece
A brow band with side pendants links to a pearl and agate netted back piece whose tassels carry tiny bells that ring as the wearer walks.
Order of dressing for weddings and festivals
Married women add a vest and coral or jade ornaments over the robe, placing the headdress last in a fixed order.
Spread across the former eight-banner lands
The style circulates across the former Chahar eight-banner grazing lands, sharing silhouettes but differing in ornaments.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Today Chahar costume is transmitted mainly in the former territory of the eight Chahar banners — Zhenglan Banner, Zhengxiangbai Banner and Xianghuang Banner in the south of the Xilingol League, and the Chahar Right-Wing Banner of Ulanqab — in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; these Mongolian-inhabited areas have animal husbandry as their mainstay economy.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Mongolian Costume · Mongolian Costume · Mongolian Costume · Mongolian Costume.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Men's and women's costume take blue and green respectively as their base tones, symbolising heaven and earth; this reflects the Mongol people's national psychology of venerating nature and pursuing harmonious coexistence with heaven and earth, and contains considerable cultural value. In addition, the style of Chahar costume integrates the essence of the costume of the various Mongol tribes, and has also had a profound influence on the evolution of the Manchu qipao (banner gown), providing hard-to-come-by practical evidence for the study of Mongolian costume and the historical development of Manchu dress; it is also powerful testimony to the mutual cultural influence among the various ethnic groups, and has a certain historical value. Qimuge (official archive record of the associated inheritor): Female, of Mongolian ethnicity, born in August 1965, native of Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Influenced by her family, she showed considerable talent in tailoring from childhood. After graduating from junior middle school at the age of 16, she went to work at the Zhenglan Banner Ethnic Costume Factory. After retiring she founded the Mengyuan Jisong Ethnic Costume Shop in Zhenglan Banner, making traditional Chahar tribal costume and taking on apprentices to pass on her skills. At the same time, she communicated with the local education authorities and spread knowledge of traditional Chahar costume culture at the Zhenglan Banner Mongolian Primary School. Representative inheritor of the national-level intangible cultural heritage project Mongolian Costume, fifth national batch. Since 2004 she has taken part in competitions at the autonomous-region, league, city and banner levels, receiving recognition from expert judges and winning numerous awards.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Siqingbalamu 04-1981
- Mideke 04-1982
- Balagarima 05-3042
- Qimuge 05-3043
- Narenqiqige 05-3044
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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