What else can reflect the history, culture, traditions of the people so vividly, if not the national dress. Its color, symbols, ornament, ornaments - all this has its own meaning and symbolism.
The original purpose of the ornament
The ornament of clothing, of course, should decorate it, but it turns out that initially it also performed a different function. The ornament in the Russian folk costume was a kind of protector from evil forces, a talisman, a kind of talisman. That is why the pattern of the ornament is not located anywhere, but in places where the edges of the clothes pass into the open surface of the skin, so to speak, unprotected. This is a collar, cuffs, hem. In this ornament, the embroiderers enclosed secret signs, ideograms, which they selected individually for each owner. These signs were supposed to protect the wearer from an external enemy and from accidental disaster. Hence the popular expression "He will not regret his shirt either." So they talked about a person extremely generous, who is ready to give up his shirt, and with it all his protection.
The meaning of patterns
The word "pattern" itself is derived from the word "dawn" - an outdated Russian word meaning the setting of the sun and the moment the stars appear in the sky. All the drawings depicted on the ornament of the folk costume very symbolically reflected the vision of the world of the people of that time. The way they perceived space, the sun, the stars and their place in all this. For example, a running white horse was often depicted against a background of stars. The horse symbolized the sun, which is why he was in a stellar environment. Also, images of the spring sun god Lado are not uncommon.
The rituals that existed among the peoples at that time were also reflected in the ornament of the folk costume. For example, the spring rite - rainbow, the holiday of Ivan Kupala and others. The content of the ornamental pattern also changed depending on where it was located. If it was a hem, that is, a piece of clothing located closer to the ground, then rhomboid and cruciform compositions were depicted on it, meaning earth, fertility, fire. If these were patterns on headdresses, that is, closer to the sky, then they embroidered signs representing the sun, sky, birds, and so on.
All these facts provide grounds for drawing a conclusion about the strong connection of the past culture, worldview with the cult of nature. And also the ornament reflects the ideas of the people of a given culture about their existence. In fact, it was a kind of product of folk art, attitude and thoughts. Ornamental embroidery was one of the first magical codes of mankind, which is passed down from generation to generation and thus does not allow the current generation to forget about their ancestors and how they lived, felt and believed in.
