Kyrgyz Costume
01 · Historical Records
The origins of Kirgiz costume can be traced back to the age of the epics. In the famous heroic epic Manas, which is more than a thousand years old, men wear a white felt hat, a camel-hair long coat, and leather boots, while women wear an ornate headdress and a long red skirt; these names are still in use today and can still be identified one by one in actual garments. In the earliest period, cloth was taken mainly from the hides, furs, and woolen products of livestock, and the three items — white felt hat, camel-hair long coat, and tall leather boots — were necessities of pastoral life; only later, when cotton cloth and satin arrived, did refined garments with embroidered borders and silver ornaments appear. Every step in the increasing refinement of the costume kept pace with the economic basis of pastoralism and with its beliefs.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Kirgiz have long dwelt among the high mountains of the Kunlun range and the Tianshan branch ranges, with the bulk of the population concentrated in the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In the famous thousand-year-old Kirgiz heroic epic Manas there are already descriptions of Kirgiz costume: men wear the white felt hat "kalpak", a camel-hair long coat "qiqmay chapan", and leather boots "chölök"; women wear an ornate "kälük" headdress and a long red skirt. In the earliest period, Kirgiz costume was made mainly from the hides, furs, and woolen cloth of livestock. Men's dress is mostly robe-like: usually a white round-collared shirt with embroidered borders, worn under a knee-length camel-hair overcoat, with tall boots "chölök" made of oxhide. Young men's trousers are narrow, slit up the outer side, with fine floral patterns embroidered on the coat fronts, lapel edges, cuffs, and trouser hems. Kirgiz men commonly wear the white felt hat "kalpak" made of wool felt. Women's dress consists mainly of skirts. Older women generally wear long-sleeved embroidered one-piece dresses with a standing collar; young women have a wider choice — some wear dresses with a gathered waist, some standing-collared long-sleeved dresses opening at the front, and others collarless sleeveless dresses opening at the front, the chest often adorned with embroidery and silver ornaments, with an embroidered sleeveless jacket or a "qiapa" long coat worn over the top. Unmarried women mostly wear pleated one-piece dresses. Kirgiz women's dresses generally have fairly wide sleeves, with the lower edge falling below the knee, while older women's skirts reach down to the ankle bone. The tall leather boots "chölök" that they wear on their feet are also often embroidered with patterns. As for headwear, unmarried women usually wear small round-topped red velvet caps; married women wear the cloth-wrapped hat "kälük", which is not only large and magnificent but also a finely made craft object, round with a flat top, full of stately grace; middle-aged and older women generally wear the round flat-topped embroidered hat "elechek" or drape the white headscarf "takya". Kirgiz women begin learning embroidery from childhood, and the craft is passed down from generation to generation by oral instruction and personal demonstration. Kirgiz costume is closely tied to pastoral life, religious belief, and folk custom; it embodies the artistic aesthetics, superb craftsmanship, and outstanding creative talent of the Kirgiz people, contains rich cultural depth, and holds considerable artistic, aesthetic, and socio-cultural value.
The white felt cap kalpak
Men wear a white felt cap of sheep’s wool; it must be dense without losing its shape, shielding wind and snow while the rider bends on horseback.
The camel-hair coat
Over the shirt is worn a camel-hair coat falling below the knee, its long resilient fibre blocking wind without weighing on the body.
The tall leather boots cholok
Tall boots of cowhide, often embroidered, bound high and loose at the top so snow cannot enter; the pattern sits where a rider’s eye falls.
The wrapped tall hat kailyik
Married women wear the kailyik, a large round flat-topped hat wound from a length of cloth, taking as much work as a gown and marking marriage.
The elder’s cap and white kerchief
Older women wear either the round flat-topped embroidered cap or the white headkerchief, the choice marking age and the time left for embroidery.
Skirts ranked by marriage and age
Women’s dress is skirted and graded by status: pleated for the unmarried, several cuts for the young with embroidered fronts and silver, and ankle-length for the old.
Learning embroidery from childhood
Girls learn embroidery from earliest childhood and pass it on orally and by demonstration; the quality of a garment depends directly on the skill of the hands that make it.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Kirgiz live mostly among the high mountains of the Kunlun range and the Tianshan branch ranges, with the population concentrated in the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In this region the costume is layered by season and occasion: men wear a camel-hair long coat year-round, paired with tall leather boots (chölök) and a white felt hat (kalpak) made of wool felt; women's dress is graded by marital status and by age — unmarried women wear pleated one-piece dresses and small round-topped red velvet caps, married women wear the round flat-topped cloth-wrapped hat (kälük), and middle-aged and older women wear embroidered flat-topped hats or drape white headscarves. Craft knowledge is mostly passed from mother to daughter, with sewing and embroidery learned from childhood; a single finished garment takes months of work.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Xarhan Kelimu (record of the associated inheritor's official file): Female; Kirgiz; born in March 1975; native of Wuqia County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. From childhood she learned to make Kirgiz costume from her maternal grandmother and her mother; through constant study and practice her skill grew ever more refined, and the traditional Kirgiz costume she produces is exquisite and magnificent — she is recognized locally as a master craftswoman. Over more than thirty years of practice she has collected large quantities of material and picture albums of her people's costume from different historical periods, drawing nourishment and creative inspiration from them. She has opened a workshop for making traditional Kirgiz costume; the traditional Kirgiz costume produced there is deeply loved by the public, carries considerable influence among her peers and the populace, and has won a number of awards. She is a representative inheritor of Kirgiz costume, a fifth national-level intangible cultural heritage item.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Xiaerhan Kelimu 05-3068
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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