Traditional headgear
A
bashlyk
, also spelled
bashlik
(
Karachay-Balkar
:
Ba?lıq
,
Adyghe
: Shkharkhon,
Abkhaz
: qtarpa,
Chechen
: ?ukkuiy,
Ossetic
: Kaskæ
Crimean Tatar
:
Ba?lıq
,
Tatar
: Ba?lıq,
Turkish
: Ba?lık; "ba?" - head, "-lıq" (
Tatar
) / "-lık" (
Turkish
) - derivative suffix), is a traditional
Turkic
,
North Caucasian
,
Iranian
, and
Cossack
cone-shaped
hooded
headdress
, usually of
leather
,
felt
or
wool
, featuring a round topped
bonnet
with
lappets
for wrapping around the neck. Local versions determine the trim, which may consist of decorative cords, embroidery, jewelry, metallized strings, fur balls or tassels. Among dozens of versions are winter bashlyks worn atop regular headdress, cotton bashlyks, homeknitted bashlyks, silk bashlyks, scarf bashlyks, down bashlyks, dress bashlyks, jumpsuit-type bashlyks, etc. Bashlyks are used as traditional folk garment, and as uniform headdress.
[1]
[2]
5th century BC
Greek
depiction of a
Scythian
archer wearing what would generally be called a Bashlyk
A variation of bashlyk is the
kalpak
(
qalpaq
), a cone-shaped headdress without lappets, mostly made of leather, felt or wool,
[3]
and the
malahai
, also known as the
tymak
, a curved cone-shaped headdress, either with or without lappets, mostly made of leather, and occasionally with a
fur
-wrapping, originally worn by most inhabitants of the
Idel-Ural
, but nowadays mostly reduced to the
Bashkirs
.
[4]
It also went on to inspire the
budenovka
in the
USSR
.
[5]
6th century BC Greek depiction of Scythian warrior wearing a folded Bashlyk very similar to the fur-less
Bashkir
variant of the
Malahai
History
[
edit
]
The origins of this conical headgear can possibly be traced back to the oldest equestrian nomadic peoples in antiquity. It may have originated as a type of
sauna hat
to preserve body heat, due to most nomadic cultures having practiced a variety of the
steam bath
rather than traditional
bathing
, with the upright length of the hood eventually becoming a symbol of
social status
among some peoples.
[6]
20th century photograph depicting
Lezgins
wearing bashlyks and kalpaks
The
Scythians
are often depicted in ancient depictions with hoods, which were then called
Phrygian caps
, after a similar headgear of the
Anatolian
Phrygians
. Although named after the Phrygians, the long pointed hoods were already widespread among the
Scythians
,
Cimmerians
,
Argippaeans
and
Sarmatians
. The
Central Asian
Sakas
, used similar, but usually much higher hoods, as ancient depictions and archaeological finds show. Research in
Turkology
and
Iranian studies
often assumes a continuity between the antecedent of the Phrygian cap and the Bashlyk, often referring to this ancient headgear with the word Bashlyk exclusively.
[7]
[8]
7th century BC
Achaemenid
depiction of a
Saka
satrap
wearing a Bashlyk and
Mustache
In modern times, bashlyks became fashionable in Russia in 1830-1840, after the
Napoleonic Wars
with significant participation of the
Bashkir
cavalry. By the 1862 bashlyks were made a uniform headdress in
Cossack
armies, and later in other branches of Russian armed forces. The military bashlyk was bright yellow camel wool, with a yellow band. Officer bashlyks had gold or silver band. In the
Russian army
, bashlyks lasted till 1917, when they became a trademark of
White Army
officers and
Red Army
cavalry.
[9]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
Orenburg Cossacks wearing bashlyks and cloaks (on the left), 1839
-
A sketch of an old man by
Vasnetsov
, 1871
-
A sketch of a
Don Cossack
with bashlyk on, taken in Paris during the
campaign of 1815
-
The same Don Cossack with bashlyk off, on the back
-
19th century depiction of Bashkirs raiding Paris, all depicted wearing Bashlyks and Malahais
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]