Chokha

The Tschocha (Georgian ჩოხა ) is the male costume of Georgia. It is a knee-length woolen jacket. Developed in the 9th century piece of clothing found in the 17th century in the entire Caucasus distribution.

Dress Code

The cut of the jacket is tight in the waist, below the waist, however, continue. It is usually held together over the hips of a leather belt with silver buckle and side vents. Under the Tschocha a high-necked, button down shirt ( Achaluchi ) is worn. This includes boots pants ( Scharwali ), which are inserted into leather boots. The head is covered with a tall hat made ​​of sheepskin, the so-called Papachi.

History

The Tschocha was born in Georgia from 9th century to the 1920s. Since the second half of the 19th century, the mantle was increasingly combined with European clothing. At the beginning of the 20th century it was worn only by older people for ceremonial occasions. Since the early 1930s, he had come completely out of fashion. In the armed forces of Georgia, he finds again today as a uniform for special occasions use.

From 1892 to 1896, the Russian Cossacks in Buffalo Bill 's Wild West Show, the Tschocha made ​​famous worldwide. In fact, there was a group of Georgian riders from the province of Guria, which occurred in the UK and the U.S. in the costume of their country. The head of the rider usually wore a white coat, the other a black.

Tschocha models

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries three different Tschocha models were distinguished: the chewsurische, the kart estate kachetische and the Caucasian Tschocha.

Chewsurische Tschocha

She was born in the Georgian province Chewsurien in the Greater Caucasus. She comes the medieval Tschocha the next. She was usually cut short and had a trapezoidal outline. Front and sleeve of Tschocha were embroidered over a large area with crosses and geometric shapes, had slits on the sides that could appear on the hips.

Kartli - kachetische Tschocha

She was longer than the chewsurische Tschocha. On the chest, she had a V-neck, which sparked the worn underneath clothing, the Achaluchi. In the lower part they had side vents and was often worn without a belt. It was made ​​in the colors black, dark red and blue.

Caucasian Tschocha

They largely corresponded to the kart estate kakhetian Tschocha. However, the chest was filled with decorative pouches. It was available in black, gray, white, blue, red and brown produced. The Caucasian Tschocha wore in the Russian Caucasus the name Circassian, was born there with a black, silver belt occupied.