Gnjilane

Gnjilane

Serbian female costumes worn in this area consisted of: košulja (shirt), boča or bošča (short skirt), rep or nakit (back apron), pojas (sash), jelek (waistcoat), dolaktica (short-sleeved overgarment), kapa (hat), krpa (headscarf), perjanica (headdress), socks and opanci (opanaks-traditional footwear).The shirt was usually not embroidered (or scarcely embroidered) and it was covered with thin a front apron or a wraparound skirt called boča or bošča, woven with thin woollen yarn, dark in colour, scarcely ornamented. Women covered the back with a back apron called rep or nakit which was also woven with dark woollen yarn. It was 35 cm long and 40 cm across, bordered with long fringes made of finely woven twisted black woollen yarn.The fringes on the lower side were longer and they hung freely down the body and the ones on the upper side were longer and hung over the apron and the lower fringes. This rep was worn by both girls and women, young and old. They wore a short woollen sash adorned with buckles, silver coins and glass beads around their waist. Girls wore a hat (kapa) made of home-made stuff decorated with old coins threaded on strings which hung down their temples. The hat was fastened to  socalled krpa which consisted of two strips of black cloth, without any adornments, hanging down the shoulders. 

     

In some parts of Kosovsko Pomoravlje krpa was coloured, usually yellow or green. After the wedding, for some time, the bride wore a conical headdress (perjanica) made of stuff, decorated with old coins, a ribbon at the back and peacock's feathers at the front. The bridal apron was called cvetača. It was decorated with silver threads and lace with glitter sewn in. The most common design was the so-called rešetka (rack) which consisted of a stylized flower on the red surface in one field and floral and pear-shaped ornaments in the others.

 

National ensemble KOLO - Gnjilane