Traditional clothing

The Nenets are the only remaining nomadic people of the Arctic who wear their traditional clothing every day. It is sewn from reindeer furs using reindeer sinew as thread. Making clothing is exclusively a woman’s job. It is the women who dry, treat and sew together the furs for the chum (reindeer fur-teepee), the clothing of everyone in their family, bedding to sleep on and their own bags. It is they who extract the sinews from the carcass of a slaughtered reindeer and dry them out for later use in sewing.

From November to May, all Nenets nomads in all areas wear traditional clothing every day. However, there are several different items of Nenets traditional clothing, some of which have only been well-preserved in remoter areas like Yar-Sale and Seyakha. 

From May to October the Nenets in most areas stop wearing traditional clothing. Only the Yar-Sale, Panaevsk and Seyakha Nenets continue to wear it most days in summer.

There are several different items that make up the full set of traditional Nenets clothing. Some areas, notably Seyakha, have preserved the full set much better than others.

  • Kisy. These are the thigh-high reindeer fur boots worn by both men and women. They have a warm inside layer made of the main part of a reindeer skin plus a waterproof outside layer made of the skin from its legs. Each person has several pairs for different temperatures and weather conditions, plus usually at least one pair with very beautiful patters sewn into it that they wear on special occasions.
  • Malitsa. This is the standard everyday men’s knee-length fur coat. It includes an attached hood and mittens. It is made of 8 reindeer furs, with the hairs on the inside and the skin on the outside. Although there are small differences in style from area to area, to an outside eye they seem almost identical throughout Yamal. The only differentiator is a layer of coloured felt that most Nenets wear over their malitsa in winter to protect it from moisture. Some areas prefer black felt while others prefer blue or green. Nenets who still wear malitsy in summer, such as the Yar-Sale and Seyakha Nenets, wear old thinner ones without this layer of coloured felt.
  • Yagushka. This is a woman’s knee-length fur coat. Unlike the malitsa it does not have an attached hood and it buttons up at the front. It also never has a layer of coloured felt over it. These differences are due to the fact that women are usually not out with the reindeer for a long time so do not need their coat to be as warm as the men’s coat. As women move around the chum and the area immediately outside the chum a lot, the yagushka is designed to be easily put on and taken off regularly.
  • Women’s hat. As women’s jackets are hoodless, they have a separate hat that is used when they have to spend a long time outside, for example during migrations. This is made or reindeer fur with a trimming of Arctic fox fur. From the back dangle several large bronze medallions, which keep the hat in place during a high wind. Many have very intricately carved designs and have been passed down through many generations. Sadly these hats are only still worn on a daily basis in the Seyakha tundra, the most northern and isolated part of the Yamal Peninsula. In Yar-Sale camps, women still wear them for migrations on very cold days. In camps nearer to Salekhard or in the mountains you are unlikely to see them at all.
  • Gus. This is a second men’s fur coat which is worn over the malitsa in conditions of extreme cold or when a man needs to sleep outside on the snow. It is of course much bigger than the malitsa. Unlike the malitsa, the gus has the hairs on the outside and skin on the inside. A coloured layer of felt is never worn over the gus, so it looks more impressive and “traditional” than the malitsa. Like the women’s hat, it is rarely seen among Nenets nearer to Salekhard. In the Yar-Sale tundra it is worn only in conditions of extreme cold. Again like the women’s hat, the Seyakha tundra is the last place where people still wear a gus on a daily basis.

If seeing the full range of traditional clothing is your main goal and joining a migration is less important, Seyakha is the best choice for you. However, it does also have its disadvantages:

  • Seyakha camps are much smaller than Yar-Sale camps, with only a few hundred reindeer as opposed to a few thousand and 1 – 3 chums instead of 5 – 8.
  • Seyakha camps are unlikely to migrate unless you pay them to do it especially for you, as most migrate only 40 – 100km a year.
  • Seyakha is so remote that trips here are much more expensive than trips to Yar-Sale.

Trips to Yar-Sale can be a good substitute and in general are better all round. For less money than Seyakha you get the migrations, the big herds and everyone is in malitsy, yagushki and kisy every day. If you come from November to January, when weather is extremely cold, you will also likely see people wearing gus and women’s hats too.

If budget is your main concern, you can see Nenets in almost full traditional clothing every day in winter even near Salekhard. It will likely be malitsy, yagushki and kisy though, without gus or women’s hats.

The Nenets are the only remaining nomadic people of the Arctic who wear their traditional clothing every day. It is sewn from reindeer furs using reindeer sinew as thread. Making clothing is exclusively a woman’s job. It is the women who dry, treat and sew together the furs for the chum (reindeer fur-teepee), the clothing of everyone in their family, bedding to sleep on and their own bags. It is they who extract the sinews from the carcass of a slaughtered reindeer and dry them out for later use in sewing.

From November to May, all Nenets nomads in all areas wear traditional clothing every day. However, there are several different items of Nenets traditional clothing, some of which have only been well-preserved in remoter areas like Yar-Sale and Seyakha. 

From May to October the Nenets in most areas stop wearing traditional clothing. Only the Yar-Sale, Panaevsk and Seyakha Nenets continue to wear it most days in summer.

There are several different items that make up the full set of traditional Nenets clothing. Some areas, notably Seyakha, have preserved the full set much better than others.

  • Kisy. These are the thigh-high reindeer fur boots worn by both men and women. They have a warm inside layer made of the main part of a reindeer skin plus a waterproof outside layer made of the skin from its legs. Each person has several pairs for different temperatures and weather conditions, plus usually at least one pair with very beautiful patters sewn into it that they wear on special occasions.
  • Malitsa. This is the standard everyday men’s knee-length fur coat. It includes an attached hood and mittens. It is made of 8 reindeer furs, with the hairs on the inside and the skin on the outside. Although there are small differences in style from area to area, to an outside eye they seem almost identical throughout Yamal. The only differentiator is a layer of coloured felt that most Nenets wear over their malitsa in winter to protect it from moisture. Some areas prefer black felt while others prefer blue or green. Nenets who still wear malitsy in summer, such as the Yar-Sale and Seyakha Nenets, wear old thinner ones without this layer of coloured felt.
  • Yagushka. This is a woman’s knee-length fur coat. Unlike the malitsa it does not have an attached hood and it buttons up at the front. It also never has a layer of coloured felt over it. These differences are due to the fact that women are usually not out with the reindeer for a long time so do not need their coat to be as warm as the men’s coat. As women need to move quickly between the warm chum and freezing outdoors, for example to collect snow for water, the yagushka is designed to be put on and taken of easily and quickly.
  • Women’s hat. As women’s jackets are hoodless, they have a separate hat that is used when they have to spend a long time outside, for example during migrations. This is made or reindeer fur with a trimming of Arctic fox fur. From the back dangle several large bronze medallions, which keep the hat in place during a high wind. Many have very intricately carved designs and have been passed down through many generations. Sadly these hats are only still worn on a daily basis in the Seyakha tundra, the most northern and isolated part of the Yamal Peninsula. In Yar-Sale camps, women still wear them for migrations on very cold days. In camps nearer to Salekhard or in the mountains you are unlikely to see them at all.
  • Gus. This is a second men’s fur coat which is worn over the malitsa in conditions of extreme cold or when a man needs to sleep outside on the snow. It is of course much bigger than the malitsa. Unlike the malitsa, the gus has the hairs on the outside and skin on the inside. A coloured layer of felt is never worn over the gus, so it looks more impressive and “traditional” than the malitsa. Like the women’s hat, it is rarely seen among Nenets nearer to Salekhard. In the Yar-Sale tundra it is worn only in conditions of extreme cold. Again like the women’s hat, the Seyakha tundra is the last place where people still wear gus on a daily basis.

If seeing the full range of traditional clothing is your main goal and joining a migration is less important, Seyakha is the best choice for you. However, it does also have its disadvantages:

  • Seyakha camps are much smaller than Yar-Sale camps, with only a few hundred reindeer as opposed to a few thousand and 1 – 3 chums instead of 5 – 8.
  • Seyakha camps are unlikely to migrate unless you pay them to do it especially for you, as most migrate only 40 – 100km a year.
  • Seyakha is so remote that trips here are much more expensive than trips to Yar-Sale.

Trips to Yar-Sale can be a good substitute and in general are better all round. For less money than Seyakha you get the migrations, the big herds and everyone is in malitsy, yagushki and kisy every day. If you come from November to January, when weather is extremely cold, you will also likely see people wearing gus and women’s hats too.

If budget is your main concern, you can see Nenets in almost full traditional clothing every day in winter even near Salekhard. It will likely be malitsy, yagushki and kisy though, without gus or women’s hats.

Visiting traditionally dressed Nenets nomads