Colorful Costumes in Xinjiang

5 min read

Traditional costumes of minorities in Xinjiang possess different styles andbright colors, implicating rich local features. Men prefer nuttiness, benefit, comfort and convenience and the effect of white and black, while women are enamored of beauty so they prefer beautiful and gorgeous costumes and also love those with contrasting colors, making red more bright and green more fresh. The dresses and costumes of women are like flowers blooming in spring with amazing colors. Men and women wear colorful flower hats, head scarves, multicolored dresses, glittery brooches, necklaces and earrings. Seen from a distance,a group of these people is just like a garden, and each one is like a flower.

Colorful Embroidery Hats

Embroidery hat”Doppa”is the most distinctive headwear of the Uygur ethnic group. All Uygur people like such four-edge small flower hat with fine embroidery. Embroidery hat is not only a costume, but also an exquisite handicraft article. The Uygur flower hat has more than ten patterns, of which, Badam, Chimen, Mardzan and Gilem flower hats are their favorites. Flower hats are always embroidered with various patterns with black and white silk thread or multicolored silk thread. People’s preference to these hats varies with different ages and different regions, therefore, the patterns are designed with thousands of styles. These flower hats with different patterns are studded with pearls with dazzling brilliance; some are solemn and elegant, harmonious and natural; some are angular and with tight-knit patterns; some have flat and round shapes，and soft colors；some look like fertile farmland in harvest and some look like a garden with flowers blooming in a riot of color.Wearing such hats，young men appear handsome，young women appear more beautiful，children appear lively and lovely，and the middle-aged and the old appear solemn and dignified.

Hats of the Uygur women in Keriya, Minfeng and other regions of Hotan are unique and delicate, which are different from those in other regions of Xinjiang. They wear a white gauze scarf on the head and a “Keriya Telpek”(Keriya Hat) with a small top, big opening and a diameter of about 8-9 cm on the right side of the head. This kind of hat is shaped like an overturned smallteacup, which looks like a flower in full bloom in the distance. They are always designed to be black and divided into an inner layer of flexible lambskintailored by manual needlework, and an outer one, made of black lambskin. The crown is usually made of black, white, red or blue silks and satins, black or white ones of which are worn on the funeral, red ones of which are worn on festivals and blue ones of which are worn by middle-aged and elderly people.

The hat is fixed on the gauze scarf by a needle, forming an obvious contrast tothe white color of the gauze scarf, which is attractive. To match the small hat, women always wear “Peridze”(long Qiapan) which has a blue silk-strip patternwith seven symmetrical cusps placed in breast, and on which the color of the neckline, cuff, and bottom edges is the same. People who see this costume at the first time will feel it simple, unsophisticated and elegant. Furthermore, this kind of costume is designed especially for the married women with children, not for young girls. Nowadays, the Keriya Hat is the smallest hat in the world, which has been listed in Guinness World Records.

Kazak hats are also distinctive which are mainly made of red, purple, green or black lint，and decorated by multicolored silk threads，golden and silver embroidery，and pearls and feather of owl.Owl is Kazak mascot symbolizingbraveness and adamant.”Takeya”and”Rerik”are girls’favorite hats.The one with owl feather brings beauty to girls and also symbolizes their braveness and adamant.”Takeya”is a round bucket-shaped embroidery hat with a big lowerbrim，a small top brim，a fairly hard cap casing and an embroidered crown，whose brim is inlaid with pearls to form different beautiful patterns.”Rerik”is a round hat made of red or black cloth and silk or otter with an embroidered crown and its part connected to the crown is decorated by multicolored strands of pearls.”Uku”，the gold and silver hollow plug between pearls and agate，is used to fix the owl feather.The most beautiful headwear of Kazakgirls is the high hat with a pointed top wore on their weddings:”Seukele”（Phoenix Coronet）.The lining of the hat is made of hair felt，and the surface is made of silk or lint.Flowers are embroidered and glittering jewelries are stitched on this hat.The front brim is decorated with strands of pearls which are dangling in front of their faces.When going for a visit，the bride should wear this hat within one year after her marriage.

Khalkhas（Kirgiz）men and women love wearing velvet vaulted flower hats in different colors in summer.Women’s hats have more decorations to be very beautiful.Hats worn by unmarried women are mainly made of red velvet and otter.Every side of the hat is decorated with pearls.The crown is decorated with pearls，tassels or owl feather and snow cock feather.

One kind of gold silk embroidery felt hat wore by Torghut Mongol women is called”Edeng”with animal skins for the lining and satin，silk，cloth and so on for the surface.Its surface is mainly embroidered with patterns，and the top is decorated with red velvet or red silk long tassels.

Tajik women love cotton-padded hats with fine embroidery and ear scarf：”Kulta”.The rear of the hat is longer which is like a cotton curtain that can protect ear and neck.The hat is not only beautiful，but also can keep warm，which makes it useful in high and cold mountain regions.The manufacture of “Kulta”is a handicraft of Tajik women.Patterns on the hat are designed with different styles and rich colors.Tajik women always dress big head scarves on their hats when they go out.The head scarf blowing in the wind makes them extraordinarily charming.

Tatar women love especially wearing flat crown hats inlaid with multicolor pearls and dressing a multicolored headband on the hat which is as thin as a cicada’s wings，which makes them elegant.