Chokha

A chokha,[a] also known as a cherkeska,[2] is a woolen coat with a high neck that is part of the traditional male dress of peoples of the Caucasus.

[3] It was in wide use among Avars, Eastern Armenians[4] Abazins, Abkhazians, Azerbaijanis, Balkars, Chechens, Circassians, Georgians, Ingush, Karachays, Kumyks, Nogais, Ossetians, Tats, the peoples of Dagestan, as well as Terek, Kuban[4] Cossacks, Kurds[5] from Russian empire who adopted it from the aforementioned peoples.

[13] The Turkic groups in North Caucasus such as the Nogais, Balkars, Karachays and Kumyks named the coat chepken, which is another word that entered the Russian language in the form of chekmen.

[16] It is possible that the caftan has its origins from the Generic Horse Archer Costume which is a clothing style worn by horsemen among the Iranic groups, Western Turks, the Huns, and also the east Germanic peoples who settled in the Pontic and Danube regions and took the clothes west after the invasion of the Huns in 375 CE.

[17] Due to tensions between Byzantine Empire and Persia, Georgia became an important route for steppe merchants to deliver silk to Byzantium.

[18] Georgians and other North Caucasian groups started adopting the costume style because of Georgia's role in the silk road and having constant interactions with the neighboring steppe peoples.

The large dolman sleeves allow for freedom of movement and the two slits towards the back allow the skirt to cover the legs more fully while seated on horseback.

[23] The 8th century caftan known as chokha evidently does not resemble the military outfit worn in Caucasus and among Cossacks that we know today, it transformed over time - it changed its length and added new elements.

In addition, the location it was sewn made it comfortable for the soldier wearing it so during the battle they did not have to look for them and fiddle around for a long time.

Another difference between the prototype and the current chokha is the open cut chest of the coat which was most likely a style brought to Near East as a result of numerous Turkic invasions.

The Caucasians also adopted numerous headwear and clothing items from the Iranian groups and later from the Turks that started to be worn together with the chokha .

By the 18th century, a male costume common for the Caucasus was finally formed which consisted of gazyrs on the chest, beshmet, cherkeska, burka, bashlyk, papakha, etc.

In Georgia it is used as a symbol of national pride, and is frequently worn by Georgian men at weddings and official functions.

Later, it was in wide use in the Caucasian Convoy of the Imperial army and became a uniform of the chief officers of Muslim(Azerbaijani) and Lezgin Squadron.

The general cherkeska were sewn not only from gray and black fabric, but also from red, blue, green, golden yellow, purple and brown.

The outfit was a clothing for combat, it was not supposed to hinder movement, so the sleeves were wide and short, sometimes with rows of buttons down the openings, and hand flaps.

The general outfit almost always includes a dagger called khinjal, a beshmet[31] worn under the chokha, gazyrs (bullet/charge holders), and a bashlyk (a hood, separate from the robe) or a papakha (a tall fur hat).

Gazyrs for this chokha were made of wood, and in the upper, above-pocket part they had small hoods out of gold or silver with niello or gilt.

In Georgia, the color black for chokha was reserved to the "Orden of Chokhosani" who represented the elite society of the citizens: great generals, war heroes, famous poets, and the people who had done some big service to the country.

Adjaran national men's costume consists of a shirt (perangi) and trousers cut out in a specific way (dzigva) and sewn from wool fabric or sateen of black colour.

As footwear they used colorful wool knitted socks, pachula (soft leather shoes) and boots tied with belts.

In 1989, she published the book "Clothes of the peoples of the North Caucasus of the XVIII-XX centuries" (Russian: "Одежда народов Северного Кавказа.

The only way one could tell to which group the coat belonged to is by inspecting the textile it was made of, the decorations, and the number bullet cases sown on the cherkeska.

[38] They made up the troops of the Circassian principalities, almost identical in structure, form, and in other parameters to the European concept of "knightly army".

In art, Ossetians are depicted in a short cherkeska without a cutout on the chest, its sides are pulled together by three pairs of strings.

There are various depictions by travellers of Ingush men in a cherkeska with a standing collar, the coat resembles the type worn among the Northwestern Caucasians.

Alexander Beggrov depicts a Chechen in a short fur coat with a separate gas cap hanging on a belt.

The atmagol chukha is considered to be a huge national pride of the Azerbaijani people and is an important part of the male traditional attire along with the arkhalig.

Oymayakha was popular in Nakhchivan, the collar of the coat was heavily decorated, the design reflected the fashion of the Qajar era.

Some cossacks variated their cherkeskas and beshmets with different kinds of halons and cartridges, sewed initials or namesakes and decorated it with various laces, but that was considered unprofessional.