The Khakas Traditional Pogho

This is one of the most important parts of the Khakas traditional women's attire named 'Pogho'. It has been inherited by my mother Valentina Mamyshewa from my grandma Anastassia in order to leave for my sister Aselia. About Pogho’s appearance there are a lot of hypotheses but according to the most realistic one the genesis of Khakas traditional Pogho was based on such view that this object has at starting point been used as an armour plate protected a chest area of body by female warriors.

A crescent form of Pogho is a cause which more hardens this hypothesis. Another supportive pretext for that lies in the Khakas shamanism ‘Kham Kirtinizi’. According to Kham Kirtinizi first kam (in similar form to Japanese Shin-to ‘Kami Way’) was a woman because a woman was a guardian of sacred fire and a continuator of family lineage. A Khakas woman has occupied an important place and that feature has found itself reflection in a lot of heroic poems and epics of Khakas folkloric verbal literature where national heroes protected own people against external enemies have mostly been women.

The Khakas Pogho is a specific chronological tale of life way of a Khakas family’s lineage since ancestors as far as to eternity. By reading the ornamental forms and their compositions we can find out information on a character of our ancestors’ life. Thus, thanks to Pogho there are maintained a bridge of continuity between generations of the Khakas people.

Timur B. Davletov [06 alai 2001]