Headscarf and Hijab; Qalpaq and Turban: On National and Religious Traditions in the Dress of Northern Caucasus Peoples

Abstract

The article is an attempt at demonstrating the patterns of functioning of those dress elements in the culture of Northern Caucasus peoples whose semantics are being presently reassessed, which leads to the “recoding” of basic values of highland mentality in the context of new Islamization wave in the native milieu. In the contemporary culture of Northern Caucasus peoples, the traditional foundations, tied to the certain place and role of men and women in society, are being recast in accordance with new Islamic developments. The article discusses symbolic elements of woman’s and man’s costume which mark gender and social stereotypes of behavior in the system of Northern Caucasus folk traditions and the context of Islamic beliefs.