The dress of the Mongol Empire: Genealogy and diaspora of the Terlig

Cho, Woohyun and Yi, Jaeyoon and Kim, Jinyoung (2015) The dress of the Mongol Empire: Genealogy and diaspora of the Terlig. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 68 (3). pp. 269-279. ISSN 0001-6446

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Abstract

Terlig is a characteristic Mongolian dress. It was originally developed to accommodate aspects of Mongolian lifestyle and culture. During the Yuan dynasty, it came to symbolise the dress of higher social status. The original composition of the garment, i.e. the clothing material, created the initial form of the coat with a cutline at the waist that facilitated an equestrian lifestyle. A waistband and folds on the waistline were similarly added later. After attaining symbolic value, some of the terlig’s original functionality was lost, the waistband disappeared, and only the folds on the waist remained. The dual aspects of the terlig as a functional Mongolian coat and its symbolic aspect became part of high culture and were spread to the Khanates and neighbouring regions by the official dress system. Through this process, hybridity with Islamic and other local cultures occurred. Through secondary diffusion in the Mughal Empire, the terlig gained a new identity. During this later period its continued use in China and East Asia became fixed around an aspect of formality. In some marginal regions of the former Mongol Empire, it has survived to this day as an ethnic costume. The terlig, as a legacy of the Mongol Empire, continues to be worn.

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