Traditional women's headwear of the Luza- Letka Komi

On the basis of museum collections, archive data, materials of field studies the basic types, symbolic functions, ways of wearing of one of the most important elements of traditional costume - women's headwear that was common in the late XIX - first half of XX century in the southern most ethnographic groups of the Komi (Zyryans) living in the basins of Luza and Letka (in the modern administrative division - Priluzsky region of the Komi Republic) are considered. In villages of the Letka Komi golovedets - crown on the basis of birch bark covered with red cloth and embroidered with multicolored beads was distributed as mai- den headdress. Luza girls covered their heads with headkerchiefs. Everyday and festive women's headwear soroka being a soft headband decorated with embroidery, spread only in the Letka Komi, had the highest specificity. This headdress was multipartite and included samshura - support for soroka in the form of a solid circle from coarse motley - and a soft cap povoy. They could be worn alone or in various combinations. Thus, povoy was considered primarily a headdress of young women of first year of marriage. The most common among Luza women was “Russian shawl” russka being a red calico headscarf that tightly clasped the head, pulled over the forehead, the ends were tied at the nape. Mandatory was also the top scarf tied under the chin. They began to wear russka every day only after the birth of their first child. Around the mid of XX century both girls and women began to use cotton, wool, calico headscarves, shawls for different occasions as the main headdress. Currently Letka folklore groups use original and modern stylized soroka; stage women's costume of the Luza Komi includes a variety of traditional scarves, shawls. Traditional headdress as the most ritualistic element of women's clothes remained in wedding, holiday, funeral clothes for the longest time.