Ethno-philosophical features, socio-cultural determinants and classification of the elechek, traditional women's headdress

During the nomad way of life, elechek, the headdress of married women was identified the entire set of characteristics of a Kyrgyz woman - her marital status, age, social status and tribal affiliation. Gender features of a person are the main characteristics of a human that determine human’s socio-cultural adaptation in society, since there are no clear guides for gender roles in today's eclectic cultural space. Identification of the ethno-philosophical features of the elechek, traditional headdress of a Kyrgyz married women can help to create conditions for the differentiation and awareness of male and female roles by the society. In general, the customs and way of wearing this headdress is the same throughout Kyrgyzstan. Differences may have a place in the choice of fabric, the general view of the elechek, its components, winding methods, and decoration. The era of globalization has radically changed the attitude of the people to the traditional headdresses. Modern fashion’s main criterion for a headdress is convenience, but in old times someone could easily determine the social, marital status, and tribal affiliation by the elechek of the owner. The methodological basis of this study was an integrated approach that includes complementary methods, the main of which was the method of reconstruction, the methods of interviewing and questioning, and the method of historical analysis and oral history. The article presents an analysis of the features of the women's traditional headdress elechek. The classification of existing types of elechek and methods of its winding is given. Basing the results of the reconstruction of traditional women's headdresses the cut and equipment, methods of winding by region and by some tribal features of Kyrgyzstan have been restored.