Costumes

Farahnaz chehelmard  from www.berasad.com  

Zoroastrian women’s wear which is somehow the representative  of the culture of ancient  Iran is one of the honors of this land.It’s so evident to those who are culture lovers that an Iranian whether brought up in a rich family or a poor one was diligent and accustomed to God’s creatures such as flowers ,nightingales,greenery and the whole natural beauties.

Maintaining their personalities and humanity,they used to apply  simple fabrics which were their own handicrafts woven in natural colors .According to one’s wealth ,they used to wear these costumes of silk,brocade or cotton embellished with designs of colorful flowers,sparrows,tall cypresses,peacocks with their nice long tails and so on.Salutes to their bright thoughts.

Costumes in each period depends on  one’s personality,environmental and cultural situations in their society.Although beauty and attraction is much regarded,too.Still Zoroastrian women in Yazd wear their own costumes.The clothes consist of variety of colors,further more,beauty and special characteristics. The covering consists of :

Dress:preparing such dresses needs nice colors of silk,satin,brocade or other fabrics which is formed in some colorful  segments named”Tir_o_Sikh”.It extends upto knees or further under knees and its wristbands  and sides are decorated with nice borders.The collar which contains a short slit in front.If the fabric was very simple they would embroider in a specific method on the segments Which is called”Gabrdoozi”and it is special to Zoroastrian women.Currently common fabrics in markets  are applied.

Shaval:From the incision point,it is too similar to West Azerbayjan’s women’s Shaval.The exception is long thin imprinted parts which are joined together and make it wide and loose enough.It is extended upto  ankles and is tied in waste and ankles. The applied fabric is silk,satin or in the case of simple cotton ,it used to be embroidered with silk string in a specific method.

Lachak:It’s much similar to Bandari lady’s hat.It’s a three cornered cloth  which is made from brocaded silk,velvet or silk and is sewed with lining.The two corners of Lachak are fastened under chin by two braids(Sonboleh)and is fixed on head by two otherbraids on the third corner..

Makna:It’s made of beautiful fabrics and delightful and alive colors with 1 m width and 3 to 3.5 m length.It covers the whole head and it extends upto abdomen and hands in front and upto feet in rear in a way which covers the whole body and makes no trouble for doing issues.

Saye Kooyi:On Makna had also been another scarf worn which was too large and squared.It used to be folded in triangle(similar to Torkman ladies’ scarves) .It was made of uniform silk  in penumbra form or of woolen or silk materials.