A Caucasus Highlander From Russia Dons a Traditional Burka
The burka is a traditional cloak made from the pelt of a karakul sheep, which is widely used by the highland peoples of the Caucasus: such as the Chechens, Avars, Ossetians, Adyghe, Dargins, Abkhaz people, Georgians, and others. It is prized for its ability to protect against the region’s harsh, wet mountain climate. As it's made from thick, felted wool, the burka is waterproof, insulating, and easily doubles as a blanket or shelter; making it ideal for a mobile, rugged lifestyle. Its distinct squared shoulders and imposing silhouette became not only practical but also symbolic of highland warrior identity. The Burka is the Russian name of the item of clothing, but it has different names based on the language of the cultures that use it: awápa (Abkhaz), chakwe (Adyghe), aytsenakach (Armenian), burtína (Avar), yapıncı (Azeri), verta (Chechen), nabadi (Georgian), ferta (Ingush), shakwe (Kabardian), nymæt (Ossetian), and ghärt (Svan). Over time, the ethnic Russian and Ukrainian Cossacks, particularly those of the Terek and Kuban hosts, adopted the burka into their own culture. This not only came through trade, but also intermarriage and assimilation - as the Cossacks of the Caucaus region often included Indigenous Caucasian people into their ethnos. Among those who became deeply integrated into the Cossack ranks were the Ossetians, descendants of the medieval kingdom of Alania, who began settling in the Terek region as early as the 16th century. Ossetian families established settlements such as Chernyar and Novosetinskaya and were granted Cossack status, serving in military roles while retaining elements of their own highland traditions such as wearing the burka, eventually many of them assimilated into the greater Terek Cossack (sub-)ethnic identity. It should also be noted that many Terek Cossacks have their origins in the Don Cossacks, who themselves were a product of cultural and ethnic mixture between Turkic, Slavic, and often Kavkaz people such as ancient Circassians living in the steppe regions north of the Caucasus; thus Caucaus cultural influence has been present from their genesis. So, the burka became not just a symbol of native resistance or independence but also of imperial hybridity; a garment that crossed cultural lines in a landscape defined by conquest, adaptation, and survival.
