Dress

Unknown artist

Dress with floral motif, with at the sleeves and bottom an ornamentation of wavy red and green, respectively red and blue lines on white. Equipped with a hood.It was made for special occasions, in this case for performances. It was used by one of the Chukchi women who are members of the Chukchi dance/theatre group 'Ensemble Chukotka'. Textiles are much more practical indoors and for performances than fur, which used to be used to make such dresses.Ó Initially, there was relatively much freedom after Leninism-Marxism entered the Russian territories in 1917. After 1930 under Stalin the climate hardened and the indigenous peoples of Siberia were 'Russified', they had to adapt to the Russian culture. Folklore was considered 'politically harmless' by the communist regime and was allowed. Thus arose indigenous ensembles, such as the 'Ensemble Chukotka'. Dance and song, based on their own tradition, took on a more stylised form. Since then, these groups have performed in theatres and arenas and can also be seen in the Netherlands. The clothes and objects they use change shape slowly. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the old Chukchi traditions of the nineteenth century are revisited, and objects are reshaped in a modern context. Such theatre groups, indigenous writers, seamstresses and craftsmen are also trying to give content to their identity as Chukchi.