Tschocha
The Tschocha ( Georgian ჩოხა) is the male costume of Georgia . It is a knee-length woolen coat . The garment, developed in the 9th century, has spread throughout the Caucasus since the 17th century .
Dress code
The cut of the coat is narrow at the hips, but wider below the belt. It is usually held together above the hips by a leather belt with a silver buckle and is slit on the side. A high-necked, buttoned shirt ( Akhaluchi ) is worn under the Tschocha . This includes boot pants ( Sharwali ) that are tucked into leather boots. The head is covered with a tall sheepskin hat, the so-called papachi .
history
The Chocha was worn in Georgia from the 9th century to the 1920s. Since the second half of the 19th century, the coat was increasingly combined with European clothing. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was only worn by older people on ceremonial occasions. It had gone completely out of fashion by the early 1930s. In the armed forces of Georgia it is used again today as a uniform on special occasions.
From 1892 to 1896, the Russian Cossacks made Chocha famous around the world in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. In fact, it was a group of Georgian horsemen from the province of Guria who performed in the UK and USA in their country's costume. The chief of the riders mostly wore a white coat, the others a black one.
Tschocha models
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries , three different Chocha models were distinguished: the Khevuri, the Kartli-Kakheti and the Caucasian Chocha.
Chewsurische Tschocha
It was worn in the Georgian province of Chewsuria in the Greater Caucasus . It comes closest to the medieval Tschocha. It was usually cut short and had a trapezoidal outline. The front and sleeves of the Tschocha were embroidered with crosses and geometric shapes and had slits on the sides that made the hips appear wider.
Kartlien-Kakheti Tschocha
It was longer than the Khevuri Chocha. On the chest she had a V-neckline, which showed the garment worn underneath, the Akhaluchi. In the lower area it had side slits and was often worn without a belt. It was made in the colors black, dark red and blue.
Caucasian Chocha
It largely corresponded to the Cartelian-Kakhetian Chocha. However, the chest was studded with decorative cartridge pouches. It was produced in the colors black, gray, white, blue, red and brown. The Caucasian Tschocha was called Tscherkeska in the Russian Caucasus and was worn there with a black, silver-trimmed belt.
