What is a skullcap (photo)

In the East, a skullcap is a kind of passport for its owner. The shape and ornament of this little hat indicate that the owner belongs to a certain people and class. No man had the right to appear in a mosque, at a holiday, funeral or wake without this headdress. Today, this ancient piece of clothing is making a comeback in modern attire.

What is a skullcap?

Skullcap is the national headdress of the Central Asian peoples, which is a round or square cap, flat or with a domed top. They are made from various fabrics and decorated with fine embroidery. The color and ornament of the headdress reflect the peculiarities of the way of life of the part of Asia where it was made.

Skullcaps are worn not only by Uzbeks, where they have long become a source of national pride, but also by Afghans, Iranians, Turks, Volga Tatars and Bashkirs. This traditional headdress in Asia is worn by everyone except older women.

Historical reference

The root of the word “skullcap” lies in the Turkic word “tyube” (or “tobe”), which means “top”. In the East, it is believed that the top of the head is the point of contact with the Universe, and this piece of clothing acts as a talisman, protecting a person’s most vulnerable spot from evil spirits and attracting health and well-being.

Symbolically, the skullcap, like the domes of the mosque, is the vault of heaven under which a person is born, lives and dies. Actually, the shape and symbolism of this headdress permeates the entire life of Eastern people:

• yurt – skullcap, enlarged hundreds of times;
• the bowl from which it is customary to drink tea has the shape of a dome;
• Casa is a traditional food utensil.

Characteristic features of the headdress

It was already mentioned above that the skullcap can be round or square, with a flat or pointed top. The fabrics for its manufacture can be different: silk, satin velvet, cloth. Only girls and women with keen eyesight and special perseverance can make these hats.

Skullcap details - description

This headdress consists of three parts.

1. Tepa - “hill” or “hillock”. This is the top part of the cap, the same dome that protects the owner from the evil eye. Interestingly, the rectangular shape allows the skullcap to be folded, and therefore convenient to store.
2. Kizak is a band. It was also embroidered with silk, and various symbols were encrypted in the ornament: birth and death, health and wealth.
3. Zhiyak is the braid that was used to trim the kizak of the skullcap from the bottom. It was also intended to protect the owner from evil spirits. It can be pure black or decorated with one or two repeating motifs.

Types of skull caps

Today in Central Asia there are many different types of this headdress: flat, cone-shaped, hemispherical and square. The pattern and color of the embroidery reflects the ancient traditions and way of life of the people.

Important! It is customary to present a dear guest with traditionally important things for every Asian resident as a gift: a robe, a suzani (a hand-embroidered wall hanging) and, of course, a skullcap.

If the shape of skullcaps for men, women and children is practically the same, then the elements decorating the cap differ depending on gender and age.

The embroidery on men's headdresses usually has a two- or three-color palette, while the patterns on women's hats are made in a richer range of colors.. The only exception, perhaps, is the Uighurs, whose men's skullcaps are decorated not only with multi-colored embroidery, but also with beads. They are real works of art and often decorate the walls of the home along with carpets.

Important! Back in the 19th century, only men could wear skullcaps. From that time there is still a saying: “Aren’t you wearing a skullcap?” This means: “Aren’t you a man?”

Another type of skullcap is kuloh. This elongated upward dome-shaped cap on a wide band was worn by representatives of the clergy (dervishes). The kulokh could be wrapped with a turban on top, but the pointed top had to be visible.

Girls and young women preferred small round hats with a high band and wore them high on the forehead. They could be decorated not only with embroidery, but also with pearls, stones and feathers.

The children's skullcap had the shape of a dome with a sharp top and was decorated at the top with a ribbon with a tassel. By putting this sacred headdress on the baby, the mullah blessed the child, attracting health and well-being to him..

In Turkmenistan, the skullcap is called “takhya”. Its shape can be any, and embroidery, as a rule, consists of geometric elements and is performed in a palette limited to red, white, yellow and black.

Important! The headdress of a free girl was decorated with a feather, but if there was no feather on the cap, it meant that the bride had already been matched.

Features of skullcap patterns

Each embroiderer has her own secrets of the craft, but her work always reflects local traditions. Let's tell you more about the patterns on skullcaps:

Chustskoy

The most popular is the Chust skullcap, where there is an ornament made of white silk across a black field, symbolizing the color of the sun. Traditionally, images of a pod of hot pepper were applied to the crown of the cap, which signified family happiness and scared away evil spirits, and stylized ram horns were embroidered on the band, signifying strength and courage. Wave-like patterns were applied to the zhiyak, symbolizing wealth and vitality.

Shakhrisabz

The Shakhrisabz skullcap (“irok”) is distinguished by a rich color palette, as it was embroidered with floral patterns, where each representative of the flora and the color in which it is presented were designed to reflect all the diversity and richness of life.

Bukhara

By the patterns embroidered on the headdress in gold and silver, one can easily determine its origin - this is Bukhara. Such skullcaps are called gold-embroidered Bukhara ones. Gold and silver on the cap signified the high status of the owner or the special significance of the event to which it was worn. You can easily recognize this skullcap by its traditional ornaments:

• "eye of the nightingale";
• "sparrow's tongue";
• circle indicating the target.

Andijan

The Andijan skullcap, embroidered with a cross on a thick white base, was most popular among the female population of the East. Traditional colors are crimson, blue and black. The “snake trail” pattern symbolized fertility and at the same time served as a talisman against the evil eye.. The embroidery was complemented by images of fruits and flowers.

Tashkent

Also especially popular among Asian beauties was the Tashkent skullcap, an element of festive attire. It is distinguished by multi-color embroidery with threads and beads on a burgundy, dark blue or dark green background. Stylized images of pheasant, rooster and peacock feathers were supposed to protect their owner from damage and the evil eye. In addition to them, figures of animals and plants were embroidered on the cap.

Baysunskaya

The Boysun skullcap, round with a cone-shaped top, was intended for the stronger sex. The embroidery was done in restrained colors, but each color combination hid the deep sacred meaning of a person’s life path. The yellow color symbolized the cotton flower, and the white diamond-shaped element symbolized the cotton itself..

The band is quite high, and the zhiyak was woven by hand. Covering the owner's head like a hoop, it blocked the dark forces from accessing the most vulnerable spot (the top of the head), protecting the head from all sides.

Karakalpak

Another popular type of skullcap in the East is the Karakalpak one. A round cap, decorated around the band with ornamental embroidery in red, yellow and green threads. There are male and female versions of these headdresses: women wear a fluffy pompom on the side, and the embroidery has more rounded lines, unlike the men's, where all the lines in the pattern are broken. The function of the ornament is traditional - protection from evil forces and the evil eye.

Interesting Facts

The skullcap has long become a symbol of the East and from a piece of clothing with a purely utilitarian purpose, even if sacred, has turned into a work of art. Embroiderers compete with each other in the skill of making jewelry and are happy to demonstrate their work at exhibitions of various levels. The ancient history of headdress provides such rich material for the development of this type of art.

There are many historical facts that, migrating from archives and libraries into the modern information space, again and again draw attention to this ancient piece of clothing.

For example, it is known that the ancient Turks wore a special style of skullcap, which was worn deep on the forehead. It was believed that the patterns on the headdress helped protect the “third eye” from dark energy.

The shape of the headdress for children was determined based on the tradition of hiding a pigtail on the top of a boy’s head under it, which symbolized the child’s belonging to the chosen children. The ribbon with a tassel at the top of the cap is an analogue of this braid.

In the 19th century, the skullcap was not yet an item of women’s clothing, however, as elsewhere, there were exceptions:

• atang - a dandy who wore this cap, imitating men, thereby protesting against strict patriarchal traditions;
• women of easy virtue; for this reason, when later the tradition of wearing skullcaps spread to Asian women, women were extremely hostile to this innovation.

And in conclusion, a funny old legend. A long time ago, one queen, driving through the Karakalpak lands, saw the amazingly delicate and beautiful work of local embroiderers.Marveling, she spat to the side so as not to jinx it. Now the Karakalpak skullcap has an element in the form of a wheel called “the queen’s spit.” And its purpose remained the same - so as not to be jinxed.