Arakhchin

An Azeri female wearing an arakhchin, 1897

An arakhchin (Azerbaijani: araxçın) is a traditional Azerbaijani headdress, worn by both men and women in the past.

Arakhchins could be sewn of various textiles, such as tirma wool and silk. However, only one single-colour textile per arakhchin was used. The textile was made into a round shape fitting the head and then decorated with embroidery, lace, beads and even pieces of gold. Men's arakhchins were relatively plain, especially those used for religious purposes.^[1]

An arakhchin could be worn alone or under other headdresses, such as papagh, a turban or a kalaghai. Women's arakhchins worn as early as the sixteenth century often lacked a special sack intended for braids. By the eighteenth century, it was already one of the most widespread headgears.^[2] Women used hairpins to secure their veils on the arakhchin.^[3]

Arakhchins generally went out of use in the early twentieth century, with the mass adoption of European-style dress in Azerbaijan.

References

1. Арахчын - национальный азербайджанский головной убор.
2. Azerbaijani Traditional Garments.
3. Leyla Mustafayeva. Women's Headgears in the Nineteenth Century. Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts. 2011

External links

• Araxçın
• Арахчын