Breastplate necklaces for women are a part of the traditional costume of the Ob Ugrians. They are made of metal wire, buttons, beads and decorated with coins. These necklaces also have a sacred meaning — they protect their owner from evil spirits.
Bead weaving is an essential part of the traditional culture of the Khanty and Mansi. Embroidery and weaving are among the most popular crafts among the indigenous peoples of the North. On the territory of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Yugra this craft is practiced everywhere, but each local group has its own unique weaving techniques and sets of beaded items.
There are two popular beadwork techniques: embroidery and weaving. Beads are most often used to decorate strips of fabric sewn on clothes, belts, or shoes. In the old days, the craftsmen used threads made of deer tendons, but now they have replaced them with nylon threads or fishing lines.
The artistic value of the beaded item is determined by its shape, the complexity of weaving, the pattern, as well as by the technique, the size and type of beads and the color palette.
Traditionally, only women practiced decorative arts. In the past, girls learned sewing and weaving from an early age watching their motherwork. If a woman married a Khanty man from another settlement, she had to change the usual sewing techniques since the costumes and ornaments of different territories differed from each other in about the same way as various dialects of the same language. It was possible to identify where the family lived by patterns on the clothes.
The Ob Ugrians began to use beads in the 17th century when the northern lands became connected to other territories. At that time, the Khanty began to exchange valuable fish species, furs, and rare types of useful wild plants for beads, cloth, threads, and fabrics. Masters of decorative and applied arts quickly adapted to the new materials, and they began to embroider traditional northern ornaments on clothes and shoes with beads.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Khanty people made decorations that were worn around the neck or woven into braids, for example, breastplate necklaces or belts. At the end of the 20th century, bracelets, medallions, and even rings were woven from beads. Nowadays, there are many new items that are decorated in this way, for example, hair clips, purses, and bags.
Bead weaving is an essential part of the traditional culture of the Khanty and Mansi. Embroidery and weaving are among the most popular crafts among the indigenous peoples of the North. On the territory of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Yugra this craft is practiced everywhere, but each local group has its own unique weaving techniques and sets of beaded items.
There are two popular beadwork techniques: embroidery and weaving. Beads are most often used to decorate strips of fabric sewn on clothes, belts, or shoes. In the old days, the craftsmen used threads made of deer tendons, but now they have replaced them with nylon threads or fishing lines.
The artistic value of the beaded item is determined by its shape, the complexity of weaving, the pattern, as well as by the technique, the size and type of beads and the color palette.
Traditionally, only women practiced decorative arts. In the past, girls learned sewing and weaving from an early age watching their motherwork. If a woman married a Khanty man from another settlement, she had to change the usual sewing techniques since the costumes and ornaments of different territories differed from each other in about the same way as various dialects of the same language. It was possible to identify where the family lived by patterns on the clothes.
The Ob Ugrians began to use beads in the 17th century when the northern lands became connected to other territories. At that time, the Khanty began to exchange valuable fish species, furs, and rare types of useful wild plants for beads, cloth, threads, and fabrics. Masters of decorative and applied arts quickly adapted to the new materials, and they began to embroider traditional northern ornaments on clothes and shoes with beads.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Khanty people made decorations that were worn around the neck or woven into braids, for example, breastplate necklaces or belts. At the end of the 20th century, bracelets, medallions, and even rings were woven from beads. Nowadays, there are many new items that are decorated in this way, for example, hair clips, purses, and bags.
