The Symbolism of Women's Adornments in the Traditional Culture of the Altai Population of the Altai Republic

Modern field materials indicate the preservation of the sacred significance attached to adornments by the Altai women. The magical and religious value of adornments becomes actual, when a woman changes her status - after getting married and becoming a mother. The woman, who gave birth and raised children, can not be empty - kuru bolbos that provides for the obligatory wearing of adornments. Today there exist various explanations of the significance of adornments. The idea about the earrings takes a certain place. The researcher came across several explanations for the obligatory wearing of earrings. Thus, there is a belief that if the ears of the woman were not pierced before her death they would be pierced with "the tail of a black snake" after her death in the world of the ancestors. It is also believed that all the malefice leaves a woman's body through the hole in the ear lobe. Regarding the ring it is believed that due to its shape it makes a circle thereby building a defence. An elderly woman with children and grandchildren has to wear a ring with a stone -"an eyed ring ". A mother should wear at least one ring lest her the children should be sick. In modern funeral and memorial ritualism the sacred significance of jewellery is also reflected. Golden jewelleries are not put in the accompanying implements. It is believed that gold is a heavy burden for the deceased in the world of the ancestors. Nowadays plait adornments have almost disappeared from everyday life. Although the mentioning them in heroic epics as well as appealing to them in good wishes reveals the important role that the plait adornments played in the past worldview of the people. Traditionally plait adornments today are worn only by the girls of a preschool and primary school age. In the Altai tradition it is considered to be necessary to decorate the girls' plait, "Head of a girl should not be without adornments". Changes that affected beljysh, women's waist decoration, composed of leather or felt bags with the umbilical cords of their children, decorated with beads, are required a special attention. Currently, its sacred significance has been actualized -on the one hand, beljysh is not to be demonstrated to strangers, but on the other hand, the bags for umbilical cords are produced and sold by masters of decorative art. Analysis of the symbolism of women's adornments revealed that they have an aesthetic, utilitarian, ethnical and symbolic, social and symbolic and magical and religious functions in the modern Altai culture. Social and symbolic function of adornments reflects gender, age and social status of their wearer's personality, still women's adornments store the marking of age differentiation.

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