Galina Goryaeva, Married Women's Dress

Abstract

Galina says that in the past the way that married women dressed was different to single women. A married woman’s dress consisted of terlg and tsegdg. Before their wedding, girls divided their hair into two plaits, put each plait in a special cover called a shivrlyk, and attached metal ornaments called tokug at the end of the plaits. Usually the tokug was made from silver, but the wealthy also used gold for this purpose. On the right side of their waist married women carried napkins in order to wipe sweat or their children or grandchildrens’ noses. On the left they carried small bags for money and candies for children etc. When women did household chores they took off their rings and put them in their waist bags. Galina shows a married woman’s hat. Traditionally, old women wore round-shaped hats with a red thread at the top. Their dress was called berz. People did not buy ready-made embroidery as is the case today. Girls were taught how to make ornaments at home. Also, on par with boys, girls rode horses, looked after livestock and helped their fathers. Before Tsagan Sar, there was a custom to take out new dresses and hang them up in the house.