The Armenian Taraz (, taraz;), also known as Armenian traditional clothing, reflects a rich cultural tradition. Wool and fur were used by the Armenians along with the cotton that was grown in the fertile valleys. In Urartu, silk imported from China was used by royalty. Later, Armenians cultivated silkworms and produced their own silk.
Overview The Armenian national costume, having existed through long periods of historical development, was one of the signals of self-preservation for the Armenian culture. Being in an area at the crossroads of diverse eastern styles, Armenian dress is significant in not only borrowing but also often playing an influential role on neighboring nations.Patrick Arakel (1967). Armenian national clothing. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR. page 16
The costume can be divided into two main regions: Western Armenians and Eastern Armenians. Which in turn are divided into separate subregions.
The costume of the Armenians of Western Armenia is mainly divided into two regions:
1. Areas of the Eastern Provinces: Taron (including Sasun), Bardzr Hayk, Vaspurakan, and Baghesh.
2. The regions of Sebastia, Kayseri, Cilicia in the western states, and Kharberd-Tigranakert in the south.
The first group kept closer to the traditions of the Armenian costume while in the second group, the influence of some Anatolian cultures are seen.
Eastern Armenian costume can be divided into three regions:
1. Syunik-Artsakh, Zangezur, and Ayrarat.
2. Goghtan (Agulis, Ordubad)
3. Gandzak, Gugark, Shirak, Javakheti.
Colors The Armenian costume is dominated by the colors of the four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. According to the 14th-century Armenian philosopher Gregory of Tatev, the Armenian costume is made to express the ancestral soil, the whiteness of the water, the red of the air, and the yellow of the fire. Apricot symbolizes prudence and common sense, red symbolizes courage and martyrdom, blue symbolizes heavenly justice, white symbolizes purity. Some of the techniques used in making these costumes have survived to this day and are actively used in the applied arts, however, there are techniques that have been lost. Each province of Armenia stands out with its costume. The famous centers of Armenian embroidery – Van-Vaspurakan, Karin, Shirak, Syunik-Artsakh, Cilicia – stand out with their rhythmic and stylistic description of ornaments, color combinations and composition.
Timeline
Ancient period: 900–600 BCE The Urartians, who were the predecessors to the Armenians, wore a dress similar to that of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which consisted of short-sleeved tunics worn bare or with a shawl. The Urartians adorned themselves with metal ornaments, including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and pins. These metal ornaments were engraved with lion heads while necklaces of stone beads and long metal pins were draped across the body. Metal belts were also an important part of the Urartian costume. The creation of metal belts was considered an art form, with magical scenes and animals engraved onto the belt to protect the wearer.
Classical period: 600 BCE – 600 CE The traditional dress of Armenians underwent a significant shift following the emergence of the Kingdom of Armenia as a distinct political entity. Armenian men wore fitted trousers and a distinct hat known as the Phrygian cap. This later evolved into the hat now known as a bashlyk, which is a flexible accessory worn by shepherds and religious leaders alike.
Medieval period: 600–1600 CE Based on the works of Armenian manuscripts as well as images found on churches, coins, and khachkars, the Armenian elite wore clothing similar to that of Byzantine and Arab royalty, such as turbans. Armenians held onto their unique traditions while also adopting from neighboring societies, such as headcoverings becoming commonplace for women.
19th century
In her 1836 novel titled The City of The Sultan; and Domestic Manners of the Turks, Julia Pardoe described the Armenian merchants she observed immediately upon disembarking in the port of Istanbul:
Pardoe also mentions they wore bejeweled rings and carried in their hands "pipes of almost countless cost.”
Nowadays
Armenian traditional clothing started to fall out of use in the 1920s and was almost completely replaced by modern clothing by the 1960s. Today, Armenian traditional clothing is mostly used for dance performances where girls put on an arkhalig and long dress to simulate taraz while boys wear dark colored loose pants and a fitted jacket. In some areas of Armenia and Karabakh, elderly women still wear a short headscarf. Photo studios in Armenia allow for new generations to take pictures in traditional clothing and some women in recent times have begun to wear taraz again.
An annual festival celebrating Armenian traditional dress known as Taraz Fest is hosted every year in Yerevan and Stepanakert by the Teryan cultural center and consists of showcases of the cultural dress.
Men's clothing Eastern Armenia
The basis of the Armenian men's body clothing was the lower shirt and pants. They were sewn from homemade canvas at home. The most common was the traditional tunic-shaped men's shirt or shapik () made of two cloths. In an Armenian family, men's clothes, especially those of the head of the household, received special attention, as men were judged by their overall appearance.
The overall fashion of the Eastern Armenian costume was Caucasian, close to similar clothing worn by neighboring peoples in the Caucasus, such as Azerbaijanis, Georgians, Dagestanis, and Chechens, among others.
Belt clothes Men's body pants, vartik (; also votashor, tuban or pohan), differed from women's in that they did not have an applied decorative border at the bottom of the ankle; their pants were tucked into knitted socks and windings. A cap and vartic of traditional cut were worn in Armenia by men of all ages, from young boys to the elderly.Avakyan N. H. Armenian folk clothes (19th and early 20th century). Yerevan, 1983. Pages 61–62
Shalvar () were worn over the body pants. They were sewn from homemade, rough-shaft fabric, painted black, less often dark blue or brown, in the same fabric as the vartic.
Outerwear
The basis of outer shoulder clothing in Eastern Armenia was Arkhalugh and Chukha. Arkhalugh-type clothing has a centuries-old tradition among Armenians, as evidenced by images on tombstones and medieval miniatures. It was widespread and worn by the entire male population, starting from boys aged 10 to 12. Arkhalugh was sewn from purchased fabrics (satin, eraser, chintz, shawl), black, blue, and brown tones, lined. Its decoration was a galun ribbon in the tone of the main material, which was covered with a collar, chest incision, hem and sleeves. In wealthy families, such as in the merchant class of Yerevan, along with the ribbon, a silk cord was added.
Arkhalugh () was a long, tight, waist-jacket made of fabrics including silk, satin, cloth, cashmere and velvet, depending on the social status of its owner. It was usually girded with a silver belt, less often with a belt or a leather belt with false silver buttons.
With several similarities to the Arkhalugh, the Chukha () had a broader functional purpose. The Chukha is a male humeral outerwear with layers and gathers that was detachable at the waist. It was made of cloth, tirma, and homespun textiles. Outerwear served not only as warm clothes, but as clothing for special occasions. Most chukhas were decorated with a bandolier for gazyr cartridges on both sides of the coat, although Armenians would seldom wear the chukha with the cartridges inserted. The right to wear a chukha symbolized a certain socio-economic status; as a rule, it was worn from the age of majority (from 15 to 20 years). The Chukhas were dressed in a mushtak or burka, and later as an urban influence. Sheepskin fur coats or mushtak were worn by the wealthy, mainly of the older generation.
Some Eastern Armenian men additionally chose to wear a dagger, a khanchal (Խանչալ) or dashuyn (Armenian: Դաշույն) over either the Chukha or the Arkhalugh. It was suspended from either a leather or silver belt and hung diagonally across the man's waist. Such daggers were widespread throughout the Caucasus region, including Armenia. However, due to the lack of a strong warrior culture in the areas north of Armenia, the dagger was a far less ubiquitous part of a man's outfit in Armenia than it was elsewhere in the region.
Burka (, aitsenakach) was the only cape in traditional Armenian costume. Armenians wore two types of burka: fur and felt. Fur burka was made of goat wool, with fur outside, using long-pile fur. Felt burka and in some areas fur (Lori) was worn by shepherds. This was often complete with a Bashlyk, a type of hood which was suspended from the back of the Burka and worn over the Papakh to protect against rain.
The men's clothing complex also included a leather belt, which was worn over the arkhalugh. The leather belt had a silver buckle and false ornaments engraved with plant ornaments.
Men's wedding clothes, which were both festive and culturally significant, were distinguished by the fact that the arkhalugh was made of more expensive fabric, the chukha and shoelaces were red (this color was considered to be a guardian), and the belt was silver, which they received during the wedding from the bride's parents. This type of clothing of Karabakh men was also common among other Eastern Armenians, in particular in Syunik, Gogthan, as well as in Lori.Alla Ervandovna Ter-Sarkisyanets "Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh", p. 628-629.
Headgear The standard headgear of Eastern Armenians was a fur hat or papakha () sewn from sheep's skins.Lisician S. D. Essays on ethnography of pre-revolutionary Armenia // KES. 1955 Т. Я. С. 182–264 Papakhs came in a variety of different shapes and sizes, with men of different regions and villages having different preferences. Generally speaking, men from Southern Armenia and Karabakh preferred a taller and more cylindrical style of papakh, while men from Northern Armenia usually wore one that was low and wide. The most expensive and prestigious was considered to be made from Bukhara sheep wool, which was worn by representatives of the wealthy classes, especially in cities. In these cities, very high, close to cylindrical hats were worn, complete with a chuhka with folding sleeves. The headgear and hat, in particular, were the embodiment of the honor and dignity of an Armenian man. Throwing a papakha on the ground was equated to his shame and dishonor. According to traditional etiquette, in certain situations, the man was supposed to take off his hat at the entrance to church, during funerals, when meeting highly revered and respected people, etc.
Western Armenia
Traditional Armenian clothing from Western Armenia was generally standard throughout despite regional differences and had a similar silhouette, bright color scheme that was distinguished by colorfulness, and an abundance of embroidery.
Men's bodywear had a similar cut to the East Armenian wear. However, the body shirt was distinguished by a side section of the gate. The body pants – vartik, were covered without a step wedge, but with a wide insert strip of fabric, as a result of which the width of such pants was often almost equal to their length. They were made of woolen multicolored threads.
The traditional clothing of some Western Armenian provinces, namely those around lake Van, was a regional form of dress rather than an ethnic one, as many neighboring peoples such as Kurds also dressed in a similar fashion. However, as Armenians had a virtual monopoly on weaving and dress-making in the region, coupled with the fact that Armenians were the oldest living inhabitants of the area, it is likely that it was adopted from Armenians by the neighboring peoples.
Outerwear