Folk Footgear of Transcarpathia in the XIXth to Early to Mid-XXth Centuries

Author

KOTSAN VASYL

a Ph.D in History, a director of the Transcarpathian Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways, an associate professor at History of Ukraine Department of the Uzhhorod National University. Scientific interests: traditional folk clothes, rural trades and crafts, traditional familial and calendar rituals of Transcarpathia.

FOLK FOOTGEAR OF TRANSCARPATHIA IN THE XIXth TO EARLY TO MID-XXth CENTURIES

Abctract

The article is dedicated to the local peculiarities of the traditional national footwear of Transcarpathian of the XIX – the first half of the XX century. Along with the general characteristic of the author, the types of women’s and men’s footwear of hutsuls, dolynyany, boiky and lemky of Transcarpathian region are analyzed in detail. The main attention is paid to the material, execution technique and decorative adornment of the shoes. Besides, the social, ritual, ethnographic and differentiating functions of footgear are emphasized.

The types of traditional footwear of Transcarpathian hutsuls are described at the first turn. The author attributes sharp toecaps, long fine folds and embossed ornament to the local features of the hutsul postoly. Typical peculiarities of the complete set of traditional folk costume of Rakhiv district hutsuls have consisted of woollen socks (kapchuri) decorated with knitted rings and longitudinal straps of geometric embroidery and with the beads rarely. The author has described the varieties of hutsul leather boots and the dissemination of shoes. Traditional footwear of Velykyi Bychkiv hutsuls, living in the area of Romanian-Ukrainian ethnic borderline, has its own peculiarity.

Traditional folk shoes of the Transcarpathian dolyniany has been distinguished by the local specificity and a great variety. Leather postoly, wooden shoes (dereviyanyky), bast-shoes from the bark have been used as summer footwear. The papuchi made of cloth and woolen slippers have been widespread in some districts of dolyniany living. Different types of boots have been popular among them. In particular, men’s boots with rattles should be distinguished.

Folk footwear of boiky and lemky of Transcarpathian by the shape and decoration is similar to the dolyniany one, although it is not deprived of local features. A large number of folds on postoly, the spread of rough rubber boots should be referred to them.

In general, shoes have been considered to be a very expensive kind of clothing, requiring a special order and protracted production. It has been spared and kept an eye on it assiduously.

Keywords

footwear, Transcarpathian, hutsuls, dolyniany, boiky, lemky, postoly, high boots, shoes.

References

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