Kazakh men’s headdresses in visual and narrative sources of the 19th – early 20th centuries: evolution of the vestimental code

Abstract

The article presents the characteristics of men’s national headdresses in the context of social practicesof their use in Kazakh traditional society in the period of the 19th – early 20th centuries, in the contextof changes in the socio-cultural space within the Russian Empire. The headdress was an importantmarker of status and an attribute of social rank, the vestimental code of which in the 19th – early 20thcenturies was determined by semantic meanings both within the framework of the traditional culture ofthe Kazakhs and by the symbolic meanings of power relations in the Russian Empire.In addition, the authors systematized published studies on the history of the Kazakh folk costume,drawing attention to the evolution of the vestimental code of Kazakh headdresses in the 19th-20th centuries.In the article, in combination of historical research methods with anthrpological approaches andethnographic descriptions of men’s headdresses, an attempt is made to present their detailed characteristicson the basis of visual, narrative and archival sources of the 19th – early 20th centuries.The authorspay special attention to the fact that the headdress in the studied time is a symbol of social status amongthe Kazakh people, as well as an indicator of the role of the individual in society. The authors note thatthe color of men’s hats also has its own meaning.Key words: Kazakh men’s headdresses, vestimental code, visual sources, XIX – early XX centuries,Kazakh traditional society, Russian Empire.