Today’s A Journey
through Aesthetic Realms
will be presented in Czech,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese), Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, Czech,
English, French,
German, Hungarian,
Indonesian, Italian,Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, Korean,
Mongolian, Persian,
Portuguese, Russian
and Spanish.
Hallo, graceful viewers,
welcome to A Journey
through Aesthetic Realms
on Supreme Master
Television.
The Czech Republic is
a central European nation
with more than two
thousand years of history.
South Moravia is
an administration division
in the southeastern part
of the country,
known for its picturesque
farming villages
and rich folklore
and art traditions.
In today’s program,
we will look at
the exquisite ethnic
costumes of this region.
The dazzling
traditional garments
of South Moravia
are greatly diversified into
many sub-regional styles.
They include Brno,
Dolňácko, Haná,
Horacke, Horňácko,
Kyjov, Lachian,
Podluží, Slovacke,
Wallachian costumes,
and many more.
Typical women’s
folk dresses consist of
petticoats, mudflaps,
embroidered bodices,
embroidered lace shirts,
collar, main trimmed skirt,
folk shoes, wreaths,
scarves, and caps.
Men’s clothes comprise
lace shirts,
trimmed jackets,
three-quarter pants,
boots, and hats.
The vibrant designs
reflect the local residents’
contentment of their
simple and happy rural life.
If you ever visit
South Moravia,
you will fall in love with it
at first sight.
You will find
picturesque villages
with traditional facades
with folk ornaments there.
Common people
have expressed their
inward feelings there
from the old ages.
Songs and dances
have been created there
for centuries.
The folk costume
which has signs
of wealth and beauty
of this region on it has
become cultural heritage.
Traditions live
not only thanks
to songs and dances
but also thanks
to the folk costumes,
which are still
an inseparable part
of the life of people
in South Moravia.
The girls' costumes
from Svatobořice-Mistřín
show the typical features
of the costume
from the Kyjov area.
The footwear is tall boots.
A small black apron,
“fertušek,” is worn
over the outer red
above-knees skirt, “pavka.”
A red bodice is worn
over the white shirt.
The typical features are
the large frilly sleeves
fringed with black lace.
Sometimes a combination
of white apron and white
embroidered neck band
is used.
The headwear
of young girls
is a flower wreath
with ribbons
and a small crown,
called “ruzenin.”
Another typical part
of the Kyjovsko costume
is a band embroidered
with black thread that
is worn around the neck.
The folk costume
has been worn
to the present time
and it is inherited from
generation to generation,
including the youngest one.
Thus you may see
the folk costumes
in many shapes
at different rituals
and celebrations.
One of such old customs
is a spring ritual
called “Little Queens.”
It is a young girls'
carol round
with a ceremonial dance,
originally documented
in the Brno
and south Kyjov areas.
It is held
on Whitsun Sunday,
which is called Pentecost
in the folk calendar.
A central group
of four girls
sustains a large scarf
over a pair of girls
representing
the king and the queen.
This ancient Whitsun ritual
is also rooted
as a tradition
in the Tisnov area.
Here the little queens
are clad all in white.
A small wreath
of white flowers
is interwoven in their hair.
Only the king and
the queen wear wreaths
of colored flowers
with a small mirror
in the middle.
Here the girls also
adorn a small tree
and go caroling.
Folk costumes
belong to cultural values
that bear witness
to the life of people
in the past.
You will see garments
worn on workdays
or garments
worn on feast days
which reveal at first sight
if the wearer is a single
girl or a married woman
or a bride.
Almost every piece
of the garment
shows painstaking,
precise handwork,
which is irreplaceable
by machine.
Pleated yellow skirts
called “fertochy”
were a typical feature
of Hornacko costumes.
Originally they were
dyed with saffron,
which gave them
a yellow-golden color.
The pleating must be done
on damp fabric
and the individual folds
are formed with fingers.
Women from Hornacko
used to wear a scarf
tied on their heads
in the shape of a cap
with an embroidered top.
Wedding costumes
belong naturally to
the most beautiful ones.
A wedding costume
had a lot of components.
The bride was always
dressed starting
from the footwear.
Originally it was high boots.
Then the bride put on
the “rubac” and started
adding underskirts.
These were made of
starched coarse cotton cloth.
The number of
underskirts depended on
the girl's figure.
Slim girls wore
up to five underskirts.
An apron called “fertoch”
was tied over
the upper underskirt.
The “fertoch” was made
of a finer unstarched cloth.
The next step was
putting on a short blouse
with puffed sleeves
and a bodice.
The sleeves are pleated
using the same technique
for pleating
like the “fertoch,” where
heavily starched “kadle”
are stitched.
The bodice was
made of green velvet.
It had rich embroidery
on the front
and on the back
it was decorated with
yellow-orange flowers.
A decorative satin bow
covers the broad waist
of the “fertoch.”
The bride wore
a frilly, white band
around her neck.
A characteristic sign
of the girl being a bride
is the “bowing.”
In the past, the adornment
of the bride's attire
with bows
would take several hours
during the night before
the wedding ceremony.
Costumed weddings
can be seen commonly in
South Moravian churches,
where not only the bride
and the groom but also
some of the wedding guests
wear folk costumes.
Wearing
the traditional garments,
the bride and the groom
express their thanks
to their parents
and grandparents,
because it is from them
that they have received
many of the components
of the costumes.
It may also be
a complete costume
that is inherited from
generation to generation.
For centuries, farming
has been the primary trade
of South Moravian
communities.
The main crops
are barley, wheat, rye,
and potatoes.
While working on the fields,
men and women
are traditionally dressed
in neat outfits.
The typical
male working costume
from Vaclavice
consists of high boots,
long white trousers,
a blue apron,
a white shirt, and
a short dark blue vest.
On their heads,
the men wore hats.
Women usually used to
wear a red,
richly pleated skirts
adorned with tucks
and a blue aprons
tied around their waists.
According to the season,
they wore a short-
or long-sleeve jacket,
over which they wore
a simple vest,
which could be replaced
by a longer work aprons
tied behind their necks.
On their heads, they wore
a linen headscarf
tied under the chin.
The nice rye,
we’ll have a pretty bread.
God will give it to us,
we’ll need it.
May it will be plenty
for our children,
for our children.
The end
of the harvest season
marks the time
for celebration
and thanksgiving.
For South Moravians,
this is their chance
to showcase their
elegant traditional clothes
as well as music
and dance talents.
The harvest feast belongs
to traditional feasts
in every Moravian village.
It’s celebrated
as a Christian feast
and also as a day
of joy and abundance.
The young people dressed
in festive costumes
mustn’t be missing
at the celebration.
The folk costume
for the boys from Podluzi
fascinates
for its long red trousers
and a white shirt,
over which
a short waistcoat is worn.
The girls from Tvrdonice
wear spectacular costumes
distinguished by
a large number
of pleated skirts
and a special shape
of the headwear.
They wear a festive crown
which has a shape
of a red hat, which is called
“horns” or “kokes.”
There is a little posy
with the long ribbon
on the crown of the head.
The whole costume is
magnificently decorated
with fine embroidery
that symbolizes
this land’s image.
Passed down from
generation to generation,
the magnificent
folk costumes
of South Moravia
are like wonderful flowers
in an enchanting garden.
Each distinct variety
is nurtured
by social, folkloric
and ceremonial factors
of its particular
geographic location.
Despite the
sub-regional differences,
all of them express
the joy and contentment
of the local residents
for their simple and
self-sufficient way of life.
May the peaceful citizens
of the Czech Republic
be greatly blessed
with lasting happiness
and abundance.
Lovely viewers,
thank you for
your charming presence
on today’s episode of
A Journey through
Aesthetic Realms
on Supreme Master
Television.
Up next is
Vegetarianism:
The Noble Way of Living,
after Noteworthy News.
May heavenly glory
shine on you
and your loved ones.