Poneva is what? Russian ponyva: description, photo

The revival of interest in national traditions that can be observed recently attracted attention to the clothes of people of past centuries, especially since many details have long since disappeared from everyday life. For example, poneva is a women's skirt, which was an integral part of the costume of Slavic women, and now it is almost forgotten.

What is pona

The correct sounding of this word is "ponova", and in some localities they spoke and "understood". The origin of it is now forgotten. But most historians and linguists believe that poneva is a cloth, a piece of cloth, a shroud, and at one time they called it matter, not clothes. Although there is another interpretation that raises the name "poneva" to the word "bride", more precisely, "poneste". Perhaps, this particular point of view is correct, since this swinging skirt was worn by married women or girls. It was worn over the undershirt and had an ankle length, and sometimes up to the calf, to show the embroidery on the undershirt.

A bit of history

Sweeping, gathered on the belt, the skirt has a very ancient origin. Once in the distant past, the first clothing was the animal's skin, and then - a piece of cloth wrapped around the hips.

In the old days, Slavic peoples poneva was an inalienable attribute of women's clothing and a kind of symbol of the hard share of the husband's wife. The first ponevu gave the mother, and often it was a special rite, a kind of initiation, symbolizing the introduction of a girl into adulthood. In some areas, the ritual of putting on this skirt was performed by girlfriends, and sometimes by a brother.

But later, somewhere around the XV century, poneva began to be considered exclusively peasant clothing, and the word "ponevnitsa" in the circles of the nobility and especially the merchants began to scornfully call women of low birth and villagers.

And in the XIX century, putting on the ponies even in the villages was finally symbolic. The girls were still wearing this skirt during the matchmaking or right after it, but in the ordinary life it was rarely worn.

Simplicity and convenience

What did the poney look like? The photo shows well that it was a simple rectangular piece of cloth. He turned around the hips and tied a shoestring (or a frog) in front or on the side. The ends of the skirt could be tucked, for example, while working in the field or for boasting a rich embroidery on the shirt. This way of wearing poneva was called "kulk".

Russian poneva is simple and functional. On the one hand, it does not require special skills and talents for its production. On the other hand, these are very comfortable clothes. She wore a skirt of dense fabric, most often woolen. Although sometimes a woolen thread was used only for ducks, and for a base, hemp or flaxseed was used. In such clothes it was warm, which is important in a cold climate. But the uncomplicated simplicity of the cut was bathed in rich decor, which served not only as an ornament, but also had a complex symbolic meaning.

Signs and symbols

In the past, people's lives were filled with a variety of symbols. Important for a person sacred signs were applied to utensils, cut out on the sides of houses, embroidered on towels. By decorations, charms and amulets one could understand the social status of a person, his belonging to the family, marital status and even age.

No less symbolic and traditional costume. Poneva is an important part of women's clothing, it was decorated with symbols of life and fertility, solar signs and floral ornamentation.

The material for the ponevy necessarily had a picture - a cage of different colors. The intersection of vertical and horizontal bands, forming squares or rhombuses - is the oldest agricultural symbol of fertility, the sign of the sown field. It is most often seen in ornaments and embroidery of women's clothing.

Poneva richly decorated with braid. It was sewn along the hem and side walls sometimes in several rows. On it was embroidered floral ornament and solar signs in the form of crosses, bells and whistles. Sometimes the braid was made of brass cloth, that is, woven with patterns. She was a matter of pride, because everything was done by her own hands.

Older women mated their colorful ribbons from their own, leaving one narrow strip.

Types of penev

The pony skirt had four varieties, depending on the nature of the cut.

1. Three-sexed, consisting of three non-sewn panels, which were fastened with a girdle-gashnikom. According to the historians of the costume, this skirt was originally when the loom device did not allow us to weave a wide cloth.
2. Swashbuckling, popularly called "different racks". In this case, three pieces of fabric were sewn into one rectangular cloth. Wore these ponevy cut on the side or front.
3. Deaf - three pieces of cloth were stitched "deaf", that is, the ponya turned into a regular skirt.
4. Deaf with the prosecution. The foreface is the fourth piece of fabric, usually of a different material and color. It was usually inserted into the front part of the pony, it was made shorter and decorated with braid or lace. It turned out something like an apron. Sometimes the past was covered with embroidery.

Color and its meaning

Poneva is not a simple skirt. By the color of the material and the cell it was possible to understand the origin of the woman. Thus, in the Tula, Tambov and Ryazan provinces, where the ancient tribe of Vyatichi lived, preferred the penevs of dark blue, and north of Ryazan - black. The strips forming the cells were woven in color or white. But in the area of the city of Kasimov the red ponies dominated the blue cage. The same color was worn in the Orel, Smolensk and Voronezh regions.

The color of the strips forming the cells could be different, but there were necessarily white, black and red stripes - the three main colors that the Slavs cherished.

Poneva with her own hands

In the past, every woman knew how to sew, I did not need a pattern for this. Indeed, what kind of pattern can a typical rectangular, albeit composite, piece of cloth have? The only, and even a little trick, is to insert the garter belt into the top of the skirt. It turned out to be a kind of exhilaration.

These belts can be made twisted from woolen or linen threads in the form of a cord or from a thin braid decorated with brushes.

If nevertheless it is not clear, how the peneva is covered, the photo will help in this to understand. It shows patterns of two kinds of skirts: with a past and a simple swing. In the first case oblique crosses designate the past, and along the line of the stroke a bucket-belt was inserted.

To decorate the ponies, embroidery, beads, and necessarily braid or lace, although it used to be so rarely used in such skirts: for the peasants it was too expensive, and their lace was not worn anywhere.

Despite the fact that Pona was mainly everyday clothes, she performed aesthetic functions. A variety of embroidery, patterned cloth and bright combinations of red, blue, white and green colors made this skirt a real work of arts and crafts.