Kazak's Costume
( 2005-09-13 )

The Kazak people, with a population of 1.1 million, live mainly in the Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture in Northwest China'sXinjiangUygur Autonomous Region. Except for a few settled farmers, most Kazaks live by animal husbandry, traveling widely in Xinjiang's northwest in search of pasture as the seasons change.

The Kazak men and women wear quite different costumes.

For riding convenience, the men always wear wide and well-knit clothes. In the past, most of the herdsmen's clothes were made of fur.

When hunting in winter, the Kazak men usually wear leather trousers with a big crotch, cloaks made of sheepskin, fox-skin, deerskin, and wolfskin, overcoats wadded with camel hair, and trousers generally made of cowhide. They wear wide straps, caps made of animal skin, and cowhide boots reaching the knees. If they go out or visit friends, they usually wear black overcoats with a cloth or stripe-velvet surface and a wide cowhide strap decorated with silver adornments and an elaborately made knife.

In summer, Kazak men prefer to wear cloth overcoats wadded with camel hair. They often wear white fabric shirts with high collars and embroidered edges.

Kazak women like to wear various styles of colorful one-piece dresses and waistcoats. Their clothes are mostly made of colorful silk, satin, velvet, and cotton. Girls and young women wear dresses with embroidered sleeves, pleated skirts, bright or white kerchiefs, and accessories such as earbobs (hanging earrings), earrings, bracelets, and finger rings.

In winter, they wear cotton overcoats of stripe velvet or fur clothes with a cloth surface and sometimes overcoats made of sheepskin, fox-skin, and wolfskin. They decorate their colorful caps with owl feathers.

In summer, they wear skirts and coats plus waistcoats in most cases. In the past, young women preferred to wear embroidered trousers and decorate their upper garments with silver coins and accessories and various colors of beads. Nowadays, only some little girls wear such costume.