Costumes of the islands of Föhr and Amrum and the Halligen
The costumes of the islands of Fohr and Amrum and the Halligen are to the presence of women and girls on the German North Sea islands Föhr , Amrum , Hooge and Langeneß worn.
history
There is evidence of traditional costumes on Föhr as early as the 16th century. In addition to the festive and everyday costumes, evening supper and mourning costumes were also worn. From 1764 the long wrap skirt, called pai , was worn. This went hand in hand with a decline in the color of the costume. From around 1800 the head was wrapped in a cloth. In the 19th century, the rich silver breast jewelry customary today developed . At the same time, these costumes became popular on Amrum and the Halligen and also replaced the traditional costumes worn earlier.
The festive costume that is still worn today evolved from the earlier costumes about 100 years ago.
It is noteworthy that there is a uniform costume only for women and girls, but not for boys and men. This is due to the fact that for centuries numerous men spent most of the year at sea and thus wore the respective fashion of the port cities. A conforming male costume could therefore not develop on the islands.
Special features of today's costume
A costume has a value of around 5000 to 6000 euros. It is usually passed on in the family, but it can still be made from scratch today.
It takes several hours to put on the costume; In particular, putting on the hood and / or the headscarf and pinning the hair with bobby pins are very time-consuming. At least a second person must help put on the costume.
meaning
In addition to the Frisian language , the costume is of a high identity for many islanders. Just as the Frisian language in its Föhrer and Amrumer dialect currently has an almost constant group of speakers, the clinging to the traditional costume can also be observed. The costume was largely extinct on Hallig Hooge, but today it is again worn in public by the “Hallig Hooge dance and costume group”. The costume is also occasionally presented again on Hallig Langeneß.
The well-known festival costume is around 100 years old in its current form and design and has not changed since then, as it no longer has any function in everyday life. On the other hand, on high public holidays it is worn very well, on Sundays often with a reduced amount of jewelry.
The North Frisians are almost exclusively of the Evangelical Lutheran denomination. For this reason, confirmation also plays a major role in the lives of adolescents on the islands. It is the feast day on which numerous girls wear the adult costume for the first time in public in front of the community.
Other occasions for wearing the costume are high church holidays, attending weddings or graduation ceremonies. The costume is also worn during performances for tourists.
description
The Sunday and festive costume of the girls and women lives from the strong contrast of the light aprons and the filigree jewelry and the dark fabric of the dress. Because of this contrast - and because it is only worn on public holidays and Sundays - the costume looks very stylish and dignified.
In detail, the costume consists of the following parts.
The Rock (Pai)
This is a tank skirt made of dark blue cloth with a width of four and a half to five meters. Especially in the back it is artfully folded 60 times. The lower edge is formed by an approximately eight centimeter wide hem of light blue moiré silk .
The sleeves
The sleeves are made of taffeta, rayon or velvet and are sewn onto a lining so that they can be changed.
The skirt
The apron of the festive costume is white, made of batiste and has hole embroidery. The apron of the everyday costume - which is hardly used any more - is made of dark fabric.
The shawl
The triangular silk shawl has knotted fringes and is attached to the bodice with around 60 to 70 black button needles. The shawl is available in many different colors.
The headscarf
The black headscarf is made of thin cashmere cloth and is about 130 centimeters square. It bears an ornament in the form of an approximately eight centimeter wide velvet ribbon in black color, which is often embroidered and trimmed with fringes. This cloth is artfully looped like a hood. There is a hand-embroidered border with floral patterns on the front and long black fringes on the sides. The married woman wears a red bonnet embroidered with black pearls under her headscarf.
The hood
The actual hood peeks out from under the headscarf; however, this is only worn by married women. It consists of a red lobe that is embroidered with black glass beads.
The jewelery
The filigree breast jewelry is made of silver. On Föhr it consists of ten to twelve buttons, on Amrum mostly eight buttons and a multi-link chain of hooks. This consists of a three- or four-row link chain with an amulet in the middle on which the components cross, heart and anchor are as symbols for faith, love and hope , the signs of Christian virtues.
Two more buttons are sewn onto the sleeve. A silver clasp holds the apron together at the back. A necklace, headscarf pins, hairpins and a brooch on an apron ribbon complete the jewelry of the costume.
The silver jewelry was introduced by sailors from Portugal and is still made there today.
Child costume
The costume for young girls does not differ significantly from that for female adolescents and women. The scope of the jewelry is only reduced, four buttons are worn as breast jewelry.
Exhibitions
Several traditional Föhr costumes that have been worn to the present day are in the Dr. Carl-Haeberlin Friesen-Museum in Wyk auf Föhr . There you can find the festive costume described above, an everyday costume, a costume that was worn for field work and a widow's costume.
A fully equipped goldsmith's workshop has also been set up in the museum, in which, among other things, the filigree jewelry for the costumes was made.
Föhrer costumes in art
A picture by the painter Christian Ludwig Bokelmann (1844–1894) shows the young women going to church in the church of St. Nicolai on Föhr in Boldixum . This oil painting hangs in Gottorf Castle in Schleswig . Another picture that hangs in the church of St. Johannis in Nieblum shows a confirmation in traditional Föhr costume. The painter Oluf Braren portrayed various women who wore Föhr costume in the early 19th century.
The painters Jacob Rieter and Johannes Senn recorded all traditional costumes in use at the time in 1806. It is mainly thanks to them that we still know today what the costumes of the 18th century looked like.
literature
- Schleswig-Holsteinischer Heimatbund eV: Costumes and customs on the island of Föhr . Leaflet
Web links
- Staging a traditional costume. fashiontwist.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rose Wagner: Staging a costume. fashiontwist.de, accessed on August 2, 2018
- ↑ Hooger Tracht on the Hallig Hooge website , accessed on December 28, 2013
- ^ Hallig Langeneß: Kulturgeschichte , accessed on December 28, 2013