Circassian Washington

Interview with designer, honored worker of culture of Adyghea Yuri Stash.

- Yuri Makhmudovich, to the International day of Circassian the traditional costume, you created your new work- Circassian coat with a special headdress. Tell us what was the idea of its creation, and what features distinguish it.
JS: True! This Circassian coat has its own peculiarity. It is made with fur at the ledge and the collar. The headdress to it is made, too, with fur. What did inspire me? Once I read the statement of Al-Masudi, an Arab traveler, who said that the Circassians used fur in clothing for finishing the bottom, dresses, collar, etc. And at that time, in general, the Circassians Adyghes traded the fur. And traders from different countries came to them and bought it. That was why decided it couldn't be possible that they traded fur but didn't use it. In addition, there was such a period, more than 100 years of war, they could not decorate their clothes. So I took just that period and created a costume, in the first place, in intention to show the Circassians used the fur. I called this coat Khadzhi Ismail Dogomuko Berzek (1763-1846).

-Why did you choose that name? Is this Circassian coat dedicated to one of the heroes of Circassia?

Y. S.: Yes! I dedicated my work to the Ubykh hero, the prince from the village of Mytykhuasa, which was located on the territory of modern Sochi. Khadzhi Ismail Dogomuko was one of the most famous Circassian (Ubykh) leaders. At the time, James Bell gave him a characterization, calling him "Circassian Washington". This is due to the fact that at that time he was conducting his diplomatic activity and was looking for opportunities to call a truce on his native land. In 1846, he entered into peace negotiations with General I. R. Entrep-Elmpt. But then he was obliged to leave Circassia and to go to the Ottoman Empire, where he was received by Sultan Abdul Aziz. Then he and his family lived briefly in Istanbul.
-And has this Circassian coat some special details characterizing the nature and activities of the Ubykh leader Khadzhi Ismail Berzek?

Y. S. Certainly. Gazyrs, dagger, belt- they just create a militant image. I used the mitre-shaped headdress, intending to capture its peculiarity and to show its dissimilarity, its difference from all others. He is like the leader, the ruler. It is not a coincidence that James Bell gave him the characteristic name "Circassian Washington". That is saying something, isn't it?

- Yuri Makhmudovich, Your new Circassian coat, is it combined with some other work of yours or is it part of one of your collections?
 
Y.S: It is not! This is a separate work. It has its own distinctive features. Headdress, closed ledge from collar to bottom. And the form of the collar is so as if it reflects the silhouette, the image. And finishing with fur distinguishes it.

- Studying the evolution of the Adyghe traditional male costume, we see that the Circassian coat was everyday clothes, military uniforms, stage costume. It has become in your hands a work of art. In this particular case, can we assume that this Circassian coat was created as a military uniform? And did you use some information of the certain historical period to create it?

Y. S.: For cutting this Circassian coat, I used Studenetskaya's work "Clothes of the peoples of the North Caucasus". There she presented mitre-shaped headdresses and a fully enclosed ledge. Usually the ledge of the traditional Adyghe costume is open. In general, the Circassian coat itself became the military uniform. The whole world recognized that because it is very comfortable as military clothing. And this is due to its special cut. It fits tightly in the shoulders, the bottom is very loose and expanded. To jump on a horse, to get off a horse... And then when the rider was sitting on a horse, and he was cold, he could cover him with it. He could cover his back with her bottom. The Circassian coat is very comfortable. Many people accepted it. And during the Caucasian war, in tsarist Russia ,the decree was taken that the military dressed in the Circassian coat. In fact, I created such a costume with gazyrs, belt and dagger to say that there was the Ubykh leader Khadzhy Ismail Berzek with the talent of a diplomat, thanks to which he was named as "Circassian Washington".

- Thank you very much. It was very interesting.  We will wait for your new works.
 
The Circassian coat "Khadzhi Ismail Berzek", created by Yuri Stash, is exposed in the North Caucasus filial of the State Museum of the Oriental art in Maykop.