This thesis about the veil of women, examining its social background in every part of Asia, with its origin and development, various types and different motivations, while searching for its meaning and characteristics in Korean costume. It is a way of...
This thesis about the veil of women, examining its social background in every part of Asia, with its origin and development, various types and different motivations, while searching for its meaning and characteristics in Korean costume. It is a way of defining what is the meaning of women’s veils in the light of the costume history and where stands the Korean costume in Oriental costume.
Veils seem to be originated from Near East to meet the need of protecting human bodies. It is ascertained by the records in the literature that veils were worn about B.C. 1200 already to differentiate females as a possession of males. Started before the Mohammedan Era, the habbit of wearing veils spread far and wide along with the propagation of Mohammedanism and they are still in existence in these areas. Although veils of Central Asia in the past remain unknown, various forms of veils in folk costume today show us that the veils introduced with Mohammedanism have been acclimatized themselves to the cultural surrounding of the area and have been subsisted till now. Similar to other area and have been subsisted till now. Similar to other regions, veils of this area, too, are more favored by the unbanites than by the agricultural people or nomads and by the upper class than by the lower class. In china, veils were not worn until they imported by the influence of Xiyi(西夷), i.e., Western foreign countries, and Mili(冪리)and Weimao(유帽)became widely in fashion during the period of Sui(隨)and Tang(唐). They were used to screen off the dust and drafts on a long journey or horeseback. And in China, as in other regions, veils were used as a symbol of a bride as well.
It is not known from when people began wearing veils in Korea, but it might well go back to Silla dynasty. In Koryo dynasty, veils became popular without any distinction between social standing, high and low, respectable and vulgar, whereas from economic reasons they seemed luxurious for lower class women. But since the beginning of Yi dynasty, people’s life and culture being affected seriously by Confucianism, the veil also got the meaning of the avoidance of the opposite sex and accordingly, various kinds of veils came into practice.
In Japan, Gazeki(被衣)and Izimegassa(市女笠)had been used since the Heiyan period, and as for Izimegassa, draped with Mushinodareginu(蟲垂たれきぬ), it was worn on a long travel to protect the body from insects, cold weather, and dust. With a ban, veils of the time disappeared in cities, but some traces of them can yet be seem today in peasant’s costume.
The types of veils were of chardor, hat-with-veil, and cloak. There were for the woman of high standing or urban society to show off her prestige and to indicate get status of belonging to a man. On ceremonial occasions, veils had a function of shunning the possible danger of evil spirits or demigods. Besides, they were used for the effect of physical protection or aesthetic purpose.
The veil of women, in its early period, was generally for the upper class, but since the middle of Yi dynasty, as the social rule of sexes kept their distance from each other strict, veils were disseminated farther to lower class women, and in addition to the veil of “Nerwul(너울)”, “Myunsa(면사)”, “Changot(장옷)”, “Ssegaechima(쓰개치마)”,”Cherne(처네)”, “Jeonmo(전모)”, “Garilma(가릴마)”, and “Satgat(삿갓)” were also used for veils. And for funeral formalities the veil named “Gaedu(개두)” was worn.
Thus, the veil for women had its origin in Near East, and then was expanded throughout Asia except for the climatically inappropriate regions of subtropics and tropics and for the labor class. Thus transmitted, veils have developed various forms, depending on the different motives and needs of the circumstances in every region. Meanwhile, as it were the society’s view on woman, its moral standards and idea of costume for veils that supported veils in the area where the custom of covering faces was kept strict, it was the society whose rigid morals or religion made woman and man separate and where the status of women was so low that females were regarded as the servility to males. This consciousness of the members of the society has subserved the custom of wearing veils for women, but now with the increase of women’s position veils exist only in Islamic countries and just for nuns and priests.
And the veils in Korean costume, different from the drapery of Near East, show the characteristics of Northern areas consistent with the general trend of other Korean costume.