Mari national costume

The national costume is not just clothes, it is the culture and history of the people, its traditions and way of life. A striking example of this is the Mari national costume, which reflected the ideas of the Mari people about the harmony and beauty of life.

The Mari people belong to the Finno-Ugric language group and are the last pagan people in Europe. Despite Christianity adopted many centuries ago, the Mari people conduct magical and pagan rituals.

The people are divided into three territorial groups:

• Mountain Mari of the Republic of Mari El;
• meadow - Volga-Vyatka district;
• eastern - the Bashkir Republic and the Ural region.

Each group of Maris in a suit has its own characteristics, differences in decoration and ornamentation, but in general all the elements of folk clothes in Mari are the same.

An ordinary costume consists of a shirt, pants, a belt with pendants, a hat and shoes: in everyday life, these are woven bast shoes, and on festive occasions, boots made of sheep or cow leather.

The model of festive clothes was no different from everyday - the outfit could be distinguished only by specific pendants and decorations.

A tunic - the main part of any Mari dress - was created as follows: a linen or hemp cloth of a certain length was made on a home loom, then the fabric was folded in half and a hole for the head was cut out. Without cutting out the armholes, part of the fabric was bent lengthwise and sewn - in this way sleeves were obtained.

In the cold season, the national costume was complemented by the following elements: caftans of various types, sheepskin coats, winter shoes (felt boots, less often boots) and a warm hat.

The Mari costume, like the outfit of any other nationality, has its own characteristics and features:

• The main color is white with a splash of black, burgundy and brown embroidery. In later periods, red began to prevail in national dress - it was obtained as a result of the boiling of certain plants.
• In the embroidery to a greater degree there were geometric and floral ornaments, symbolizing the belonging of the wearer to a particular social group. In addition, ritual symbols bringing good luck and prosperity were encrypted in the embroidery.

• The Mari costume came under the influence of Russian culture and borrowed a lot from it: for example, in later periods the Mari began to make clothes from cotton, and not from linen, as it was before.

• Under any outfit, it doesn’t matter whether he’s male or female, pants are worn.

The men's suit consisted of a shirt slightly below the knees, a belt, a caftan, canvas pants and bast shoes. At the end of the 19th century, the length of the shirt decreased - by this time the tunic reached only the middle of the thigh.

As for the pants, they were sewn differently in different mari groups. The meadow and mountain Mari sewed tight trousers, and the eastern ones were wide.

Kaftans were an integral part of the wardrobe: in the summer they were made of canvas, and in winter - from cloth. As a rule, caftans were black and white.

It is noteworthy that the notch on the underwear was tied with a special ornament that protected the man from evil spirits and the evil eye.

An integral part of the costume was a hat - in winter it was a felted hat or hat with earflaps, in summer - a white (festive) and black (everyday) hat, which was later replaced by a cap.

Unlike men's, women's attire was distinguished by a great variety and unique beauty of jewelry and ornaments.

The basis of women's attire was also a tunic shirt, embroidered with ornaments on the chest, sleeves and hem. The meaning of the symbols on the embroidery spoke of the carrier's belonging to the culture, its social status and marital status. In rare cases, the back of the shirt was also covered with ornament.

The women's tunic was decorated with beads, buttons and colorful ribbons - the more jewelry was on the shirt, the more the woman could be proud of her handicraft skill.

Under the shirt, Mari women, like men, put on canvas pants. Their cut depended on the place of residence - the Eastern Mari dressed in spacious pants, mountain and meadow - in narrow ones.

Women's caftans are divided into a summer model and a winter one. The length of the summer caftan reached the waist of the wearer, the winter caftan was designed to retain heat and had a direct tunic shape.

The headdress in the composition of the female Mari folk costume played an important role and was divided into two main types - girlish and female. The decoration, model, and specific type of wearing of the headgear indicated the status and position of the Mari in society and age.

In ancient times, married women wore shawls and shawls decorated with ornament, and girls wore leather and woolen bandages, generously decorated with beads and coins. Later, scarves and dressings were supplemented with other gowns: a hemispherical tactic, on which a regular scarf is worn, a frame cap, a shovel-like magpie, gabled dressing, and so on.

The following elements were required elements of the women's costume: bib, apron and belt. These elements were decorated with colorful ribbons, coins, embroidery and beads. Wallets, handkerchiefs, special pockets, multi-colored towels, iron rings and earrings, and much more were attached to the belt.

Aprons were embroidered with braids, ribbons and decorated with coins and beads.The bibs had different types and shapes and almost entirely consisted of coins.

As for shoes, for women it was the same as for men - these were bast shoes in summer and felt boots in winter.

The female Mari outfit was beautiful, richly decorated with embroidery, and ribbons, and coins. If desired, a woman or girl could additionally decorate her outfit rings, beads, waist towels and other accessories.

Children's Mari costumes are largely reminiscent of adults, only for children less jewelry and embroidery had a protective, protective character. The girls' outfit was often attended by bright shuttlecocks - on the sleeves from the elbow to the end, and in the main part of the clothes from the waist to the hem.

The most beautiful among the Mari among all kinds of robes was a wedding suit. The main color of the clothes, of course, is white.

The groom put on his holiday attire, girded himself with a special belt decorated with coins, and put on a special hat with curved edges.

The bride's wedding dress consisted of several parts. A white dress was worn on the underwear shirt, the hem of which was lined with coins, a white caftan was worn on top, then a green caftan, coins were sewn around all the edges, and on top of all this was an apron embroidered with a wedding ornament, which was tied with a special waist towel.

All elements of the outfit were decorated with coins, ribbons, beads, lined with fur, decorated with bright embroidery and colorful braid. There were no borders in jewelry, except for observing the traditions and fantasies of the craftswomen. A red scarf must be present on the bride - in the summer he is tied over it, in the winter - over the fur hat.

Some elements of the wedding attire of the Mari people of different groups differ from each other, but all the costumes are equally beautiful and richly decorated.

Time does not stand still, and the Mari national costume is undergoing changes, but even in the modern technological age, it does not lose its relevance and popularity among representatives of the Mari people. More and more young people put on a national costume for weddings, holidays and special occasions, thereby showing their involvement in the history and culture of the Mari people.

The modern Marie costume is slightly different from the traditional one and has several new clothing items:

• a red vest, decorated with coins and ornaments, is worn over a white tunic with a short sleeve and embroidered with gold embroidery;
• the bride’s wedding dress is a shortened (knee-deep) tunic and a white caftan worn over the tunic with green embroidery on the hem. Also, the outfit is decorated with floral ornaments and a variety of ribbons;
• Women's festive costume looks like this: satin dress with flounce sleeves and a bib with floral ornaments.

No matter how the Mari national costume changes, it will always be chanted and revered by grateful descendants who do not forget about the culture and traditions of their people.