Papakha Caucasian: customs and traditions. Who should not wear a hat. What you need to know about the hat Never took off the hat crossword puzzle 8 letters

For both the highlander and the Cossack, a hat is not just a hat. This is a matter of pride and honor. The hat cannot be dropped or lost; the Cossack votes for it in the circle. You can lose a hat only with your head.

Papakha is not just a hat

Neither in the Caucasus, where she comes from, nor among the Cossacks, a hat is considered an ordinary headdress, the task of which is only to keep warm. If you look at the sayings and proverbs about the hat, you can already understand a lot about its significance. In the Caucasus they say: “If the head is intact, it should have a hat on it”, “The hat is worn not for warmth, but for honor”, “If you have no one to consult with, consult with a hat”.

The Cossacks have a saying that the two most important things for a Cossack are a saber and a hat. Removing a hat is allowed only in special cases. In the Caucasus - almost never.

You can’t take off your hat when someone is asked for something, the only exception is when they ask for forgiveness of blood feud. The specificity of the hat is that it does not allow you to walk with your head down. It is as if she "educates" a person herself, forcing him "not to bend his back."

In Dagestan, there was also a tradition to make an offer with the help of a hat. When a young man wanted to marry, but was afraid to do it openly, he could throw a hat out the girl's window. If the hat did not fly back for a long time, then the young man could count on a favorable outcome.

It was considered a serious insult to knock a hat off your head. If, in the heat of a dispute, one of the opponents threw a hat on the ground, then this meant that he was ready to stand until his death. It was possible to lose a hat only with your head, which is why valuable things and even jewelry were often worn in hats.

Fun fact: the famous Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Gadzhibekov, going to the theater, bought two tickets: one for himself, the second for his hat. Makhmud Esambaev was the only deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR who was allowed to sit at meetings in a headdress.

They say that Leonid Brezhnev, looking around the hall before the performance, saw Esambaev's hat and said: "Makhmud is in place, we can start."

Types of papakh

Papakhas are different. They differ both in the type of fur and in the length of the pile. Also in different regiments there are different types of embroidery on the top of dads. Before the First World War, hats were most often sewn from the fur of a bear, a ram and a wolf, these types of fur best of all helped soften a saber blow. There were also ceremonial hats. For officers and cadets, they were sheathed with a silver galloon 1.2 centimeters wide.

Since 1915, it was allowed to use gray hats. Don, Astrakhan, Orenburg, Semirechensk, Siberian Cossack troops wore hats similar to a cone with short fur. It was possible to wear hats of any shades, except for white, and during the period of hostilities - black. Hats of bright colors were also banned.

The sergeants, sergeants and cadets had a white cruciform braid sewn on the top of the hat, and the officers, in addition to the braid, also had a galloon sewn on the device. Don hats - with a red top and a cross embroidered on it, symbolizing the Orthodox faith. The Kuban Cossacks also have a scarlet top. Terek has blue. In the Trans-Baikal, Ussuri, Ural, Amur, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk parts, they wore black hats made of sheep's wool, but exclusively with a long pile.

Papakha is a symbol of honor. Since ancient times, the Chechens have revered the headdress - both female and male. A Chechen's hat - a symbol of honor and dignity - is part of the costume. “If the head is intact, it should have a hat”; “If you have no one to consult with, consult with a hat” - these and similar proverbs and sayings emphasize the importance and obligation of a hat for a man. With the exception of the hood, hats were not removed indoors either. When traveling to the city and to important, responsible events, as a rule, they put on a new, festive hat. Since the hat has always been one of the main items of men's clothing, young people sought to acquire beautiful, festive hats. They were very cherished, kept, wrapped in pure matter. Knocking someone's hat off was considered an unprecedented insult. A person could take off his hat, leave it somewhere and leave for a while. And even in such cases, no one had the right to touch her, realizing that he would deal with her master. If a Chechen took off his hat in a dispute or quarrel and hit it on the ground, this meant that he was ready to do anything, to the end. It is known that among the Chechens, a woman who took off and threw her scarf at the feet of those fighting to the death could stop the fight. Men, on the contrary, cannot take off their hats even in such a situation. When a man asks someone for something and takes off his hat at the same time, then this is considered baseness, worthy of a slave. In Chechen traditions, there is only one exception to this: a hat can be removed only when they ask for forgiveness of blood feuds. Mahmud Esambaev knew the price of a papakha well and in the most unusual situations made him reckon with Chechen traditions and customs. He, traveling all over the world and being accepted in the highest circles of many states, did not take off his hat to anyone. Mahmoud never, under any circumstances, took off the world-famous hat, which he himself called the crown. Esambaev was the only deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR who sat in a hat at all sessions of the highest authority of the Union. Eyewitnesses say that the head of the Supreme Council L. Brezhnev, before the start of the work of this body, carefully looked into the hall, and, seeing a familiar hat, said: "Mahmud is in place, you can start." M. A. Esambaev, Hero of Socialist Labor, People's Artist of the USSR. Sharing with the readers of his book “My Dagestan” about the features of Avar etiquette and how important it is for everything and everyone to have their own individuality, originality and originality, the national poet of Dagestan Rasul Gamzatov emphasized: “There is a world-famous artist Makhmud Esambaev in the North Caucasus. He dances the dances of different nations. But he wears and never takes off his Chechen cap. Let the motives of my poems be varied, but let them go in a mountain hat.

Papakha (from Turkic papakh), the name of a male fur headdress common among the peoples of the Caucasus. The shape is varied: hemispherical, with a flat bottom, etc. The Russian papakha is a high (rarely low) cylindrical hat made of fur with a cloth bottom. In the Russian army from the middle of the 19th century. The papakha was the headdress of the troops of the Caucasian Corps and all Cossack troops, since 1875 - also of the units stationed in Siberia, and since 1913 - the winter headdress of the entire army. In the Soviet Army, colonels, generals and marshals wear a papakha in winter.

Highlanders never take off their hats. The Qur'an prescribes to cover the head. But not only and not so much believers, but also "secular" Muslims and atheists treated the papakha with special respect. This is an older, non-religious tradition. From an early age in the Caucasus, it was not allowed to touch the boy's head, even paternal strokes were not allowed. Even hats were not allowed to be touched by anyone except the owner or with his permission. The very wearing of the attire from childhood developed a special stature and demeanor, did not allow bowing the head, let alone bowing. The dignity of a man, they believe in the Caucasus, is still not in trousers, but in a hat.

The papakha was worn all day long, the old people did not part with it even in hot weather. Arriving home, they filmed it theatrically, certainly carefully clasping it with their hands on the sides, and carefully laying it on a flat surface. Putting it on, the owner brushes off the speck with his fingertips, cheerfully ruffles it, placing his clenched fists inside, “fluffs it up” and only then pushes it from his forehead to his head, holding the back of the headgear with his index and thumb fingers. All this emphasized the mythologized status of the hat, and in the mundane sense of the action, it simply increased the service life of the hat. He wore out less. After all, fur is hatched first of all where it comes into contact. Therefore, they touched the upper back with their hands - the bald patches are not in sight. In the Middle Ages, travelers in Dagestan and Chechnya observed a picture that was strange for them. There is a poor highlander in a worn-out and more than once repaired Circassian coat, trampled chariks on his bare feet with straw inside instead of socks, but on his proudly planted head he flaunts, like a stranger, a big shaggy hat.

Papakha was interestingly used by lovers. In some Dagestan villages there is a romantic custom. A timid young man in the conditions of harsh mountain morality, seizing the moment so that no one sees him, throws a hat into the window of his chosen one. With hope for reciprocity. If the hat does not fly back, you can send matchmakers: the girl agrees.

Of course, the careful attitude concerned, first of all, dear astrakhan dads. A hundred years ago, only wealthy people could afford them. Karakul was brought from Central Asia, as they would say today, from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. He was and still is dear. Only a special breed of sheep, or rather, three-month-old lambs, will do. Then the astrakhan fur on the babies, alas, straightens up.

It is not known who owns the palm in the manufacture of cloaks - history is silent about this, but the same story testifies that the best "Caucasian fur coats" were made and are still being made in Andi, a high-mountainous village in the Botlikh region of Dagestan. Two centuries ago, cloaks were taken to Tiflis, the capital of the Caucasian province. The simplicity and practicality of cloaks, unpretentious and easy to wear, have long made them the favorite clothing of both the shepherd and the prince. Rich and poor, regardless of faith and nationality, horsemen and Cossacks ordered cloaks and bought them in Derbent, Baku, Tiflis, Stavropol, Essentuki.

There are many legends and legends associated with burkas. And even more ordinary everyday stories. How to kidnap a bride without a burqa, how to protect yourself from a stabbing blow from a dagger or a chopping swing of a saber? On a cloak, as on a shield, they carried the fallen or wounded from the battlefield. A wide "hem" covered both themselves and the horse from the sultry mountain sun and dank rain on long hikes. Wrapped up in a cloak and pulling a shaggy sheepskin coat over your head, you can sleep right in the rain on a mountainside or in an open field: water will not get inside. During the years of the Civil War, the Cossacks and Red Army soldiers were "treated with a cloak": they covered themselves and the horse with a warm "fur coat", or even two, and let their fighting friend gallop. After several kilometers of such a race, the rider was steamed, as in a bathhouse. And the leader of the peoples, Comrade Stalin, who was suspicious of medicines and did not trust doctors, more than once boasted to his comrades of the “Caucasian” method he had invented to drive out a cold: “You drink a few cups of hot tea, dress warmer, cover yourself with a cloak and hat and go to bed. In the morning - like glass."

Today, cloaks have become almost decorative, leaving everyday life. But until now, in some villages of Dagestan, the elderly, unlike the "windy" youth, do not allow themselves to deviate from customs and come to any celebration or, conversely, a funeral without a cloak. And shepherds prefer traditional clothes, despite the fact that today mountaineers are better warmed in winter by down jackets, "Alaskas" and "Canadians".

Three years ago, in the village of Rakhata, Botlikh region, an artel for the production of buroks was working, where the famous "Andiyka" were made. The state decided to unite the craftswomen into one household, despite the fact that all the production of cloaks is exclusively handmade. During the war, in August 1999, the Rakhat artel was bombed. It is a pity that the unique museum opened at the artel is the only one of its kind: the exhibits are mostly destroyed. For more than three years, the director of the artel, Sakinat Razhandibirova, has been trying to find funds to restore the workshop.

Local residents are skeptical about the possibility of restoring the enterprise for the production of buroks. Even in the best years, when the state acted as the customer and buyer, women made cloaks at home. And today, cloaks are made only by order - mainly for dance ensembles and for souvenirs for distinguished guests. Burki, like Mikrakh carpets, Kubachi daggers, Kharbuk pistols, Balkhar jugs, Kizlyar cognacs, are the hallmarks of the Land of Mountains. Caucasian fur coats were presented to Fidel Castro and Secretary General of the Communist Party of Canada William Kashtan, cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolaev and Sergei Stepashin, Viktor Chernomyrdin and Viktor Kazantsev ... It's probably easier to say who among those who visited Dagestan did not try it on.

Having finished her household chores, Zukhra Dzhavatkhanova from the village of Rakhata takes up her usual simple craft in a remote room: the work is dusty - it requires a separate room. For her and her family of three, this is a small, but still income. On the spot, the product costs from 700 to 1000 rubles, depending on the quality, in Makhachkala it is already twice as expensive, in Vladikavkaz - three times more. There are few buyers, so there is no need to talk about stable earnings. Well, if you can sell a couple a month. When a wholesale buyer "for ten or twenty pieces" comes to the village, usually a representative of one of the choreographic groups, he has to look into a dozen houses: every second household in the village rolls cloaks for sale.
"Three days and three women"

Known since ancient times, the technology for making buroks has not changed, except that it has become a little worse. Through simplification. Previously, a broom made of flax stalks was used to comb the wool, now they use iron combs, and they tear the wool. The rules for making a burqa are reminiscent of a gourmet recipe with their strictness. Particular attention is paid to the quality of raw materials. The wool of the so-called mountain-Lezgin coarse-haired breed of sheep of autumn shearing is preferable - it is the longest. Lambs are also thin and tender. Black is a classic, basic color, but buyers, as a rule, order white, "gift-dance".

To make a burqa, as the Andians say, "it takes three days and three women." After the wool has been washed and combed on a hand loom, it is divided into long and short: for the manufacture of the upper and lower parts of the cloak, respectively. Wool is loosened with the most ordinary bow with a bowstring, put on a carpet, moistened with water, twisted and knocked down. The more times this procedure is done, the better - thinner, lighter and stronger - the canvas is obtained, i.e. knocked down, compacted wool. A good cloak, usually weighing about two or three kilograms, should stand upright without sagging when placed on the floor.

The canvas is simultaneously twisted, periodically combing. And so hundreds and hundreds of times over the course of several days. Hard work. The canvas is run in and beaten with hands, the skin on which turns red, covered with many small wounds, which eventually turn into one continuous callus.

So that the cloak does not let water through, it is boiled for half a day over low heat in special boilers, adding iron vitriol to the water. Then they are treated with casein glue so that “icicles” form on the wool: water will flow down them in the rain. To do this, several people hold a cloak soaked in glue above the water upside down "head" - just like a woman washes her long hair. And the final touches - the upper edges of the cloak are sewn together, forming shoulders, and the lining is hemmed, "so as not to wear out quickly."

The craft will never die, - Abdulla Ramazanov, head of the administration of the Botlikh region, is convinced. - But the cloaks will come out of everyday life - this is too hard. Recently, the Andians have had competitors in other Dagestan villages. Therefore, we have to look for new markets. We take into account the whims of customers: burkas have changed in size - they are made not only for men, but also for children. The production of tiny products that are put on bottles of champagne or cognac has become original - an exotic gift.

Burki can be made anywhere, the technology is simple, if only the raw materials were appropriate. And this can be problematic. The absence of the former mass demand and the termination of the state order for cloaks led to a decrease in the number of mountain-Lezgin coarse-wool sheep breeds. It becomes a rarity in the mountains. A few years ago, the republic was seriously talking about the threat of extinction of the breed. She is being replaced by a fat-tailed breed of sheep. From a three-year-old lamb of this breed, grown in alpine meadows, the best kebabs are obtained, the demand for which, unlike buroks, is increasing.

Cherke?ska(abh. ak?imzh?s; lezg. Chukha; cargo. ????; Ingush chokhi; kabard.-cherk. tsey; Karach.-Balk. chepken; Osset. tsukhha; arm. ?????; Chech. chokhib) - the Russian name for outerwear for men - a caftan, which was common in everyday life among many peoples of the Caucasus. The Circassian was worn by the Circassians (Circassians), Abazins, Abkhazians, Balkars, Armenians, Georgians, Ingush, Karachays, Ossetians, Chechens, peoples of Dagestan and others. Historically, the Terek and Kuban Cossacks borrowed the Circassian coat. At present, it has practically fallen out of use as everyday wear, but has retained its status as ceremonial, festive or folk.

The Circassian is probably of Turkic (Khazarian) origin. It was a common type of clothing among the Khazars, from which it was borrowed by other peoples inhabiting the Caucasus, including the Alans. The first image of the Circassian (or its prototype) is displayed on the Khazar silver dishes.

The Circassian coat is a single-breasted caftan without a collar. It is made from cloth of non-disguising dark colors: black, brown or gray. Usually slightly below the knees (to warm the rider's knees), the length may vary. It is cut at the waist, with gatherings and folds, girdled with a narrow belt, the belt buckle served as a flint for striking fire. Since everyone was a warrior, it was clothing for battle, it should not have hampered movements, so the sleeves were wide and short, and only for old people the sleeves were made long - warming the hands. A distinctive feature and a well-recognized element are gazyri (from the Turkic "khazyr" - "ready"), special pockets intercepted with braid for pencil cases, more often bone ones. In the pencil case was a measure of gunpowder and a bullet wrapped in a rag, cast for a particular gun. These pencil cases made it possible to load a flintlock or matchlock gun at full gallop. In the extreme pencil cases, located almost under the armpits, they kept dry chips for kindling. After the appearance of guns that ignite a charge of gunpowder with a primer, primers were stored. For the holidays they wore a longer and thinner Circassian coat.

The friendship between the legend of Soviet cinema Vladimir Zeldin and the famous dancer, the "magician of dance" Makhmud Esambaev lasted more than half a century. Their acquaintance began on the set of Ivan Pyryev’s film “The Pig and the Shepherd”, which became a film debut for both Zeldin and Esambaev.

Esambaev, who arrived in Moscow at the age of 17, worked part-time at Mosfilm. In Pyryev's picture, he got the role of a friend of the Dagestan shepherd Musaib, played by Zeldin. In the scene when Zeldin is walking along the alley of the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy and collides with Glasha, they are surrounded by highlanders, friends of Musaib. One of them was Mahmud Esambaev.

In one of his interviews, Vladimir Zeldin told how the director of the film, Ivan Pyryev, commanded all the time: “Keep your head down! Don't look at the movie camera!" It was he who turned to Mahmud, who now and then looked over his shoulder, trying to get into the frame. Everyone wanted to be noticed - a naive, funny, cheerful guy in a black Circassian coat, ”says Zeldin.

Once, during a break between filming, Zeldin sent young Esambaev for lemonade - the actor was tormented by thirst, and he himself had no time to run. Gave Mahmud 15 kopecks. He gladly ran to fulfill the order, but brought two bottles instead of one - as a true Caucasian showed respect. Thus began the friendship of two legendary people. Subsequently, when Esambaev became a great dancer, for the sake of a joke, he always recalled Zeldin the times when he “chased him for a bottle”, said that Zeldin owed him 15 kopecks ...

Zeldin has repeatedly emphasized that he always treated Caucasians with respect, he never hid that he had many Caucasian friends - Azerbaijanis, Georgians, Dagestanis, Chechens, etc. “Since my student years, I loved the Circassian coat, the hat, these boots, soft and sliding, and in general I sympathized with the peoples of the Caucasus,” Zeldin said. - I really like to play them, they are amazingly beautiful, unusually musical, plastic people. When I play, I feel this Caucasian spirit. I know their traditions quite well and I feel good, organically in their national clothes. Even the fans somehow gave me all this “Caucasian uniform”.

And once Mahmud Esambaev presented Zeldin with his famous silver cap, which he wore in public without taking off, and which became an inseparable part of the everyday image of its owner. If you know what this hat meant for Esambaev, you can say that he gave Zeldin a truly royal gift, tore it from his heart.

Why Esambaev never takes off his hat was the subject of endless jokes and conversations. And the answer is simple - such a tradition, mountain etiquette: a Caucasian man never bares his head. Zeldin noted in this regard that Mahmud was "an amazing guardian of the national culture."

Esambaev himself jokingly used to say that even a Caucasian man goes to bed in a hat. Mahmud Esambaev was the only person in the USSR who was allowed to take a passport photo in a traditional headdress. So strong was the respect for him. Esambaev never took off his hat in front of anyone - neither in front of presidents, nor in front of kings. And on his 70th birthday, Zeldina said that he was taking off his hat in front of his talent and presented it with the words that he was giving the most precious thing he had.

In response, Zeldin danced Esambaev's lezginka. And since then, the actor kept a gift from a dear friend, sometimes he wore it to concerts.

For a bright life, Zeldin received many gifts from famous people. He had a unique double-barreled shotgun with a dedicatory engraving from Marshal Zhukov, the painting “Don Quixote”, which Nikas Safronov painted especially for Zeldin, an icon from the Spanish La Mancha, all kinds of orders - three orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of Friendship, the Order of the Spanish King Juan II - for the one hundred and fiftieth performance of "The Man from La Mancha" in the year of the 400th anniversary of Cervantes. But the Esambaev hat has always remained the most expensive and sincere gift ...

Zeldin always considered Esambaev a great man. “Mahmud is a man sent to us by heaven. This is a man of legend. But this legend is real, the legend of the brightest deeds he showed. It's not just about generosity. It is a need to help do good. Pull a person out of the most incredible situations. The huge role of an example of existence and feeling of life. Mahmud is a great person because, despite his greatness, he saw a person, he could listen to him, help him, caress him with a word. This is a good man.

When he called me, without any preamble, he began to sing “The Song of Moscow”: “And in which direction I will not be, on whatever grass I will pass ...” He did not just come to the house - he burst in. He arranged a whole performance from his parish ... A handsome man (ideal figure, wasp waist, posture), he lived beautifully, turning his life into a picturesque show. He treated beautifully, courted beautifully, spoke, dressed beautifully. He sewed only at his tailor, he did not wear anything ready, not even shoes. And he always wore a hat.

Mahmud was pure nugget. I didn't study anywhere, I didn't even finish high school. But nature was the richest. Incredible ability to work and incredible ambition, the desire to become a master ... The halls at his performances were crowded, he was a huge success, both throughout the Union and abroad ... And he was an open person, of extraordinary kindness and breadth. He lived in two cities - in Moscow and in Grozny. He had a house in Chechnya, where his wife Nina and daughter lived ... When Mahmud came to Moscow, his two-room apartment on Presnensky Val, where we often came, was immediately filled with friends. And God knows how many people were placed there, there was nowhere to sit. And the owner met the newly arrived guests in some unthinkably luxurious dressing gown. And everyone immediately felt at home with him: politicians, pop and theater people, his fans. In any company, he became its center ... He could stir up everything around him and please everyone ... "

The last time Vladimir Zeldin appeared in a hat was at the celebration of the 869th anniversary of Moscow in September this year on City Day, the main theme of which was the Year of Cinema. This release was the final chord in the long-term friendship of the two legendary artists.

More recently, the hat was considered to be an integral accessory of the proud highlanders. On this occasion, they even said that this headdress should be on the head while it is on the shoulders. Caucasians put much more content into this concept than the usual hat, they even compare it with a wise adviser. The Caucasian papakha has its own history.

Who wears a hat?

Now rarely any of the representatives of the modern youth of the Caucasus appears in society in a hat. But even some decades before that, the Caucasian hat was associated with courage, dignity and honor. To come with an uncovered head to a Caucasian wedding as an invitee was regarded as an insulting attitude towards the guests of the celebration.

Once upon a time, the Caucasian hat was loved and respected by everyone - both old and young. Often one could find a whole arsenal of papahs, as they say, for all occasions: for example, some for everyday wear, others for a wedding option, and still others for mourning. As a result, the wardrobe consisted of at least ten different hats. The pattern of the Caucasian hat was the wife of every real highlander.

military headdress

In addition to horsemen, Cossacks also wore a hat. Among the military personnel of the Russian army, the papakha was one of the attributes of the military uniform of some branches of the military. It differed from the one worn by the Caucasians - a low fur hat, inside of which there was a fabric lining. In 1913, a low Caucasian hat became a headdress in the entire tsarist army.

In the Soviet army, according to the charter, only colonels, generals and marshals were supposed to wear a hat.

Customs of the Caucasian people

It would be naive to think that the Caucasian hat in the form in which everyone is used to seeing it has not changed over the centuries. In fact, the peak of its development and the greatest distribution falls on the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Before this period, the heads of Caucasians were covered with fabric caps. In general, there were several types of hats, which were made from the following materials:

felt;
the cloth;
combination of fur and fabric.

Little known is the fact that in the 18th century, for some time, both sexes wore almost identical headdresses. Cossack hat, Caucasian hat - these hats were valued and took pride of place in the wardrobe of men.

Fur hats gradually begin to dominate, replacing other types of this garment. Adygs, they are also Circassians, until the beginning of the 19th century wore felt hats. In addition, pointed hoods made of cloth were common. Turkish turbans also changed over time - now fur hats were wrapped with white narrow pieces of fabric.

The aksakals were kind to their hats, kept in almost sterile conditions, each of them was specially wrapped with a clean cloth.

Traditions associated with this headdress

The customs of the peoples of the Caucasian region obligated every man to know how to properly wear a hat, in what cases to wear one or another of them. There are many examples of the relationship between the Caucasian hat and folk traditions:

Checking if a girl really loves a guy: you should have tried to throw your hat out of her window. Caucasian dances also served as a way of expressing sincere feelings towards the fair sex.
The romance ended when someone knocked down a hat to someone. Such an act is considered offensive, it could provoke a serious incident with very unpleasant consequences for someone. The Caucasian papakha was respected, and it was impossible to just pick it off your head.
A person could leave his hat somewhere due to forgetfulness, but God forbid someone touches it!
During the argument, the temperamental Caucasian took off his hat from his head, and heatedly threw it beside him on the ground. This could only mean that the man is convinced that he is right and is ready to answer for his words!
Almost the only and very effective act that can stop the bloody battle of hot horsemen is a scarf of some beauty thrown at their feet.
Whatever a man asks for, nothing should force him to take off his hat. An exceptional case is to forgive blood feud.

Caucasian hat today

The tradition of wearing a Caucasian hat fades into oblivion over the years. Now you have to go to some mountain village to make sure that it is still completely not forgotten. Maybe you'll be lucky to see it on the head of a local young man who decided to show off.

And among the Soviet intelligentsia there were representatives of the Caucasian peoples who honored the traditions and customs of their fathers and grandfathers. A striking example is the Chechen Makhmud Esambaev, People's Artist of the USSR, famous choreographer, choreographer and actor. Wherever he was, even at receptions with the leaders of the country, a proud Caucasian was seen in his hat-crown. There is either a true story or a legend that allegedly General Secretary L. I. Brezhnev began a meeting of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR only after he found Mahmud's hat among the delegates.

You can have different attitudes towards wearing a Caucasian hat. But, without a doubt, the following truth must remain unshakable. This headdress of the peoples is closely connected with the history of the proud Caucasians, the traditions and customs of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, which every contemporary must sacredly honor and respect! The Caucasian hat in the Caucasus is more than a headdress!

Annotation: the genesis, evolution of the hat, its cut, ways and manner of wearing, the cult and ethical culture of the Chechens and Ingush are described.

Usually the Vainakhs have questions about when did the hat appear in the everyday life of the highlanders and how. My father Mokhmad-Khadzhi from the village. Elistanji told me a legend that he heard in his youth, connected with this headdress revered by the people and the reason for its cult.

Once, back in the 7th century, Chechens who wished to convert to Islam went on foot to the holy city of Mecca and met there with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) so that he would bless them for a new faith - Islam. The Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), extremely surprised and saddened by the sight of the wanderers, and especially by his broken, bloody from a long journey legs, gave them astrakhan skins so that they wrapped their legs with them for the way back. Having accepted the gift, the Chechens decided that it was unworthy to wrap their legs in such beautiful skins, and even accepted from such a great man as Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). Of these, they decided to sew high hats that need to be worn with pride and dignity. Since then, this type of honorary beautiful headdress has been worn by the Vainakhs with special reverence.

People say: “On a highlander, two elements of clothing should attract special attention - a headdress and shoes. The papakha should be of perfect cut, as a person who respects you looks into your face and accordingly sees a headdress. An insincere person usually looks at your feet, so shoes should be of high quality and polished to a shine.

The most important and prestigious part of the complex of men's clothing was a hat in all its forms that existed in the Caucasus. Many Chechen and Ingush jokes, folk games, wedding and funeral customs are associated with a hat. The headdress at all times was the most necessary and most stable element of the mountain costume. He was a symbol of masculinity and the dignity of a highlander was judged by his headdress. This is evidenced by various proverbs and sayings inherent in the Chechens and Ingush, recorded by us in the course of field work. “A man should take care of two things - a hat and a name. Papakha will be saved by the one who has a smart head on his shoulders, and the name will be saved by the one whose heart burns with fire in his chest. "If you have no one to consult with, consult with your father." But they also said this: "It is not always a magnificent hat that adorns a smart head." “A hat is worn not for warmth, but for honor,” the old people used to say. And therefore, the Vainakh had to have the best hat, they did not spare money for a hat, and a self-respecting man appeared in public in a hat. She wore it everywhere. It was not customary to take it off even at a party or indoors, whether it was cold or hot there, and also to transfer it to be worn by another person.

When a man died, his things were supposed to be distributed to close relatives, but the headdresses of the deceased were not presented to anyone - they were worn in the family if there were sons and brothers, if they were not, they were presented to the most respected man of their taip. Following that custom, I wear my late father's hat. They got used to the hat from childhood. I would like to especially note that for the Vainakhs there was no more valuable gift than a hat.

Chechens and Ingush traditionally shaved their heads, which also contributed to the custom of constantly wearing a headdress. And women, according to adat, do not have the right to wear (put on) a man's headdress, except for a felt hat worn during agricultural work in the field. There is also a sign among the people that a sister cannot put on her brother's hat, since in this case the brother may lose his happiness.

According to our field material, no item of clothing had as many varieties as a headdress. It had not only utilitarian, but often sacred meaning. A similar attitude to the cap arose in the Caucasus in antiquity and persists in our time.

According to field ethnographic materials, the Vainakhs have the following types of hats: khakhan, mesal kui - a fur hat, holkhazan, suram kui - astrakhan hat, zhaulnan kui - a shepherd's hat. The Chechens and Kists called the cap - Kui, the Ingush - cue, the Georgians - kudi. According to Iv. Javakhishvili, Georgian kudi (hat) and Persian hud are the same word, which means a helmet, i.e. an iron hat. This term also meant hats in ancient Persia, he notes.

There is another opinion that Chech. kui is borrowed from the Georgian language. We do not share this point of view.

We agree with A.D. Vagapov, who writes that forge a “hat”, obshchena. (*kau > *keu- // *kou-: Chech. dial. kuy, kudah kuy. Therefore, we use Indo-European material for comparison: *(s)keu- “to cover, cover”, Proto-German *kudhia, Iranian *xauda “hat, helmet”, Persian xoi, xod “helmet.” These facts indicate that the –d- we are interested in is most likely an expander of the root kuv- // kui-, as in Indo-E.* (s)neu- “twist”, *(s)noud- “twisted; knot”, Persian nei “reed”, the corresponding Chechen nui “broom”, nuyda “braided button.” So the question of borrowing Chech. kui from the Georgian language remains open.As for the name suram: suram-kui "astrakhan hat", its origin is unclear.

Possibly related to the Taj. sur "a variety of brown astrakhan with light golden ends of the hair." And further, this is how Vagapov explains the origin of the term kholkhaz “karakul” “Actually Chechen. In the first part - huol - "gray" (cham. hholu-), khal - "skin", oset. hal - "thin skin". In the second part - the basis - khaz, corresponding to lezg. khaz "fur", tab., tsakh. haz, udin. hez "fur", varnish. haz. "fitch". G. Klimov derives these forms from Azeri, in which haz also means fur (SKYA 149). However, the latter itself comes from the Iranian languages, cf., in particular, Persian. haz "ferret, ferret fur", Kurd. xez "fur, skin". Further, the geography of distribution of this basis is expanding at the expense of other Russian. hz "fur, leather" hoz "morocco", Rus. farm "tanned goat skin". But sur in the Chechen language means another army. So, we can assume that suram kui is a warrior's hat.

Like other peoples of the Caucasus, among the Chechens and Ingush, headdresses were typologically divided according to two characteristics - material and form. Hats of various shapes, made entirely of fur, belong to the first type, and to the second - hats with a fur band and a head made of cloth or velvet, both types of these hats are called hats.

On this occasion, E.N. Studenetskaya writes: “Sheep skins of different quality served as the material for the manufacture of papakh, and sometimes the skins of goats of a special breed. Warm winter hats, as well as shepherd's hats, were made from sheepskin with a long nap outward, often padded with sheepskin with trimmed wool. Such hats were warmer, better protected from rain and snow flowing from long fur. For a shepherd, a shaggy hat often served as a pillow.

Long-haired hats were also made from the skins of a special breed of rams with silky, long and curly hair or Angora goat skins. They were expensive and rare, they were considered ceremonial.

In general, for festive dads, they preferred small curly fur of young lambs (kurpei) or imported astrakhan fur. Astrakhan hats were called "Bukhara". Hats made from the fur of Kalmyk sheep were also valued. “He has five hats, all made of Kalmyk lamb, he wears them out, bowing to the guests.” This praise is not only hospitality, but also wealth.

In Chechnya, hats were made quite high, widened at the top, with a band protruding above a velvet or cloth bottom. In Ingushetia, the height of the hat is slightly lower than the Chechen one. This, apparently, is due to the influence of the cut of hats in neighboring Ossetia. According to the authors A.G. Bulatova, S. Sh. they are sewn from lambskin or astrakhan with a cloth top. All the peoples of Dagestan call this hat "Bukhara" (meaning that the astrakhan fur, from which it was mostly sewn, is brought from Central Asia). The head of such papakhas was made of brightly colored cloth or velvet. The papakha made of golden Bukhara astrakhan was especially appreciated.

Avars of Salatavia and Lezgins considered this hat to be Chechen, Kumyks and Dargins called it “Ossetian”, and Laks called it “Tsudahar” (probably because the masters - hatters were mainly Tsudakhari). Perhaps it entered Dagestan from the North Caucasus. Such a hat was a formal form of a headdress, it was worn more often by young people, who sometimes had several tires made of multi-colored fabric for the bottom and often changed them. Such a hat consisted, as it were, of two parts: a cloth cap quilted on cotton, sewn to the shape of the head, and attached to it from the outside (in the lower part) high (16-18 cm) and wide to the top (27 cm) fur band.

The Caucasian astrakhan hat with a band slightly expanded upwards (over time, its height gradually increased) was and remains the most favorite headdress of the Chechen and Ingush old people. They also wore a sheepskin hat, which the Russians called papakha. Its shape changed in different periods and had its own differences from the caps of other peoples.

From ancient times in Chechnya there was a cult of a headdress for both women and men. For example, a Chechen guarding some object could leave his hat and go home for lunch - no one touched it, because he understood that he would deal with the owner. To remove a hat from someone meant a deadly quarrel; if a highlander took off his hat and hit it on the ground, this meant that he was ready to do anything. “Tearing or knocking a hat off someone's head was considered a great insult, just like cutting off the sleeve of a woman's dress,” said my father Magomed-Khadzhi Garsaev.

If a person took off his hat and asked for something, it was considered indecent to refuse his request, but on the other hand, the person who applied in this way enjoyed a bad reputation among the people. “Kera kui bittina hilla tseran isa” - “They got it in their hands by beating their hats,” they said about such people.

Even during the fiery, expressive, fast dance, the Chechen was not supposed to drop his headdress. Another amazing custom of the Chechens associated with a headdress: the hat of its owner could replace it during a date with a girl. How? If a Chechen guy for some reason could not get on a date with a girl, he sent his close friend there, handing him his headdress. In this case, the hat reminded the girl of her beloved, she felt his presence, the conversation of a friend was perceived by her as a very pleasant conversation with her fiancé.

The Chechens had a hat and, in truth, still remains a symbol of honor, dignity or "cult".

This is confirmed by some tragic incidents from the life of the Vainakhs during their stay in exile in Central Asia. Prepared by the absurd information of the NKVD officers that the Chechens and Ingush deported to the territory of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan - horned cannibals, representatives of the local population, out of curiosity, tried to rip high hats from the special settlers and find the notorious horns under them. Such incidents ended with either a brutal fight or murder, because. The Vainakhs did not understand the actions of the Kazakhs and considered this an encroachment on their honor.

On this occasion, it is permissible to cite one tragic case for the Chechens. During the celebration of Eid al-Adha by Chechens in the city of Alga of Kazakhstan, the commandant of the city, a Kazakh by nationality, appeared at this event and began to make provocative speeches against Chechens: “Are you celebrating Bayram? Are you Muslims? Traitors, murderers. You have horns under your hats! Come on, show them to me! - and began to tear off the hats from the heads of respected elders. Dzhanaraliev Zhalavdi from Elistan tried to besiege him, warning that if he touched his headdress, he would be sacrificed in the name of Allah in honor of the holiday. Ignoring what was said, the commandant rushed to his hat, but was knocked down with a powerful blow of his fist. Then the unthinkable happened: driven to despair by the most humiliating action of the commandant for him, Zhalavdi stabbed him to death. For this he received 25 years in prison.

How many Chechens and Ingush were imprisoned then, trying to defend their dignity!

Today we all see how Chechen leaders of all ranks wear hats without taking them off, which symbolizes national honor and pride. Until the last day, the great dancer Makhmud Esambaev proudly wore a hat, and even now, passing the new third ring of the highway in Moscow, you can see a monument over his grave, where he is immortalized, of course, in his hat.

NOTES

1. Javakhishvili I.A. Materials for the history of the material culture of the Georgian people - Tbilisi, 1962. III - IV. S. 129.

2. Vagapov A.D. Etymological dictionary of the Chechen language // Lingua-universum - Nazran, 2009. P. 32.

3. Studenetskaya E.N. Clothes // Culture and life of the peoples of the North Caucasus - M., 1968. S. 113.

4. Bulatova, A.G.

5. Arsaliev Sh. M-Kh. Ethnopedagogics of the Chechens - M., 2007. P. 243.

Since ancient times, the Chechens had a cult of a headdress - both female and male. A Chechen's hat - a symbol of honor and dignity - is part of the costume. " If the head is intact, it should have a hat»; « If you have no one to consult with, consult with dad"- these and similar proverbs and sayings emphasize the importance and obligation of a hat for a man. With the exception of the hood, hats were not removed indoors either.

When traveling to the city and to important, responsible events, as a rule, they put on a new, festive hat. Since the hat has always been one of the main items of men's clothing, young people sought to acquire beautiful, festive hats. They were very cherished, kept, wrapped in pure matter.

Knocking someone's hat off was considered an unprecedented insult. A person could take off his hat, leave it somewhere and leave for a while. And even in such cases, no one had the right to touch her, realizing that he would deal with her master. If a Chechen took off his hat in a dispute or quarrel and hit it on the ground, this meant that he was ready to do anything, to the end.

Makhmud Esambaev, the great son of the Chechen people, a brilliant dancer, knew the price of a hat well and in the most unusual situations forced him to reckon with Chechen traditions and customs. He, traveling all over the world and being accepted in the highest circles of many states, did not take off his hat to anyone. Mahmoud never, under any circumstances, took off the world-famous hat, which he himself called the crown. Esambaev was the only deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR who sat in a hat at all sessions of the highest authority of the Union. Eyewitnesses say that the head of the Supreme Council, L. Brezhnev, before the start of the work of this body, carefully looked into the hall, and, seeing a familiar hat, said: “ Mahmoud is in place, you can start". M. A. Esambaev, Hero of Socialist Labor, People's Artist of the USSR, throughout his life, creativity carried a high name - the Chechen konakh (knight).

Sharing with the readers of his book “My Dagestan" about the peculiarities of Avar etiquette and how important it is for everything and everyone to have their own individuality, originality and originality, the national poet of Dagestan Rasul Gamzatov emphasized: “There is a world-famous artist Makhmud Esambaev in the North Caucasus. He dances the dances of different nations. But he wears and never takes off his Chechen cap. Let the motives of my poems be varied, but let them walk in a mountain hat.

Tatiana Skryagina
Outstanding people of the Kuban. Part 1

Evgenia Andreevna Zhigulenko

(1920 – 1994)

Flight commander of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (325th Night Bomber Aviation Division, 4th Air Army, 2nd Belorussian Front). Guard Lieutenant, Hero of the Soviet Union.

Evgenia Andreevna Zhigulenko was born on December 1, 1920 in Krasnodar in a working class family. She graduated from high school in the city of Tikhoretsk, Krasnodar Territory, studied at the airship building institute (hereinafter Moscow Aviation Technology Institute).

E. A. Zhigulenko graduated from the pilot school at the Moscow flying club. She was in the Red Army from October 1941. In 1942 she graduated from navigator courses at the Military Aviation Pilot School and advanced training courses for pilots.

She was on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War from May 1942, by November 1944 she made 773 night sorties, inflicted heavy damage on the enemy in manpower and equipment.

While still a schoolgirl, Zhenya decided to finish two classes in a year. I spent the whole summer studying textbooks and successfully passed the exams. From the seventh grade - immediately to the ninth! In the tenth grade, she wrote an application with a request to be enrolled as a student at the N. E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. She was told that women were not admitted to the academy.

Another would have calmed down and began to look for another occupation. But Zhenya Zhigulenko was not like that. She writes a hot, excited letter to the Commissar of Defense. And she receives an answer that the question of her admission to the academy will be considered if she receives a secondary aviation technical education.

Zhenya enters the Moscow Airship Institute, and at the same time graduates from the Central Aeroclub named after. V. P. Chkalov.

At the beginning of the war, Evgenia Andreevna made persistent attempts to get to the front, and her efforts were crowned with success. She begins service in the regiment, which later became the Taman Guards Red Banner Order of Suvorov Aviation Regiment of Night Bombers. The brave pilot spent three years at the front. Behind her shoulders were 968 sorties, after which enemy warehouses, convoys, and airfield facilities burned.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 23, 1945, Evgenia Andreevna Zhigulenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. She was awarded the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st class, and two Orders of the Red Star.

After the war, Evgenia Zhigulenko served ten more years in the Soviet Army, graduated from the Military-Political Academy, then worked in cultural institutions Kuban. The versatility of Yevgenia Andreevna's nature was manifested in the fact that she mastered another profession - a film director. Her first feature film "Night witches in the sky" dedicated to female pilots and navigators of the famous regiment.

Elena Choba

Kuban Cossack, under the name of Mikhail Choba, fought on the fronts of the First World War. She was awarded the St. George medals of the 3rd and 4th degrees, the St. George's Cross of the 4th degree.

About two centuries ago, in the Russian troops fighting against Napoleon's army, they started talking about the mysterious cornet Alexander Alexandrov. As it turned out later, the cavalry girl Durova served under this name in the Lithuanian Lancers Regiment. No matter how Nadezhda hid her belonging to the fair sex, the rumor that a woman was fighting in the army spread throughout Russia. The unusual nature of this incident worried everything for a long time. society: the young lady preferred the hardships of military life and mortal risk to reading sentimental novels. A century later Kuban Cossack of the village of Rogovskaya Elena Choba stood in front of the village society to petition for her sending to the front.

On July 19, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. When the news reached Yekaterinodar, an urgent mobilization of all parts and subdivisions - messengers went to remote villages. The conscripts, saying goodbye to peaceful life, saddled their horses. Gathered to the front and Rogovskoy Cossack Mikhail Choba. To equip a young Cossack in a cavalry regiment was difficult: you need to buy a horse, ammunition - the list of the complete Cossack right included more than 50 necessary things. The Choba spouses did not live well, so they sent the horseless Mikhail on a cart to the Plastunovsky regiment.

Elena Choba was left alone to work and run the household. But it is not in the Cossack character to sit quietly when the enemy came to their native land. Elena decided to go to the front, stand up for Russia and went to the respected residents in the village council. The Cossacks gave their permission.

After the stanitsa elders supported Elena's request to be sent to the front, she was to meet with the chief Kuban region. Elena came to an appointment with Lieutenant General Mikhail Pavlovich Babych with short hair, in a gray cloth Circassian coat and hat. After listening to the petitioner, the ataman gave permission to be sent to the army and, in a fatherly way, admonished the Cossack Mikhail (by this name she wished to be called).

And a few days later the train rushed Elena-Michael to the front. The magazine told about how the Rogov woman fought « Kuban Cossack Bulletin» : “In the heat of fire, under the incessant roar of cannons, under the incessant rain of machine-gun and rifle bullets, according to the testimony of comrades, our Mikhailo did his job without fear and reproach.

Looking at the young and fearless figure of their brave comrade-in-arms, his comrades indefatigably marched on the enemies ahead of Mikhail, not suspecting at all that Rogovskaya Cossack Elena Choba was hiding under the Circassian Cossack. During our withdrawal, when the enemy tried to forge one of our part and batteries, Elena Chobe managed to break through the enemy’s ring and save two of our batteries from death, which had absolutely no idea of the proximity of the Germans, and withdraw the batteries from the closing German ring without any damage on our part. For this heroic feat, Choba received the St. George Cross of the 4th degree.

For fights, Elena Choba has the 4th and 3rd degree St. George medals and the St. George Cross of the 4th degree. She refused the latter, leaving it with the regimental banner.

Further information about the fate of the famous Rogov woman is contradictory. Some saw Elena in the village in the Red Army Budenovka on her head, others heard that after the battle near the village of Slavyanskaya she was shot by whites, others said that she had emigrated.

Only many years later, some details of the life of the fighting heroine-Cossack became known. In 1999, in the Krasnodar Regional Museum-Reserve named after. E. D. Felitsyna opened an exhibition "Russian Fates". Among the exhibits was a photograph of an American theater troupe « Kuban horsemen» presented to the museum by a 90-year-old Cossack from Canada. The picture was taken in 1926 in the city of San Luis. In the front row in a white Circassian coat and hat is the legendary Cossack Elena Choba from Kuban village of Rogovskaya.

Anton Andreevich Golovaty

(1732 or 1744, Poltava province - 01/28/1797, Persia)

The whole history of the Cossacks Kuban Until the end of the 18th century, it was inextricably linked with the name of the military judge Anton Andreevich Golovaty. This is an outstanding, gifted, original personality.

Anton Golovaty was born in the town of Novye Sanzhary, Poltava province in 1732. (according to other sources, in 1744) in a wealthy Little Russian family. He studied at the Kyiv Theological Academy, but dreaming of military exploits, went to the Zaporozhian Sich. For courage, literacy and a lively mind of a young Cossack, the Cossacks christened him "Heady".

Being a cheerful, witty man, Golovaty served easily, quickly moving up in the service - from a simple Cossack to a smoking ataman. For his military exploits, he was awarded orders and letters of thanks from Catherine II.

But his main merit is that the delegation of the Black Sea Cossacks achieved the signing on June 30, 1792 of the manifesto on the allocation of land to the Black Sea on Taman and Kuban.

Anton Golovaty had an innate diplomatic talent, which was clearly reflected in his administrative and civil activities. After moving to Kuban, acting as ataman, Anton Andreevich supervised the construction of roads, bridges, post stations. In order to better manage the army, he introduced "Order of Common Benefit"- a law that establishes the permanent power of the rich elite in the army. He demarcated the villages of kurens, divided the Black Sea coast into five districts, and fortified the border.

Golovaty was also engaged in diplomatic negotiations with trans-Kuban Circassian princes who expressed a desire to accept Russian citizenship.

On February 26, 1796, Anton Golovaty led a thousandth detachment of Cossacks and joined them in "Persian Campaign", but suddenly fell ill with a fever and died on January 28, 1797.

Kirill Vasilievich Rossinsky

(1774–1825)

For a long time the name of this remarkable man was forgotten. He lived only 49 years, but how much good, eternal, reasonable he did! The priest's son, military archpriest Kirill Vasilievich Rossinsky came to Kuban June 19, 1803. This talented, educated man devoted his entire short life to a noble cause - the enlightenment of the Cossacks. Kirill Vasilievich in his sermons explained to believers about the benefits of education, about the significance of schools for the people. In 27 churches he opened in the region, he organized the collection of money for the construction of schools. For a long time, Kirill Vasilyevich himself taught at the Ekaterinodar School. There were no textbooks, so all the training was conducted according to the compiled Rossinsky "handwritten notebooks". Later, Kirill Vasilyevich wrote and published a textbook "Brief Spelling Rules", withstood two editions - in 1815 and 1818. Now these books are stored in a special fund of the Russian State Library as unique editions. Kirill Vasilievich Rossinsky gave a lot of spiritual strength and knowledge to literature and science, wrote poetry, historical and geographical essays. In Yekaterinodar, he was also known as a physician who hurried to the sick at any time and in any weather. His devotion to the cause, disinterestedness, kindness amazed his contemporaries.

In 1904, the library opened at the Dmitrievsky School by the Yekaterinodar charitable society was named after Rossinsky. In honor of Kuban Enlightener named one of the universities of Krasnodar - the Institute of International Law, Economics, Humanities and Management.

Mikhail Pavlovich Babych

Mikhail Pavlovich Babych, the son of one of the valiant conquering officers of the Western Caucasus - Pavel Denisovich Babych, about whose exploits and glory, the people composed songs. All paternal qualities were bestowed on Mikhail, who was born on July 22, 1844 in the family home of Yekaterinodar on Bursakovskaya Street, 1 (corner of Fortress). From a very early age, the boy was prepared for military service.

After successfully graduating from the Mikhailovsky Voronezh Cadet Corps and the Caucasian Training Company, young Babych began to gradually move up the military career ladder and receive military orders. In 1889 he was already a colonel. On February 3, 1908, a decree was issued appointing him, already in the rank of lieutenant general, as a chief ataman. Kuban Cossack army. With a hard hand and harsh measures, he restores order in Yekaterinodar, where at that time the revolutionary terrorists were rampant. Under the constant threat of death, Babych performed his responsible duty and strengthened his Kuban economics and morality. In a short time, he did a lot of general cultural, good deeds. Cossacks called ataman "Riddy Batko", since each Cossack personally felt his care, his zeal. The general cultural activity of M. Babych was appreciated not only by the Russian population. He was deeply respected by other peoples who lived on Kuban. It was only thanks to his care and efforts that the construction of the Black Sea Kuban railway, launched an attack on Kuban plavni.

On March 16, 1917, the official newspaper reported for the last time about the former Ataman Mikhail Pavlovich Babych. In August 1918, he was brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks in Pyatigorsk. The body of the long-suffering general was buried in the tomb of the Catherine's Cathedral.

Memory of a great patriot and guardian Kuban land M P. Babych, the last Chieftain, is alive in the hearts of the Russian people. On August 4, 1994, at the place where the family home of Ataman stood, the cultural fund Kuban Cossacks opened a memorial plaque (the work of A. Apollonov, perpetuating his memory.

Alexey Danilovich Bezkrovny

Among the hundreds of Russian names shining in the rays of military glory, the name of the valiant Ataman of the Black Sea Cossack army Alexei Danilovich Bezkrovny is attractive with special magnetism. He was born into a wealthy senior officer family. In 1800, fifteen years old

Aleksey Bezkrovny, brought up in the military traditions of his grandfather, signed up for the Cossacks and left his father's house - Shcherbinovsky kuren.

Already in the first skirmishes with the highlanders, the teenager showed amazing skill and fearlessness.

In 1811, during the formation of the Black Sea Guards Hundred, A. Bezkrovny, distinguished combat officer, who possessed extraordinary physical strength, had a penetrating mind and a noble soul, was enrolled in its original composition and honorably carried the title of guardsman through the entire Patriotic War of 1812-1814. For courage and bravery at the Battle of Borodino, Alexei Bezkrovny received the rank of centurion. During the retreat of Kutuzov's army from Mozhaisk to Moscow, the fearless Cossack fought off all attempts of the enemy to break forward for 4 hours. For this feat and other avant-garde military deeds, Bloodless was awarded a golden saber with the inscription "For Courage". The retreating enemy tried to burn the ships with bread, but the guards did not allow the French to destroy the grain. For his valor, Bezkrovny was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree with a bow. At the request of Platov, Bezkrovny with the Black Sea hundred was enrolled in his corps. With the light hand of M. I. Kutuzov himself, the Cossacks called him "commander without error".

On April 20, 1818, Alexei Danilovich received the rank of colonel for military merit. In 1821, he returned to his father's land and continues to serve in the detachment of another hero of the Patriotic War, General M. G. Vlasov. In May 1823, he was sent with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment to the border of the Kingdom of Poland, and then to Prussia. From the next campaign, A. D. Bezkrovny returned to Chernomorie only on March 21, 1827. And six months later (September 27) he, as the best and most talented military officer, by the Highest will is appointed military, and then the Chieftain.

In May - June 1828 A. D. Bezkrovny with his detachment involved in the siege of the Turkish fortress of Anapa under the command of Prince A. S. Menshikov. For the victory over the Turks and the fall of the impregnable fortress, A. Bezkrovny was promoted to the rank of major general and awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree. Then - for new exploits - the second golden saber, decorated with diamonds.

Two features were especially characteristic of Bloodless: rare courage in battles and deep humanity in civilian life.

In January 1829, Alexei Danilovich commanded one of the detachments directed against the Shapsugs. In 1930, the Cossack knight again participates in the fight against abreks, with the famous Kazbich himself, who threatened the Cossack city of Ekaterinodar. In the same year he built Kuban three fortifications: Ivanovsko-Shebskoe, Georgi-Afipskoe and Alekseevskoe (named after Alexei Bezkrovny himself).

The health of the famous ataman was undermined. His heroic odyssey is over. The appointment of A. D. Bezkrovny as Ataman of the Black Sea Cossack army caused envy in the circle of the tribal Cossack aristocracy. He, the hero of 1812, could fight and defeat the external enemies of the Fatherland. But he could not overcome the envious internal ones. Hounded by enemies, with an unhealed wound in his side, Bloodless lived in isolation in his Ekaterinodar estate. He gave 28 years of service to the Fatherland. Participated in 13 large military campaigns, 100 separate battles - and did not know a single defeat.

Alexei Danilovich died on July 9, 1833, on the day of the holy martyr Theodora, and was buried in the almshouse courtyard, at the first Cossack cemetery located here.

Viktor Gavrilovich Zakharchenko

I will happy if my songs will live among the people.

V. G. Zakharchenko

Composer, artistic director of the State Kuban Cossack Choir, Honored Art Worker and People's Artist of Russia, Honored Art Worker of Adygea, People's Artist of Ukraine, laureate of the State Prize of Russia, Professor, Hero of Labor Kuban, Academician of the International Academy of Information, Academician of the Russian Academy of Humanities, Dean of the Faculty of Traditional Culture of the Krasnodar State University of Culture and Art, Chairman of the Charitable Foundation for the Revival of Folk Culture Kuban"Origins", member of the Union of Composers of the Russian Federation, member of the Presidium of the Russian Choral Society and the All-Russian Musical Society.

The future composer lost his father early, he died in the first months of the Great Patriotic War. The memory of her mother, Natalya Alekseevna, remained in the smell of the bread she baked, in the taste of her homemade sweets. The family had six children. Mom always worked, and when she worked, she usually sang. These songs so naturally entered the children's life that over time they became a spiritual need. The boy listened to the wedding round dances, the game of local virtuoso accordionists.

In 1956, Viktor Gavrilovich entered the Krasnodar Music and Pedagogical School. After graduating from it, he became a student of the Novosibirsk State Conservatory. M. I. Glinka at the Faculty of Choral Conducting. Already in the 3rd year, V. G. Zakharchenko was invited to a high position - the chief conductor of the State Siberian Folk Choir. The next 10 years of work in this post is a whole era in the development of the future master.

1974 - a turning point in the fate of V. G. Zakharchenko. A talented musician and organizer becomes the artistic director of the State Kuban Cossack Choir. started happy and an inspired time for the creative upsurge of the team, the search for its original Kuban repertoire, creation of scientific-methodical and concert-organizational base. V. G. Zakharchenko - founder of the Center for Folk Culture Kuban, children's art school at Kuban Cossack choir. But his main brainchild is the State Kuban Cossack Choir. The choir has achieved a stunning result on many venues peace: in Australia, Yugoslavia, France, Greece, Czechoslovakia, America, Japan. Twice, in 1975 and 1984, he won the All-Russian competitions of the State Russian Folk Choirs. And in 1994 he received the highest title - academic, was awarded two State premiums: Russia - them. M. I. Glinka and Ukraine - them. T. G. Shevchenko.

Patriotic pathos, a sense of one's own participation in the life of the people, civil responsibility for the fate of the country - this is the main line of the composer's work of Viktor Zakharchenko.

In recent years, he has been expanding his musical and thematic range, the ideological and moral orientation of his work. The lines of poems by Pushkin, Tyutchev, Lermontov, Yesenin, Blok, Rubtsov sounded differently. The boundaries of the traditional song have already become narrower. Ballads-confessions, poems-reflections, songs-revelations are created. This is how the poems came about. "I will jump"(to poems by N. Rubtsov, "The Power of the Russian Spirit"(on the verses of G. Golovatov, new editions of the poem "Rus" (to lyrics by I. Nikitin).

The titles of his works speak for themselves. "Nabat"(to verses by V. Latynin, “You can’t understand Russia with the mind”(on verses by F. Tyutchev, "Help the weaker" (to verses by N. Kartashov).

V. G. Zakharchenko revived the traditions Kuban military singing choir, founded in 1811, including in its repertoire, in addition to folk and author's songs, Orthodox spiritual chants. With the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the State Kuban Cossack choir accepts participation in church worship. In Russia, this is the only team that has been awarded such a high honor.

Viktor Gavrilovich Zakharchenko - Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Traditional Culture of the Krasnodar State University of Culture and Art. He conducts extensive scientific research activities, he has collected over 30 thousand folk songs and traditional rites - a historical heritage Kuban village; collections of songs published Kuban Cossacks; hundreds of arrangements and folk songs have been recorded on gramophone records, CDs, and videos.

A lamb hat with a cloth top was called a klobuk among the ancient Slavs. Among the Caucasian peoples, she was called Trukhmenka or Kabardinka. White, black, high, low, round, conical... Different times - different styles. Among the Terek Cossacks, this hat was always called a papakha and was an important and obligatory part of the Cossack military right.

From fox and wolf
At different times, the Cossacks wore different styles of dads: from high ones with a cone-shaped top to low ones with a flat top. Donets and Cossacks in the 16th-17th centuries supplied hats with a cloth cuff that fell on its side in the form of a cone. It was possible to put a steel frame or a solid object into it to protect the head from saber and later checker strikes.
The main material from which the hat was sewn was kurpei - small and large curly fur of young lambs of coarse-haired breeds, usually black. Kurpei hats were worn by the vast majority of Cossacks. They also used astrakhan and broadtail.
Karakul are skins taken from lambs of the Karakul breed on the first or third day after the birth of the animal. Karakul is distinguished by a thick, elastic, silky hairline, forming curls of various shapes and sizes.
Karakulcha - skins of lambs (miscarriages and miscarriages) of Karakul sheep. It has a short, silky hairline with a moire pattern, adjacent to the mezra, without formed curls. Astrakhan and broadtail were brought mainly from Central Asia, and therefore wealthy Cossacks wore hats from this expensive material. These were holiday hats, they were also called "Bukhara".

As a rule, there were several dads: everyday, festive and for funerals. There was a special care system for them, they were kept clean, protected from moths, kept wrapped in clean cloth.
In a hot climate, a lamb hat was worn all year round. It perfectly protects the head from the thermal effects of sunlight, and from hypothermia in winter.
Hats made from the skins of a bear, a fox or a wolf were much less common. However, there were some. Putting on such a hat, a person showed all people his hunting abilities, luck and courage. However, despite the appearance, these hats were less practical. The hat made of bear fur was heavy, and under the influence of moisture it was completely unbearable, but it held back a saber blow well. The fox fur hat was thin, wore out quickly and practically ceased to protect the wearer from cold and heat. A hat made of wolf skins was unsuitable for hunters, because the animals from afar recognized the smell of a wolf and ran away. In addition, it was very difficult to find a wolf in the mountains. Sheep herds were guarded by dogs, and during skirmishes with wolves, they very much spoiled the wolf skin.

Symbol of Wisdom
Papakha was the most important part of the Cossack's right. “If the head is intact, it should have a hat on it”, “The hat is worn not for warmth, but for honor”, “If you have no one to consult with, ask the hat for advice” - these sayings were used by the Cossacks.
She was as much a talisman as the belt. Papakha is a symbol of the wisdom and full rights of the Cossack, his honor, masculinity and dignity. The Cossack took off his papakha only at prayers and at funerals. It is also necessary to remove it in a hut or other room where the icon hangs.

The loss of this main headdress by a Cossack was associated with imminent death. Remember the words from the song "Don Ballad":
Oh, the evil winds have blown
Yes, on the east side
And tore off the black hat
From my wild head.
If a Cossack's hat was knocked off his head, this was the biggest insult. And if he took off his hat and hit it on the ground, then this meant that he would stand his ground to the death.
Icons or protective prayers written by a child were often sewn into a hat. In some troops there was a tradition - to sew awards on this headdress. Usually these were plaques with inscriptions describing what services the regiment was awarded for, and this gave the cap a special moral value. Cossacks often placed orders or securities behind the lapel of this cap. It was the safest place, because you could only lose your hat with your head.

By statute
From about the middle of the 19th century, a hat began to be used as a headdress for all Cossack troops and for the Caucasian corps. The charter did not prescribe its uniform form. Cossack troops wore hats of various options, hemispherical, cylindrical, with a fur or cloth bottom, of different colors. Everyone wore a hat, chosen according to their financial capabilities and fantasies. All this wild diversity continued until the end of the 19th century, until the appearance of the hat, as part of military clothing, was described in detail in the charter. The Caucasian troops were ordered to wear hats 3-4 inches high, made of sheep's fur. The fur should be with a small pile length and always black. The top of the hat was made of cloth and dyed in military color. The Kuban Cossacks had scarlet, and the Terts had blue hats. The cloth top of the hat crosswise and along the circumference of the top (cuff) was sheathed with silver galloon for officers, and for ordinary Cossacks with a bason.
Galloon - gold or silver ribbon, patterned weaving, for finishing clothes and hats.
Bason - woolen braid in the form of a narrow ribbon, used to trim clothes and hats.
Each of the Cossacks leaving for service dreamed of returning home “with silver galloons on a hat”, that is, to reach the top.
The papakha of the Don Cossacks was the same as that of the Kuban. In the Trans-Baikal, Ussuri, Ural, Amur, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk parts, they wore black hats made of sheep's wool, but exclusively with a long pile. Here you can see borrowing from the Asian peoples, especially from the Turkmens. Turkmen hats of a hemispherical shape with long wool are widely used throughout the Central Asian region.
The top of the hat was made from four pieces of cloth and dyed in military color. White and gray hats were used as an element of everyday clothing. In the front area, in the center, a cockade of the St. George color was usually fastened - in the center there was a black oval, then an orange and again a black oval. The color of the cockade was the same for all types of troops. During World War I, cockades were often dyed camouflage to camouflage.
If the Cossack hundred had awards “for distinction”, then they were worn over the cockade. Most often, the insignia was a white or silver metal strip, on which they wrote the merits of hundreds, the date of the battle or other feat.
In 1913, throughout Russia, gray hats began to be used as a winter headdress for all military branches. Caucasian soldiers, with the loss of black dads, also wore gray ones.

Mods
Recommendations for the appearance of hats were often not followed. Often, the Cossacks, violating the prescriptions of the charter, based on their own tastes, ideas and fashionable "trends", sewed hats higher and more magnificent, as well as white ones. These "liberties" did not look bad taste. Everyone sewed a hat to order - the one that suited him and his uniform, combatant and particular. So the same passion for panache and the desire to look worthy were manifested.
However, for military service, hats, if possible, were sewn authorized.
By 1920, low hats of 12-15 cm, expanding upwards, the so-called "kubankas", began to come into fashion. One of the versions of the appearance of "Kubanka" says that these are modernized "Hungarians" that the Cossacks brought from the western front during the First World War.
After the victory of the Soviet government, military restrictions were introduced for the Cossacks, which did not allow them to serve in the army and wear a national military uniform, that is, wearing a hat, as well as other components of the Cossack uniform, was regarded as a challenge to the authorities.

However, after 1936, the Cossacks could fight in the ranks of the Red Army in the traditional Cossack uniform, including a hat. According to the charter, it was allowed to wear low black hats. Two stripes were sewn on the cloth in the form of a cross: black for privates, gold for officers. A red star was attached to the front of the hat in the middle.
In 1937, the Red Army marched on Red Square and for the first time it included Cossack troops. However, it is worth noting that only the Terek, Kuban and Don Cossacks received the right to serve in the Red Army. But as a headdress, the hat returned not only to the Cossacks. Since 1940, it has become an attribute of the military uniform of the entire senior command staff of the Red Army.

Since ancient times, the Chechens had a cult of a headdress - both female and male.

A Chechen's hat - a symbol of honor and dignity - is part of the costume. “If the head is intact, it should have a hat”; “If you have no one to consult with, consult with a hat” - these and similar proverbs and sayings emphasize the importance and obligation of a hat for a man. With the exception of the hood, hats were not removed indoors either.

It is known that among the Chechens, a woman who took off and threw her scarf at the feet of those fighting to the death could stop the fight. Men, on the contrary, cannot take off their hats even in such a situation. When a man asks someone for something and takes off his hat at the same time, then this is considered baseness, worthy of a slave. In Chechen traditions, there is only one exception to this: a hat can be removed only when they ask for forgiveness of blood feuds. Makhmud Esambaev, the great son of the Chechen people, a brilliant dancer, knew the price of a hat well and in the most unusual situations forced him to reckon with Chechen traditions and customs. He, traveling all over the world and being accepted in the highest circles of many states, did not take off his hat to anyone.

Mahmoud never, under any circumstances, took off the world-famous hat, which he himself called the crown. Esambaev was the only deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR who sat in a hat at all sessions of the highest authority of the Union. Eyewitnesses say that the head of the Supreme Council L. Brezhnev, before the start of the work of this body, carefully looked into the hall, and, seeing a familiar hat, said: "Mahmud is in place, you can start." M. A. Esambaev, Hero of Socialist Labor, People's Artist of the USSR, throughout his life, creativity carried a high name - the Chechen konakh (knight).

Sharing with the readers of his book “My Dagestan” about the features of Avar etiquette and how important it is for everything and everyone to have their own individuality, originality and originality, the national poet of Dagestan Rasul Gamzatov emphasized: “There is a world-famous artist Makhmud Esambaev in the North Caucasus. He dances the dances of different nations. But he wears and never takes off his Chechen cap. Let the motives of my poems be varied, but let them go in a mountain hat.

According to http://www.chechnyafree.ru

Representatives of different peoples live in the Caucasus. Here the mosques are adjacent to the church and the synagogue. Local residents, regardless of nationality, are tolerant, hospitable, beautiful, strong physically and spiritually. Here gentle gracefulness is combined with elegance, and rigor with masculinity, openness and kindness.
If you want to look into the history of the people, ask them to show you the national costume, in which, like in a mirror, the uniqueness of the people is displayed: customs, traditions, rituals and mores. Despite the variety of modern fabrics, the cut of national clothes remains the same, except that some little things change. If the national ornament gives us the opportunity to determine the artistic level of the people, then the cut and combination of colors, the quality of fabrics - to understand the national character, traditions and moral values of the people. Clothes depend not only on geographical location and climate, but also on mentality and faith. In the modern world, by clothes, we can safely judge the social status of a person, his tastes and material wealth. In our rapidly changing world, fashion continues to be a cultural phenomenon. So, in Chechen society, a married woman does not allow herself to go out into society without covering her head with a scarf, shawl or scarf. A man is required to wear a headdress during the days of mourning. You will not see Chechen women in a too short skirt or in a sleeveless dress with a deep neckline.
Even at the beginning of the twentieth century, Chechens wore traditional national clothes, which were sewn from local material. A rare woman did not know how to sew. If they ordered tailoring, then the craftswomen were not paid in money.
The headdress, both male and female, is a symbol. Male - a symbol of courage, and female - a symbol of chastity, the preservation of sacred purity. Touching the hat - inflict a deadly insult. The man did not take off his hat in front of the enemy, but died so as not to lose honor and dignity. If a woman threw a handkerchief between those who entered into a bloody fight, then the fight stopped.
Sheepskin was used to make fur coats, leather was used to make shoes. Cloth (ishar) and felt (istang) were made from the wool of domestic animals. Both men's and women's clothes were decorated with silver, which was sometimes covered with gold.
The pride and peculiar symbol of the Chechens are the cloak and hat. To this day, a cloak is covered with a dead man who is carried to the cemetery. Burka (verta) and bashlyk (bashlakh) served as protection against bad weather, cold.
A fitted Circassian coat (choa) is put on over a beshmet made of light fabric (g1ovtal), which tightly fits the torso and reaches the knees from the waist. She is girded with a leather belt (dokhka), decorated with silver lining. And, of course, a dagger (shalta), which was worn from the age of 14-15. The dzhigit took off his dagger only at night and put it on the right side, so that in case of an unexpected awakening he would be able to grab the weapon.
The Circassian floors are just below the knee. It emphasizes the wide shoulders and narrow waist of a man. Seven or nine gazyrnits (bustam) are sewn on both sides of the male chest, into which hermetically sealed cylindrical containers (they were made from mutton bone) are inserted, in which gunpowder was previously stored. The Circassian should not converge in front. Thanks to this, the beshmet is visible. Beshmet buttons are made of dense braid. The stand-up collar has, as a rule, two buttons and almost completely covers the neck. The Circassian coat is just below the knee length in young people and longer in adults, fastens at the waist. Without a belt, a man had no right to appear in society. By the way, only a woman in an interesting position did not wear it.
High morocco boots without a heel (ichigi) rise to the very knee. They are tucked into pants made of light fabric: wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.
Women's attire consists of a tunic dress with narrow long sleeves to the wrist. It is sewn from light, light-coloured, ankle-length fabrics. Silver breastplates (tuydargash) are sewn from the neck to the waist. These surviving elements of the Amazon adornment once served as a connecting link in the protective complex of the shield (t1arch), which covered the chest (t1ar) to protect against the impact of the enemy’s weapons. A swing dress-robe (g1abli) is put on top, opened to the waist so that bibs can be seen. It fastens at the waist for a flattering fit. The belt gives a special beauty. It was also made of silver. It is wide on the stomach, tapering smoothly. This is the most valuable detail of the dress. G1abali was sewn from brocade, velvet, satin or cloth. Long sleeves-wings g1abli reach almost to the hem. Women in years wore gabli on solemn occasions. They usually wore dresses of darker colors than the younger ones. Long scarves and shawls (kortals) made of lightweight materials complete the outfit. Elderly women put their hair in a bag (chuhta) like an elongated hat, and put a fringed scarf over it. Shoes (poshmakhash) were also decorated with silver thread.
Undoubtedly, in the age of rapid civilization, such dresses are uncomfortable to wear. G1abali is rarely worn as a wedding dress these days. Often professional dancers, artists allow themselves to appear on stage in some strange costumes, vaguely reminiscent of the Chechen national costume. Instead of bibs, you can see ornamental embroidery, which has nothing to do with our culture. The sleeves of the dress are decorated with some kind of ruffles from the elbow. On the main street of Grozny hangs a portrait of a rider with a cloak draped over his shoulders, decorated with gazyrs.
Among a large number of papakhas, one can rarely see a real Chechen papakha (it expands slightly from above). Knowing that careless handling of the hat is not allowed, why does the dancer, having minted the lezginka, allow himself to press the hat to the floor with a flourish?
Why modern Circassian short sleeves? If the length interferes, then you can roll up.
In his story "Native Village" M. Yasaev explains that a woman wore black clothes if the family was pursued by blood feud. And nowadays, black has become, almost predominant, in the clothes of girls.
Clothing is not only a means of protection from the adverse effects of nature, but a symbol of the individual existence of a nation. If the modern costume reflects the peculiarities of our philosophy and psychology, then it is inextricably linked with our national costume, self-identification. Chechens are one of the most attractive peoples not only in the Caucasus, but also in the world. Despite all the hardships of recent decades, we have remained charming. We know how and love to dress beautifully and elegantly without pretentiousness and flashy colors. And to a beautiful walk we add a captivating soft smile so that the world around us is filled with goodness.