Ritual functions of traditional Teleut women's clothing

Purpose. This study examines ritual functions of Teleut women's clothing based on the materials from the «Teleut Collection» stored in the State Autonomous Cultural Institution of the Kemerovo Region Historical Cultural and Natural Museum-Reserve «Tomskaya Pisanitsa». Results. Teleuts are indigenous Turkic-speaking peoples living in Kuzbass. According to the 2010 Russian Census, there are 2,643 reported Teleut people, 2,520 of whom live in the Kemerovo region. The traditional Teleut women's dress consists of the following elements: a long tunic dress kunyok, a woven belt kur and a tyaka -collar. A festive dress is decorated by a toshtok ornament. A short fitted caftan telen serves as light outerwear. A syrmal is considered in-between season outerwear. It has an A-line cut with a flare at the hem. In winter, women wear ton fur coats. Teleut women's headwear includes scarves and kish poruk hats, which are worn on special occasions. Charyk is the traditional Teleut footwear. These are leather flat shoes with soft soles, always worn with stockings. A set of jewelry completes the traditional Teleut women's attire; it includes earrings, rings and braid ornaments, which indicate the woman’s marital status. The traditional Teleut worldview is based on the Teleut people’s mythopoetical perception of reality. According to it, there are many specific threats to humans, such as spiritual dangers, that are thought to surround each individual. There are certain ways to ward off evil spirits, as well as to ensure protection of the guardian deities and spirits. Some of these methods are associated with certain elements of the national Teleut women’s dress, which was sewn to protect women as they are responsible for giving birth to healthy descendants. Conclusion. According to the Teleut traditions, for clothing to acquire protective or guardian powers it has to be made using certain colors (mainly red, which is associated with blood, menstruation and women's ability to conceive); precious metals, such as gold and silver or their imitation, as the culture of the Turkic peoples describes sacred objects associated with the upper world using the epithets «golden» or «silver»; some decorative trimmings of cowrie shells and buttons, which were considered feminine and masculine symbols, etc. Clothing protected the most dangerous areas in terms of the mythological consciousness (neckline, gusset, cuffs and hem) through using contrasting rim materials, a tyaka -collar and a toshtok chest ornament. The corresponding parts of the body are very important because they represent openings through which evil beings could enter and cause harm to individuals or the existing divine grace could leave the body. The Teleut people, as well as other Turkic peoples, believe that the traditional consciousness directly relates the center and the upper body parts with fertility. These areas are marked and protected by a hat and a belt. Other items with ritual functions include jewelry, particularly earrings and braid ornaments, which can preserve and bring fertility. In such a way, clothes and jewelry are intended to protect women from harm and ensure well-being and giving birth to healthy offspring, which in a traditional society was considered the highest good for women.